September 20, 1999 The Honorable Spencer Abraham
Dear Representative Abercombie: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – United States of America urges you to oppose legislation that will increase the numbers of foreign professionals permitted to work temporarily in the United States under the existing H-1B (specialty occupation) visa program or under a recently proposed T (special technical occupation) visa program. It’s Too Soon for Another Increase in Temporary Admissions! Less than a year has passed since Congress nearly doubled the annual ceiling on H-1B visas from 65,000 last year to 115,000 in 1999 and 2000. IEEE-USA and 26 other national engineering societies contend that it is premature for Congress to consider another increase in H-1B admissions until it has time to review the results of the high tech labor market studies that were mandated in last year’s H-1B legislation – studies that won’t be completed until next October. There’s No Data to Support Employers’ Claims of an IT Worker Shortage!! Impartial experts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Computing Research Association and the Congressional Research Service, have concluded that empirical evidence is insufficient to support industry claims of an information technology worker shortage of crisis proportions. The Employment-based Admissions Programs Should be Repaired Rather than Expanded!!! The Department of Labor’s own Inspector General said in 1996 that the H-1B program and other employment-based admissions programs are easily manipulated and do not safeguard U.S. workers’ jobs and wages as Congress originally intended. To date little has been done to correct the deficiencies identified in the Inspector General’s report. America’s national interests will be better served by permanent admissions reforms that are pro-immigrant, pro-family and market driven than by continuing reliance on guest-worker programs that can and do result in the displacement of qualified U.S. workers and artificially depressed wages for many foreign nationals who are eager to enter or remain in the United States. Sincerely, Paul J. Kostek (Note:
This letter was sent to all The Institute of Electrical and Electronics
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