Silicon Valley Banking on Nancy Pelosi for H-1B Increase

Date: Saturday, April 28, 2007 2:53 AM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1682 -- 4/28/2007 >>>>>

A PAC funded by Microsoft is showering money on Democrats in order to lobby
for an H-1B increase. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's share of the booty was raised
from $6,000 in 2004 to $10,000 in 2006.

Microsoft's investment in Pelosi has paid big dividends. In November of
2006 Rep. Pelosi blasted Republicans for their failure to pass the SKIL
bill. In March of 2007 Pelosi applauded the STRIVE Act. It's only a matter
of time before Bill Gates gives Pelosi a big kiss!

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=adqwxt08ML2Q&refer=us

Pelosi Champions Silicon Valley on Patents, Visas, R&D Funds

By Laura Litvan

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Silicon Valley companies are poised to score their
biggest gains in Washington since the glory days of the Internet bubble,
courtesy of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing legislation - - including an
overhaul of patent law, an increase in visas for highly skilled workers and
more federal funds for research and development -- that has long been on
companies' wish lists.

This ``Innovation Agenda'' was developed over the past two years by Pelosi,
67, and other California Democrats in discussions with executives from
Silicon Valley companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. With
the Democrats in control of Congress since January, the industry now stands
to reap its greatest legislative haul since the late 1990s, when companies
such as Microsoft Corp. obtained a liability shield for the ``Y2K bug'' and
enhanced protections for patents and Web addresses.

``A lot of positive things are happening, and we're only in the fourth
month of this Congress,'' said Robert Hoffman, vice president for
government and public affairs at Redwood City, California-based Oracle
Corp., the world's third-largest software maker. ``You have to be impressed
with the determination of Pelosi and others to keep all these elements
moving at once.''

Patent Law

Most of Pelosi's agenda has bipartisan support, and parts of it are
beginning to move in Congress. Last week, Democrats and Republicans in both
chambers introduced legislation that would bring the biggest changes to
patent law in half a century by making it easier for targets of
infringement suits to challenge patents and limiting damages they must pay
if they lose.

This week, the House and Senate approved legislation designed to bolster
math and science education that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and other
technology-industry leaders described last month as crucial to U.S.
competitiveness and innovation. Legislation authorizing more federal
research grants for young scientists also passed the House this week. House
Democrats also will push a measure designed to boost broadband Internet
access and extend a federal research and development tax credit.

An increase in the number of so-called H-1B visas for highly skilled
immigrants, a goal long sought by Microsoft and other companies, may be
harder to get through Congress. Bipartisan legislation in the House would
raise the number of the three-year visas to 115,000, from the current limit
of 65,000, with the possibility of an increase to 180,000.

Immigration Bill

While the measure has bipartisan support, business lobbyists say they are
concerned the measure may get snagged in a battle over a broader proposed
overhaul of immigration laws. The H-1B increase is imbedded in broader
legislation that includes a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship
for undocumented workers that most House Republicans oppose.

``There's no way either party will sever H-1B visas from the other parts of
the immigration debate,'' said William Archey, president of the American
Electronics Association, a Washington-based trade group that represents
companies such as Sun Microsystems Inc. and Intel Corp., both based in
Santa Clara, California.

The Democrats' business-friendly agenda began to take shape in 2005, when
Pelosi organized a private meeting at Stanford University between House
Democrats and technology-industry leaders, including Cisco Chairman John
Chambers -- a longtime Republican Party donor -- and Silicon Valley venture
capitalist John Doerr, who generally backs Democrats. Pelosi later met with
executives in Boston, New York, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and
Seattle.

`Time to Act'

``To meet the challenges of today and to create the jobs and economic
security of tomorrow, the time to act is now,'' Pelosi said in a statement
April 24, when the House passed the increased funding for math and science
education, the first item on the ``Innovation Agenda.''

The pro-business tilt has already yielded benefits for the Democrats, who
increased their share of campaign donations from technology companies in
the 2006 election cycle. Computer hardware, software and Internet-based
companies and their employees donated $1.6 million to the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee for the last elections, almost double the
$833,000 raised in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a
Washington research group.

Republican Donations Fall

At the same time, such contributions to the National Republican
Congressional Committee dropped. Computer and Internet-based companies and
their employees gave $718,000 to the NRCC in the two years leading up to
the 2006 elections, down from $1.1 million during the 2004 election cycle,
the Center for Responsive Politics said.

Pelosi, who represents a district just north of Silicon Valley, has never
been considered a close ally of business. She voted with the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce just 40 percent of the time in 2006, -- though she has in the
past backed some industry goals, including a drive to change stock-option
accounting rules.

``I think she's genuinely committed to the fact that high- tech has helped
to make America a major economic power, but we're losing some of that
edge,'' Archey said.

Pelosi's own re-election war chest has benefited. She raised $122,000 from
the political-action committees of communications and technology companies
in the 2005-2006 election cycle, compared with $55,000 in the 2003-2004
cycle, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.com, a Washington-based company that
tracks donations.

Microsoft Money

The PAC of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, the world's biggest
software company, gave Pelosi $10,000 for 2006, up from $6,000 for the 2004
cycle. The PAC of San Jose, California-based eBay Inc., the world's largest
online auction company, gave $5,000 for her 2006 re-election bid, its first
contribution since a $500 check in 2000.

The Democrats' recent legislative effort could give them an even greater
share of campaign donations from the technology sector in the future, said
Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of the New Democrat Network, which
supports centrist party candidates. ``The tech community is very
non-partisan and very pragmatic in its giving,'' Rosenberg said.

Congressional Republicans are also reaching out to the industry. A group of
Senate Republicans led by Gordon Smith of Oregon presented a technology
agenda that includes some of the Democratic-backed legislation and places a
heavy emphasis on expanding free trade, which many Democrats oppose.

Trade Votes

Representative David Dreier, a California Republican who also has ties to
computer companies, said in an interview that Pelosi's longstanding
opposition to free trade makes her a poor standard-bearer for businesses.
She voted against the Central American Free Trade Agreement in 2005, and,
in 2001 and 2002, against allowing the president to have so-called
fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements that can't be amended by
Congress.

She also was a leading opponent of extending China's normal-trade-relations
status, citing human-rights concerns.

``Her virulent opposition to our global leadership role on trade is very
unfortunate,'' Dreier said. ``The single most important thing to do is make
sure we open up new markets to our goods.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at
llitvan@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 27, 2007 00:12 EDT

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http://kcbs.com/pages/399634.php?contentType=4&contentId=451285

Posted: Friday, 27 April 2007 4:47PM

Silicon Valley Banking on Nancy Pelosi for H-1B Reform

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) -- Silicon Valley companies are hopeful that
Congress will finally approve immigration reform this year.
The high tech industry has been lobbying lawmakers for some time to make it
easier to hire overseas workers using H-1B visas, but little progress has
been seen until now, said Robert Hoffman, corporate vice president at
Oracle in Redwood City.

A bill to raise the cap on H-1B visas and reform green card limits was
reintroduced into the Senate and House last week.

"We have reason to be hopeful," he said while crediting the efforts of
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who represents San Francisco.

"The fact that she is from the Bay Area and she has seen Silicon Valley
literally grow on her watch, I think it's been a really significant
factor," said Hoffman. "She understands our industry. She understands the
challenges that face our industry."

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