Bush urges US Congress to lift H-1B visa limit

PTI ^ | February 03, 2006 | Sridhar Krishnaswami

[Tyche]

Making a strong pitch for America to stay competitive in the face of emerging economies such as India and China, President George W Bush has urged the Congress to raise the number of H-1B visas that allow companies to hire foreign workers for scientific and high tech jobs.

"Congress needs to understand that nations like India, China, Japan, Korea and Canada all offer tax incentives that are permanent. In other words, we live in a competitive world. We want to be the leader in this world," Bush said in a speech in Minnesota on Thursday.

To fill vacant jobs in the US, Bush urged the Congress to lift current limit on H-1B visas that allow foreign workers to get jobs in the United States. The Congress in 2005 capped at 65,000 the number of H-1B visas, a third of the 195,000 allowed during the technology boom.

"I think it's a mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America, to limit their number. So I call upon Congress to be realistic and reasonable and raise that cap," Bush said, but did not say by how much he wanted the limit lifted.

He said that one part of the agenda to stay competitive was to study math and science, a theme he touched on in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday.

"It's one thing to research, but if you don't have somebody in that lab, well… And so I got some ideas for the Congress to consider. The first is to emphasize math and science early, and to make sure that the courses are rigorous enough that our children can compete globally," Bush said in a speech at the 3M Corporation.

He said there are more high-tech jobs in America today than people available to fill them. "So what do we do about that? And the reason it's important -- and the American citizen has got to understand it's important -- is if we don't do something about how to fill those high-tech jobs here, they'll go somewhere else where somebody can do the job."

"There are some who say, we can't worry about competition. It doesn't matter, it's here. It's a real aspect of the world in which we live," he said.

"And so one way to deal with this problem, and probably the most effective way, is to recognize that there's a lot of bright engineers and chemists and physicists from other lands that are either educated here, or received an education elsewhere but want to work here. And they come here under a programme called H1B visas," Bush said.

He said America should not fear competition. "It's important for us not to lose our confidence in changing times. It's important for us not to fear competition but welcome it."

Senior administration officials noted that the number of H-1B visas has fallen to 65,000 which in their estimation was 'too low' and that it was imperative 'to bump that up.'

". . . some of reports have called for increases of 10,000; others between 20,000 and 40,000. So there is a number of options on the table to be considered. But we'll work with Congress on that," said Claude Allen, assistant to the President for domestic policy.

[hedgetrimmer]

When a worker is paid it is in return for something - his work - which he does for the benefit of others

"free traders" don't want something pesky like citizenship to interfere with their economic theories. Everybody is a "worker" or "consumer". There are no nations, only "trade areas". There is no love for an archaic old piece of paper called the US Constitution, and no obligation to perpetuate the American way.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

RE: "Isn't he [President Bush] really saying that our engineers aren't good enough?"

We all know what happend on the Moon about ten years after Sputnik.

Well, I remember Sputnik.

I am sure glad Eisenhower was president and not George W. Bush.

We'd have imported Russian engineers and scientists to "catch up."

We'd have been told by Washington that the Russians are geniuses and we're not.

We'll I think it took three months to "catch up."

We'd have done it before Sputnik but politics (separate space from the military) had hampered space work -- meanwhile the Army had the vehicles that could have done it long before Sputnik. When push came to shove the Army did it.

I'm sick of hearing about how they are geniuses over there and we're not.

JasonC, where's the quantifiable proof? Anecdotal experiences are nice but where's the proof?

When I see it implied that they're geniuses and we're not I usually post links to India press articles criticizing higher education in India, too geared toward passing tests and not enough innovative thinking.

Then there's the Education Testing Service which suspended the Computer Science GRE in China and India a couple years ago due to widespread cheating.

Then there's my other memories of the Sputnik days (pre-PC) where annually on TV network news there were films of riots in India's universities because cheating on finals was not going to be allowed anymore -- year after year.

[JasonC]

I was born in 1966. That post was about my father, to disprove the "trust fund" nonsense.

[hedgetrimmer]

Citizens have rights. Remittances are foreign aid. Citizens rights to representation in this matter have been abrogated.

[GregoryFul]

US wages are higher than they have ever been

Perhaps in $'s. But in terms of purchasing power, I don't think so. 30 years ago I was earning more in real terms (income vs. housing prices, auto prices, food prices, etc) than I am now - but I'm much more skillful and productive than I was then. While corporate executives' income has gone up 100 fold in 30 years, engineers' income has gone up by maybe a factor of 4 in fiat dollar terms, and has dropped in real dollar terms. I can hardly afford the house I bought 26 years ago.

[JasonC]

I respond to those that address me.

In case you haven't been paying attention, a half a dozen people here are trying to pretend nobody can get a job in America or if they do it is checkout at Home Depot. Which is gloom and doomer nonsense from start to finish.

[Reily]

These are the issues that a democrat will demagogue his way both into the White House & back into control of Congress. Of course after doing this they will not only 'socialize' the economy to 'protect' the American worker they will 'socialize' the culture to remove his 'prejudices' !
I consider my self pretty much a free marketeer. I don't believe the State can do economic planning & direction and accomplish anything more then the permanent beggaring of society.
However having said that our long term national safety is heavily dependent on science & technology. If we are going to up the ceilings for H-1B visas then we must introduce effective incentives for US students to go into math & science( & engineering) & for US companies to hire them.
I don't know if treating such as science,math & engineering talent as a form of 'intellectual products' and putting a customs duty on it is the solution. I do know that being too 'protective' will produce a trashy product for example 1970 cars !
Before anything dramatic is done to the H-1B visas education reforms must be in place such as destroying the NEA, forcing colleges & universities to put 'rigor' back into their curriculum. (First step there would be to force schools to drop the pseudo-degrees & programs !)
I guess I haven't really offered a solution, because I still don't know what the real state of the problem is.
I do know from personal experience US grad schools in science, math & engineering are 75% foreign. It was that way when I was in grad school in the 1980s. I have gone back & recruited at schools and talked to both undergraduates & graduate students. The answer I get back from under-grads (US citizens) as to why they aren't going to grad school is they have a mountain of school debt to pay off ! Now that my 17 yr old daughter is looking at colleges that has really hit home ! Lets take a worst case scenario of a student attending a top-notch private college, I have a hard time understanding how a school can justify putting a student $160000 in debt at then end of his/her 4 yrs. Talk about displaying social irresponsibility ! The most horrible capitalist robber baron doesn't do that !

