Speech #1010035949

Mr. President. I agree with Senators KENNEDY and SIMPSON that we must strive for an immigration policy that is based on "he needs of the country." A recent Department of Labor study entitled "Workforce 2000" made a detailed assessment of what our labor needs will be over the next two decades. The report concluded that we will experience a shortage in skilled workers and that we need policies that facilitate the immigration of skilled workers. My bill addresses the needs of our country in several ways. First. it deals with the shortage of skilled workers by increasing employersponsored visas by 42.200. The third preference. for professionals and people with exceptional abilities. increases to 52.000. and the sixth preference. skilled workers. increases to 44.200. Mr. President. I think we need a policy that encourages people with skills and exceptional abilities to come to our country. Unfortunately. our present system discourages them from immigrating because there is a 1- to 3year wait to get a third or sixth preference visa. If there is a shortage of skilled workers in a particular profession. the business loses the competitive edge waiting 3 years to bring in someone to fill the slot. Mr. President. skillbased employersponsored visas only account for a small percentage of the overall number of visas. Under our current immigration system. only 10 percent of visas are based on skills. whereas 90 percent are based on family relations. In case there is any doubt. I state emphatically that American jobs will not be displaced by these increases because there are several safeguards. For example. before a person can be admitted under a third or sixth preference visa. the Department of Labor must determine that there is a labor shortage in the particular field and that the business cannot find an American skilled worker to fill the slot. In the alternative. under the third preference. they must determine that the potential immigrant is a member of a profession with "exceptional abilities." The additional numbers for employersponsored visas in my bill will help reduce the delays for immigrants with skills or exceptional ability. This will allow businesses to find enough skilled workers and thereby maintain a competitive position in international markets. The second way my bill addresses the needs of the country is by providing a more modest increase in the national level of immigration. Most of the polls that I have seen indicate that the majority of the American people do not want any increase in the level of immigration. In 1986. a CBS/New York Times poll found that 84 percent of the American people felt immigration should be decreased or kept at the same level. In a 1986 poll of U.S. News & World Report readers. 74.9 percent stated that they wanted immigration numbers further restricted. A recent Tarrance & Associates poll found that only 9 percent of Californians and 5 percent of Texans were in favor of increasing the level of immigration. I ask unanimous consent that copies of these polls be included in the record at the conclusion of my remarks. Mr. President. what does the KennedySimpsonSimon bill do in response to the desire of the American people? It increases the national level by more than 100.000 visas. The studies do not support the notion that we must increase our level of immigration by 100.000. My bill addresses the concerns of the American people by only increasing the national level by 45.000. Finally. my bill keeps a limited definition of the fifth preference. The fifth preference presently allows a citizen to bring in his brothers. his sisters. his brothersinlaw. his sistersinlaw. his nieces and his nephews. This causes a chain migration problem. One famous example is the man in New York who brought in 64 relatives under the fifth preference category. My bill simply limits the fifth preference to never married brothers and sisters.