Thread: NEWS FROM SEN. CORNYN'S OFFICE

Hi Georgia Peach,

The lunatic, subversive, anti-American, pro-Hillary, pro-McCain, pro-illegal, morally bankrupt, pro-MS13, ethically corrupt, sociopathic bad guys are flooding the senate with phone calls and faxes at http://www.immigrationvoice.com/

how can I word this more succinct

The Tata staff is flooding the senate with phone calls and faxes at http://www.immigrationvoice.com/

getting straight to the point...

Microsoft and The Council on Foreign Relations have ordered John Cornyn to double the H-1B cap. Phone calls and faxes from real Americans are annoying his staff.

The Republican Part of Texas needs to get off their complacent asses and put some real leaders up for election. People that will represent the voters and are not total sell outs to big business. More people like Michael Burgess.

The career politicians have to go!

I did not receive this letter but it was in response to the Skil Bill.

Thank you for contacting me about the Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership Act of 2006 (S. 2961). I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.

Innovation is crucial to our growing economy. By investing in science and technology, we encourage innovation, thus energizing our economy. Groundbreaking ideas generated by innovation pay great dividends and improve the lives of Americans.

As the Senate continues its immigration debate, it is important to recognize that any comprehensive approach to reform will address the need for America to remain competitive in a global economy. The United States currently does not produce enough engineers to encourage healthy levels of innovation. China graduates four times as many engineers as the U.S., and within a few years approximately 90 percent of all scientists and engineers in the world will be living and working in Asia. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that between 2002 and 2012 there will be 2 million job openings in the U.S. in the fields of computer science, mathematics, engineering and the physical sciences. For the time being, foreign students are filling the United States' unmet need in these critical areas. But our current immigration policy – not our economy – forces them to return home because the U.S. does not offer enough high-tech work visas for them to continue to work in the United States and to encourage the innovation vital to economic growth.

Sound policy starts with retaining the foreign students who are educated here in the United States. S. 2961 would retain U.S.-educated students and use a market-based approach to promote competitiveness. This bill exempts from the annual H-1B cap any professional who has earned an advanced degree from an accredited U.S. university. It also exempts from the annual green card cap any U.S.-educated worker with an advanced degree. The bill raises the H-1B (specialty occupation) cap and creates a flexible system that adjusts with the market, preserving unused visas for the following year and treating immigrant visas (i.e. green card) the same way.

I introduced S. 2961 on May 2, 2006, and it was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee—of which I am a member—for further consideration. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent the interests of Texans in the United States, and you may be certain that I will keep your views in mind as I discuss S. 2961 and other relevant legislation with my Senate colleagues. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/editorial/16193730.htm

"Gov. Rick Perry is wise enough to realize that. He told the Texas Border Coalition on Wednesday that building a wall to separate the United States from Mexico is a 'preposterous idea'."

Maybe some others new to this topic will be further helped as I have been from reading all of your replies. Thank you. I came across this also in reading up on the H1B Visas.

News Release


Reports, Studies Shatter Myth that H-1B Visa Holders
are Paid Same Wages as U.S. Citizens

WASHINGTON (6 September 2006) — U.S. industry spokespeople say repeatedly that H-1B visa holders are paid the same wages as similarly qualified American citizens. Numerous studies and reports, however, have found this to be untrue.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Vice President Phiroz Vandrevala even admitted that his company enjoys a competitive advantage because of its extensive use of foreign workers in the United States on H-1B and L-1 visas.

"Our wage per employee is 20-25 percent lesser than US wage for a similar employee," Vandrevala said. "Typically, for a TCS employee with five years experience, the annual cost to the company is $60,000-70,000, while a local American employee might cost $80,000-100,000. This (labour arbitrage) is a fact of doing work onsite. It's a fact that Indian IT companies have an advantage here and there's nothing wrong in that. … The issue is that of getting workers in the U.S. on wages far lower than local wage rate." ("U.S. visas are not a TCS-specific issue," Businessworld (India) magazine, June 2003)

IEEE-USA President Ralph W. Wyndrum, Jr. said proposals now before Congress to raise the H-1B visa cap should be scrapped until significant workforce protections for U.S. and H-1B employees are instituted.

"Not paying market wages to H-1B holders is unfair to both foreign and domestic high-tech workers," Wyndrum said. "H-1B employees are being taken advantage of, and some U.S. workers' salaries are likely suppressed by the influx of thousands of additional job competitors. The wage problem is one symptom of how deeply flawed the H-1B program is."

Findings showing H-1B holders earning less than the market wages paid to U.S. technology workers include:

"Immigrant engineers with H-1B visas may be earning up to 23 percent less on average than American engineers with similar jobs, according to documents filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Salary data from Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) lends credence to arguments that lower compensation paid to H-1B workers suppresses the wages of other electronics professionals." — EE Times (June 2006), which calculated average H-1B salaries from LCAs and compared them to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment Statistics survey of employers. See www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle ... =189401976.