[1rudeboy]

H-1B visas = corporate spy's [sic]

I went home with a waitress,
The way I always do.
How was I to know,
She was with the Russians too.
--Warren Zevon

Seriously, that nurse that x-rayed my busted ankle was with the Chicoms? LOL

[maui_hawaii]

Bring it to the other thread and we can post about it there.

I pinged you already.

[Itzlzha]

You wrote: "... while fully qualified Americans are looking for those jobs."

Bush said: "... the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America.
Something's amiss.

Allow me to fill in what you are missing...

See, the jobs are there, but Businesses do not want to pay the prevailing wage here.

So they artificially deflate the salary...then when none but the stupidest or most desperate take the reduced salary, they lobby Gub'Mint to allow for Foreign workers, with the scam claim that the jobs are unfilled, and "Americans Won't Do" them.

The sentence is never finished..."Americans Won't Do" them...for the salary we artificially created to cut our margins!

Think of it this way...whatever job you do now...what if your boss told you you can only keep your job if you will do it for 20% of what you make now...would you keep it? Would there be a line of American workers outside waiting to take it at 20%?

Or would it be outsourced overseas if possible, otherwise an H-1B visa could be granted to allow someone from another Country (where your 20% salary is a fortune) to come here and take the job. Or, maybe an Illegal Infiltrator gets it...which either takes that job off the books entirely (under the table), or another ID.Soc.Sec. scam is born!

Kinda puts a new spin on "the American Dream", now don't it?

That is why Americans are being made Third-Class Citizens in our own Country...behind the Ruling Eeee-lites, and the Immigrant class...both legal and ILLEGAL!

[hedgetrimmer]

Then pressure is applied by these corporations on our elected officials to make the needed changes.

The American citizens right to elected representation is effectively abrogated in this scenario.

[JasonC]

Pure slander, you won't find an ounce of it anywhere in anything I've ever written.

But I am not a collectivist and I don't think I own other people's property. They can do what they like with their property and doing so neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. I grudge no man his living and covet nobody else's goods. And that to me is universal morality. Our country is great in significant part because we have habitually conformed to it more than most of the world has. Which has also made us rich.

[maui_hawaii]

In case you haven't been paying attention, a half a dozen people here are trying to pretend nobody can get a job in America or if they do it is checkout at Home Depot.

I don't think you are accurate. You are over generalizing and not paying attention yourself to the point most people are making.

True some are way on one end of the spectrum, but you are just as equally on the other end.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

[nwrep]

With the social liberalism of GW

Wow, dude, that would be a stunning revelation to about 270 million Americans. Just try telling that to NOW and NARAL and other left wing groups. Try explaining that to those who applaud GW for the PBA ban, appointing pro-life, pro-gun judges, reversing the Mexico-city abortion policy, cutting taxes, pushing for Marriage Amendment, etc.

[JasonC]

The salary they artificially created to cut their margins is up 64% in the last 16 years. Some cut. Margins, meanwhile, are fine. Because workers earn their wages. And once again, we discover that under every argument against economic freedom lies the exploitation theory of Karl Marx.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

The United States government isn't supposed to be the World's Greates Employment Office!

Is that so? Then why are they busy setting up free trade agreements that are helping the Indians and Chinese find jobs? Why is it everytime they push for yet more guest worker programs they tell us it's to meet the economic needs of enmployers?

For a government that isn't supposed to be the "World's Greates Employment Office!" they're putting on one heck of a show, at least when it comes to finding cheap labor for large corporations.

[dalereed]

Bush knows we can't have a One World socialist government until the US standard of living is lowered to the rest of the world.

Eliminate foreign worker permits!

[JasonC]

I'm fine here. And I don't do unsolicited pings, incidentally.

[JasonC]

What's foreign aid about it? Foreign aid is when taxpayer money is used to support a foreign government or people abroad directly.

If you want to convince the Congress to institute foreign exchange controls and prevent any money from ever leaving the country, and likewise to regulate possession of foreign exchange within the US (since otherwise it is easy to evade the previous), you are free to lobby for it. No rights lost at all. I won't support it because they uniformly fail in practice as well as being economically inefficient and unjust, but you have full political freedom to campaign for them. That you haven't, and haven't won such an argument, it not any reduction in your rights. It is just not winning a political argument.

[B4Ranch]

"Median household income fell for a record fifth straight year in 2004 — the last data available. Yet, aided by recent tax-cuts, consumer spending on non-tradeable goods and services has kept GDP growth at seemingly healthy levels. But this spending comes from the total elimination of current household savings and the accumulation of unprecedented debt. Households spent more than their current incomes in 2005 for the first time since 1933. Indeed, in the fall of 2005, for the first time since 1934, the nation as a whole spent more than it earned as, along with household dis-savings, the government deficit was larger than all business savings."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1570397/posts?page=21#21