Speech #1100044394

But let me explain some of the problems with the current system and why Senator GRASSLEY and I believe the system needs to be changed. Supporters claim the goal of the HlB program is to help the American economy by allowing U.S. companies to hire needed foreign workers. The reality is that HlB3 visas are being used to facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. It seems counterintuitive that a visa that allows people to come into the United States could lead to jobs being outsourced overseas. but when you hear my illustrations. you will understand the conclusion. A recent expose in the International Herald Tribune disclosed that 8 of the top 10 HlB visa applicants last year were outsourcing firms with major operations in one countryIndia. So in many cases it wasnt the American high tech company using the H lB visa that was given this opportunity but. rather. a firm. more likely in India than any other country. that was given the authority to use HlB visas to send workers into the United States. The Herald Tribune concluded: As Indian outsourcing companies have become the leading consumers of the [H1i13] visa. they have used to it further their primary mission. which is to gain the expertise necessary to take on critical tasks performed by companies in the United States and perform them in India at a fraction of the cost. According to this report. the Indian Government has been lobbying hard for the United States Government to increase the number of HlB visas. Kamal Nath. the Indian Commerce Minister. was very blunt when he said recently that the HlB visa "has become the outsourcing visa." He concluded: If at one point you had X amount of outsourcing and now you have a much higher quantum of outsourcing. you need that many more visas. That is a very candid statement by this commerce minister in India. It should give us pause as we think about this program. what it was designed to do and what it is actually doing. In other words. the Indian Government wants more H lB visas so Indian companies can outsource more American jobs to India. Let me be clear. India is a valuable American partner in commerce. diplomacy. and many other endeavors. Indians who have come to the United States have made immeasurable contributions to the benefit of our country In so many ways. I trust them as great friends. But some in India today understand that we have a weakness in our visa system and are using It for their own economic advantage. It is not surprising the Indian Government is advocating on behalf of Indian companies. The American Government should advocate on behalf of American companies. I dont criticize the Indian Government for doing that. But we should expect the same from our Government for our workers. We need to stand up to make sure American workers dont lose their jobs to outsourcing because of H lB visas. HlB supporters claim we need more H lB visas to stop American jobs from being outsourced. That was the logic behind HlB visas. It appears the opposite is true. Under the current system. more HlB visas will mean more outsourcing. Let me give an example. Indian outsourcing company Wipro was No. 2 on the list of top applicants for HlB3 visas in the year 2006. Wipro has more than 4.000 employees in the United States. and approximately 2.500 of them are here on HlB visas. It is pretty clear that when it comes to Wipros Amerlcan operation. the majority of the workers are here on H lB visas. Every year Wipro brings 1.000 new temporary workers here from India. while they send another 1.000 U.S. trained workers back to India. This is essentially an outsourcing factory. Here is what the Herald Tribune concluded: Rather than building a thriving community of experts and innovators in the United States. the Indian firms seek to funnel workand expertiseaway from the country. Tt is hard to believe. but it is perfectly legal to use the HlB visa program for outsourcing. A foreign outsourcing company with a U.S. office can use HlB visas to import workers from their home country. train the workers in the United States. and then outsource them back to their home country to populate businesses competing with the United States. They are not required to make any efforts to recruit American workers for these jobs. In fact. they can explicitly discriminate against American workers who apply for the same jobs by recruiting and hiring only workers from their home country. Here is what the Labor Department says about the current law: H1l3 workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job. and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of a foreign worker. Is that what we had in mind with HlB visas? That certainly wasnt the way it was explained to me. In fact. under current law. only employers who employ H lB visa holders as a large percentage of their U.S. workforce are required to attempt to recruit American workers before bringing in foreign workers. Senator GRASSLEY and I have taken a look at this system. We both reject the notion that what is wrong with the HlB program is that we need more visas. We have to look at the system that generates these visas and the way they are used. The legislation we have introduced would overhaul the HlB program. protecting American workers first. and stopping HlBs from being exploited as outsourcing visas. Here are the highlights. First and foremost. we would require all employers who want to hire an HlB worker to attempt to hire an American worker first. Employers would also be prohibited from using H lB visas to displace American workers. You cant fire an American and turn around and appeal to our Government for an HlB visa to bring someone in from overseas to replace that worker. This is an important principle. We have to make it clear that companies doing business in the United States have to give first priority to American workers. Our bill would require that before an employer may hire an HlB worker. the employer must first advertise the job opening to American workers for 30 days on the Department of Labor Web site. Some companies that abuse the H lB visa program are so brazen. they say "no Americans need apply" in their job advertisements. Hundreds of such ads have been posted on line. They say things such as "H lB visa holders only" or "we require candidates for HlB from India." Is that what we have in mind. to create this perverse discrimination against American workers? That isnt the way it was explained to me. Our HlB reform bill would prohibit this blatant discriminatory practice. There is another serious problem with the HlB visa program. Federal oversight is virtually nonexistent. Under current law there are many roadblocks to effective Government enforcement.