Speech #1090084851

The United States must find a way to increase the pipeline of U.S. engineers. I know many companies already partner with U.S. universities and colleges. and indeed this is a longterm challenge of our economyto create a sufficient number of homegrown engineers and scientists to meet the demands of our innovative economy. But in the short term. we must ensure that our immigration policies do not unnecessarily restrict access to highly trained individuals. the kinds of employees that will create those additional jobs here in America. Once again. the demand for hightech temporary visas far exceeds the statutory cap imposed by Congress. As I mentioned a moment ago. the fiscal year 2006 visas were gone 2 months before the fiscal year even began. They ran out in August 2005. There is also a shortage of green cards. even for certain multinational managers and executives. That means that in addition to the years of processing delays. many immigrants must now wait several more years for a visa to be available. We need comprehensive immigration reform in this country. We need to do more. a lot more. to strengthen our borders. to make sure that we know who is coming into our country and why they are here. Indeed. this body. I am confident. will be addressing that need for comprehensive immigration reform in the near future. But it is more than border enforcementit is interior enforcement. It is enforcement at the workplace. But it is also making sure that by sensible immigration laws we provide the trained workforce necessary for American businesses to thrive and prosper and create additional employment here in America. On the other hand. the distinguished Senator from West Virginia has proposed no raising of the cap to keep unused H1B visas from previous years but instead to put a tax on the L1 visa of $1.500 each. These L1 visas are issued pursuant to trade agreements with countries such as Chile. Australia. Singapore. and other countries so that when they conduct business operations in the United States. pursuant to these free trade agreements. their managers and highlevel employees can actually come here pursuant to that free trade agreement. Likewisethis is the important partour managers and highlevel employees can go to their country. pursuant to the free trade agreement. so that the benefits of this free trade agreement can be reached in the fullest. It doesnt take much of an imagination to imagine that if we put a $1.500 tax on each L1 visa issued to employees of some nation that has a free trade agreement with the United States. they will simply turn around and retaliate and impose the same fees on American workers in those countries. Rather than producing additional revenue. this will. in essence. be a wash. In other words. this amendment does nothing to solve the problem about a shortage of highly trained engineers and scientists who come here because we simply dont have enough on a temporary basis so that jobs can stay here.