Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong support of comprehensive immigration reform that is tough. practical and effective. I urge my colleagues to work together in a bipartisan manner so that we can move legislation to the floor as soon as possible. Our inability to solve the Nations immigration crisis is taking a major toll on the hightech business sector and crippling their ability to have the workforce they need. As American companies struggle to compete in the global informationeconomy. they are continually seeking the brightest minds to develop new innovations and technologies. Sometimes. those minds are in other countries. Many of these individuals studied at top U.S. colleges and universities but have retumned to their native country. HlB3 visas allow American businesses to hire temporary skilled foreign employees in specialized occupations when they are unable to find a qualified U.S. citizen for the job. These specialized occupations include architeclure. engineering. mathematics. physical sciences. social sciences. medicine and health. education. law. accounting. business specialties. theology and the arts. Each year. the number of HlB visas are capped at 65.000. Applications for 2008 were only open for 1 day. after 150.000 applications were filed on April 1. Robert Breault. president and founder of the Breault Research Organization of Tucson. called the cap on applications "a catastrophe." Southemn Arizonas "Optics Valley." as well as other hightech corridors. depend on foreign workers with advanced degreesdegrees often earned in U.S. universitiesto supplement the workforce. Our hightech companies are comrpeting in a global marketplace. To keep pace. they must hire the best employees. As comprehensive immigration reform legislation begins to take shape. congress must ensure that the number of HlB visas is increased.
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