Speech #1050139869

I would like to commend Senator ABRAHAM for the fine job he has done in guiding S. 1723 through the legislative process. The American Competitiveness Act is an important step forward in ensuring that Americas hightechnology companies have the skilled personnel they need to compete both domestically and globally. There is one area that I regret we were not able to work out: the issue of the exploitation of visas. including H1B visas. by foreign countries for training individuals in fields essential for the development of weapons of mass destruction. I attempted to negotiate language with the gentleman from Michigan that would ensure that countries like India. which recently detonated five nuclear weapons. would not be able to send individuals to work in the United States in a capacity that would enable them to return home with sensitive knowledge on developing nuclear. chemical. or biological weapons. Unfortunately. those negotiations ended without a satisfactory resolution. and I remain very concerned about this very serious problem.