Posted on 02/04/2006 4:38:34 AM PST by 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.
Are you kidding me.
You would need two thirds of congress to overide a veto over Kerry.
Kerry is for amnesty of all illegals. The dems are united for amnesty for illegals.
You would need 290 votes in congress to have overidden Kerry.
Kerry would never let any conservative legislation through. He would have pocket vetoed it.
Bush is for the border security bill that the house just passed. Kerry is against it like all the dems are.
This might help you to see where Bush is coming from:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48656
Thanks for handing this nation to a san francisco liberal in nancy pelosi.
Thanks to voters like you that voted for perot we got ruth bader ginsberg and stephen breyer on the supreme court.
The dems were hammering alito because he would deport illegals at hearings instead of keeping them here.
If you want nancy pelosi running this country you are no conservative.
People with 140 IQ are minuscule part of every population (not speaking about "170 IQ"). Also very high IQ does not correspond with very high productivity (I knew extremely bright engineers who preferred to spend their time on talking, playing games or reading books etc ...)
Realpolitik
Perception is 100%.
Bush is president. From his mouth to your ears.
That border fence and the tougher policing will happen when pigs fly. It's just more playin' to the populace and a base that still believes.
Gop is not taking this route.
The gop house blocked these visas last year.
CAN WE STOP COMPARING BUSH TO THE WHOLE GOP. YOU ARE GOING TO THROW OUT GOOD CONGRESSMEN LIKE MIKE PENCE AND JEFF FLAKE BY DOING THAT.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE ARE FOR GOING AFTER ILLEGALS.
BUSH ISN'T RUNNING AGAIN. STOP USING WHAT HE SAYS FOR THE WHOLE PARTY.
THE HOUSE JUST PASSED A STRONG BORDER BILL. THE DEMS VOTED AGAINST IT. THAT BILL WILL PASS THIS YEAR. THE GOP IN THE HOUSE WILL CONTINUE TO BLOCK VISAS. BUT THEY WON'T GET ANY CREDIT ON THIS BOARD BECAUSE THE UNIVERSE REVOLVES AROUND BUSH.
BUSH IS A LAME DUCK CAN WE FINALLY STOP USING HIS WORDS TO TARNISH THE WHOLE GOP PARTY.
Tax cuts would have been an issue, though.
I want conservatives running this country, not a bunch of Rockefeller Republican like Jorge and the bunch we have in congress.
WHO DO YOU THINK RUNS THE GOP?
ELVES?
The body either goes along with the program or gets NO MONEY.
Once again....what you SEE done in DC is not what is really occurring.
He's doing great things in Iraq, and then he pulls something like this.
Sadly, this (and illegal immigration from Mexico) is what is going to hurt the Republicans in 2008.
Not that I think the Democrats will do any better, just that a certain amount of people who would have voted Republican but are upset over being unemployed and/or illegal immigration will simply stay home on election day.
I am all for border security. But these border security voters love to go after republicans and not democrats.
Take Virginia for example. You had a candidate in Kilgore who was very anti illegals who the gop base hated. But they praised Kaine who bashed the minutemen all the time. On election day the gop base didn't show up.
If the border issue voters want to be heard then show up for election day.
Noooooooooo......
I'm here in Virginia and Kilgore was the worst pick that the GOP could have chosen. He was a lame, unattractive, poor candidate who shot himself in the foot every time he opened his mouth.
You need 60 votes to be in control of the senate.
The biggest lie out there is that republicans are in control of congress.
You can't pass any legislation without at least 5 democrats in the senate. Harry Reid decides what passes and what doesn't pass.
The republicans have a minority govt like stephen harper has in canada. You need 60 votes in the senate to have a majority govt.
"...They are in fact a poster child for the failure of mercantilism."
You mean like China? China is THE posterchild for mercantilism.
Exactly.
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