Speech #1090091812

In the boom years of the 1990s. the labor force grew by nearly 17 million workers. Nearly 40 percent of them were born abroad. Most of these immigrants came when unemployment was at record lows. They filled 4 out of 10 job vacancies. often in regions short on workers. and often in jobs that natives had no desire to fill. Had these immigrants not lent us their strength. our economy would surely have faltered. Second. immigrants help balance the budget. Tally up taxpayerfunded benefits to immigrantseducation. healthcare. social securityand match those costs against what immigrants pay in State. local. Federal taxes. On balance. each immigrant provides a net benefit to the American economy of about $90.000 in taxes over a lifetime. Overall. immigrants contribute $15 billion to our economy every year. And immigrants will make an important fiscal contribution as the baby boom generation retires. In just 5 years. the number of Americans approaching retirement will increase by nearly half. Most new foreignborn immigrants. on the other hand. are between 10 and 39 years old. And immigrants are likely to have more children than the U.S.-born population. These younger workers will help fund the coming Social Security. Medicare. 51. Pt. 19 26125 and Medicaid benefit payments. Immigrants bolster the deteriorating ratio of workers to retirees. Immigrants provide a shiny vein of ore in a graying economy. Third. immigrants push the envelope of innovation. Foreign students earn more than a quarter of the Nations science and engineering degrees. They earn more than a third of science and engineering doctorates.