Senate Debate to Increase H-1B

Date: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 2:59 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

November 02, 2005 No. 1359

Today on CSPAN TV there was a debate on increasing H-1B. I missed the first broadcast, but hopefully it will be repeated.

The following brief is based on reports from activists and Roy Beck.

* Sen. Saxby Chambliss defended the H-1B visa program. He claimed that the fact that all H-1Bs were used is proof that more are needed.

* Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) at the last minute stepped forward and argued for an amendment to strip ALL immigration increases from the bill.

* Sen. Kyl (R-AZ) came out in opposition to the Byrd Amendment. Kyl is supporting the Microsoft provision that was put in the Budget Reconciliation bill by Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Specter (R-PA) that would increase permanent green cards for skilled foreign workers and their family by up to 350,000 EVERY YEAR.

I include two late-breaking Capitol Hill updates from Roy Beck of NumbersUSA.

To watch a Lou Dobbs video on this stealth visa attempt by the Senate, use this link:

http://www.forthecause.us/ftc-video-CNN-StealthVisas_051031.wmv

For a transcript of the show go here:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0510/31/ldt.01.html

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UPDATE: Byrd Amendment on floor this aft to strip 350,000/yr increase in foreign workers

THE BATTLE BEGINS AT 2 P.M. EST

Miraculously -- and mainly because of the massive response from you American citizens by fax, phone and personal visits -- a debate is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. today on whether the Senate should go ahead and increase skilled labor importation by more than 350,000 EACH YEAR.

If you still want to influence how your state's two Senators vote on the Byrd Amendment, please make a phone call. Talking points, phone numbers and context are provided at this link:
http://www.numbersusa.com/phones?ID=4162

The 350,000 increase was going to slip through the Senate without debate in the gigantic Budget Reconciliation bill after having been crafted by a Microsoft lobbyists and a staffer for Sen. Specter (R-PA).

But Sen. Byrd (D-WV) at the last minute stepped forward. He is scheduled to take to the floor at 2:00 to argue for his amendment to strip ALL immigration increases from the bill. You should be able to watch this 30-minute debate on C-SPAN.

(The schedule was just set. That is why we couldn't alert you sooner. Some of you will get this alert after the debate because NumbersUSA doesn't have enough servers to reach 120,000 members in two hours.)

Sen. Byrd's amendment for the American worker is officially co-sponsored by Sen. Sessions (R-AL) and Sen. Durbin (D-IL).

The AFL-CIO has even joined the battle in support of the Byrd Amendment which favors American workers over importing foreign workers.

To fully understand what is at stake, you could do no better than read the eloquent words of Sen. Byrd:

It is painful to watch the Senate work its way through this budget reconciliation process.

Senators are forced to consider, within a mere twenty hours, a massive spending bill that would cut tens of billions of dollars from federal programs that affect millions of Americans. This omnibus reconciliation measure is comprised of eight bills from eight Senate committees. At 817 pages, the Senate, on average, will devote about one-and-a-half minutes to each page of this bill.

Soon, the vote-a-rama will begin, where Senators are forced to vote on amendments with the benefit of only one minute of debate on each side, and, in many cases, without even having seen an amendment before casting their vote. A series of amendments will be considered in this manner, hour after hour, with roll call votes occurring every twenty minutes or so. Unlike budget resolutions, where the legislation being amended is not binding, this bill would become law. These are real policy decisions being made without the benefit of deliberative or thoughtful debate.

It is painful to watch, and it reflects very, very poorly upon the Senate and its members.

It is within this context of limited debate and amendment that a provision has been included in the omnibus bill that would authorize the U.S. Government to issue up to 350,000 additional immigrant visas each year to foreign labor seeking to live and work permanently in the United States.

On pages 810 through 815, separate from the deficit reduction provisions related to L-1 visa fees, are provisions that would raise the annual cap on employment-based visas and exempt the spouses and children of employment-based immigrants from that cap. In addition, those pages include provisions to increase temporary H-1B visas for high-tech workers by 30,000 each year.

These are massive and destabilizing immigration increases, and they are hitching a free ride on this reconciliation bill.

It's bad enough that so many American jobs are moving overseas, and wages and benefits here at home are being curtailed to compete with third-world labor and unfair trade practices. Now, these provisions would make it more likely that working Americans will find themselves in competition with foreign labor for work in their own country. And it is being done through this reconciliation process, where the immigration increase is clouded by budget provisions, and where debate and amendments are severely limited.

We are told that an immense immigration reform debate will take place early next year. Senators are casting themselves as tough on enforcement and wanting to protect American jobs. Well, that pronouncement stands in stark, stark contrast to this effort, under the cover of procedural protections and the guise of deficit reduction, to increase the number of immigrants authorized to work in the United States by an astonishing 350,000 immigrants per year.

These immigration provisions are not necessary for the Judiciary Committee to comply with its reconciliation instructions, nor are they necessary to achieve the spending cuts embraced by the Congressional budget. The House Judiciary Committee reported legislation to increase the L-1 visa fee for multi-national corporations by $1,500, and that savings more than satisfies the budgetbs reconciliation instructions.

I hope that Senators will join me in striking these unrelated immigration increases, and limiting the Judiciary portion of this bill solely to an increase in the L-1 visa fee. The amendment I will send to the desk is identical to the House language, and would raise the L-1 visa fee to $1,500 per application. Again, this amendment simply strikes the unrelated immigration provisions, and would still allow the Senate bill to meet its reconciliation targets.

Mr. President, my amendment has the support of the AFL-CIO, as well as immigration enforcement groups like Numbers USA and the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Also, I ask that Senators Sessions and Durbin be added as cosponsors to my amendment.

I send the amendment to the desk, and ask Senators for their support.

-- Sen. Robert Byrd

NumbersUSA Members, I THANK YOU FOR ALL THE FAXES YOU HAVE SENT AND PHONE CALLS YOU HAVE MADE TO FORCE THIS ISSUE INTO PUBLIC.

-- ROY

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Ariz. Sen. Kyl comes out in favor of adding 350,000 more foreign workers EACH YEAR

DEAR ARIZONANS,

It is with deep regret to inform you that Sen. Kyl (R-AZ) has publicly come out in opposition to the Byrd Amendment.

That means Sen. Kyl is supporting the Microsoft provision that was put in the Budget Reconciliation bill by Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Specter (R-PA) that would increase permanent green cards for skilled foreign workers and their family by up to 350,000 EVERY YEAR.

I am so regretful about this because Sen. Kyl used to be one of the more reliable voices for moderate immigration in the Senate.

But at a time when Arizonans are showing at the polls and in their state legislature that they are more and more intent on reducing overall immigration, Sen. Kyl inexplicably has become a major voice not only for the current immigration flood but for massive increases.

I rush to inform you of this so that you might contact all of Sen. Kyl's offices for an explanation from them and a chance for you to give them an idea of what most Arizona voters want in immigration policy.

I am still hopeful that Sen. Kyl can back away from supporting corporate greed and return to his former position of representing the interests of the every-day Arizonan.

You can get phone numbers and talking points on this issue at:
http://www.numbersusa.com/phones?ID=4162

-- ROY

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