"In spite of the requirement that H-1B workers be paid the prevailing wage, H-1B workers earn significantly less than their American counterparts. On average, applications for H-1B workers in computer occupations were for wages $13,000 less than Americans in the same occupation and state."

"Applications for 47 percent of H-1B computer programming workers were for wages below even the prevailing wage claimed by their employers." — Center for Immigration Studies report (Dec. 2005). See www.cis.org/articles/2005/back1305.html (under Key Findings).

"Some [H-1B] employers said that they hired H-1B workers in part because these workers would often accept lower salaries than similarly qualified U.S. workers; however, these employers said they never paid H-1B workers less than the required wage." Government Accountability Office report (September 2003). See www.gao.gov/new.items/d03883.pdf (p. 4).
According to IEEE-USA Vice President Ron Hira, the concept of "prevailing wages" is worthless as a safeguard for U.S. and H-1B workers.

"Proponents of the H-1B program say that by law H-1B workers must receive prevailing wages, but this is a legal façade so full of loopholes that it is frequently gamed by employers to pay below-market wages," Hira said. "This is another myth of the H-1B program, that prevailing wages are the same as market wages."

A review of the DOL's LCA database for FY 2005 shows some of the well-below-market wages employers have been certified to pay H-1B workers. For example, Teja Technologies received permission to pay a software engineer $10,900. Infosys Technologies was authorized to pay a programmer analyst $20,030. TCS was certified to pay a computer programmer $20,571, and Syntel, Inc., was permitted to pay a computer programmer $31,304.

Under law, U.S. employers have three options for determining an H-1B employee's prevailing wage. According to the DOL, an employer can request a "prevailing wage determination from the appropriate State Workforce Agency;" use a "survey conducted by an independent authoritative source;" or use "another legitimate source of information."

Despite the law's intent, Hira enumerated a few ways companies circumvent the law's prevailing wage requirements when hiring H-1B workers:

By selecting a survey source with the lowest salaries

By misclassifying an experienced worker as entry level

By giving the person a lower-paying job title than one reflective of the work to be performed

By citing wages for a low-cost area of the country, then sending an employee to a higher-cost area
One reason it is so easy for employers to underpay H-1B holders is because they know how to exploit the loopholes and have almost no chance of ever being investigated. Even if they were investigated, the loopholes are so large most of the employers would likely be found following the letter of the law. First, DOL's automated review of LCAs is limited to looking for missing information or obvious inaccuracies; no human looks at the applications. Second, if a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review finds that an H-1B worker's income on the W-2 form is less than the wage on the original LCA, DHS does not have a way to report the discrepancy to DOL.

"It's a self-policing system that is never actually checked," Hira said. "The law itself is written in a way to invite exploitation. It should be no surprise that firms take advantage of the loopholes."

IEEE-USA advances the public good and promotes the careers and public policy interests of more than 220,000 engineers, scientists and allied professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. IEEE-USA is part of the IEEE, the world's largest technical professional society with 360,000 members in 150 countries. For more information, go to www.ieeeusa.org.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++
Contact: Chris McManes
IEEE-USA Senior Public Relations Coordinator
Phone: + 1 202 530-8356
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++

http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/r ... 090606.asp



Psalm 91

Hi Dixie,

Originally Posted by Dixie

I did not receive this letter but it was in response to the Skil Bill.

That goes to show that John Cornyn is thumbing his nose at his constituents. It goes to show that he represents the Council on Foreign Relations, and India to our detriment.

John Cornyn's vomiting that sing-song propaganda on his constituents, and insulting our intelligence. Damn lobbyists have him well brainwashed.

What do you think, Dixie? Is it time for the "T" word?

Dixie, I forgot to ask, did the damn thing come to a vote today or what?

Originally Posted by Dixie

The Republican Part of Texas needs to get off their complacent asses and put some real leaders up for election. People that will represent the voters and are not total sell outs to big business. More people like Michael Burgess.

The career politicians have to go!

I did not receive this letter but it was in response to the Skil Bill.

Thank you for contacting me about the Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership Act of 2006 (S. 2961). I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.

Innovation is crucial to our growing economy. By investing in science and technology, we encourage innovation, thus energizing our economy. Groundbreaking ideas generated by innovation pay great dividends and improve the lives of Americans.

As the Senate continues its immigration debate, it is important to recognize that any comprehensive approach to reform will address the need for America to remain competitive in a global economy. The United States currently does not produce enough engineers to encourage healthy levels of innovation. China graduates four times as many engineers as the U.S., and within a few years approximately 90 percent of all scientists and engineers in the world will be living and working in Asia. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that between 2002 and 2012 there will be 2 million job openings in the U.S. in the fields of computer science, mathematics, engineering and the physical sciences. For the time being, foreign students are filling the United States' unmet need in these critical areas. But our current immigration policy – not our economy – forces them to return home because the U.S. does not offer enough high-tech work visas for them to continue to work in the United States and to encourage the innovation vital to economic growth.

Sound policy starts with retaining the foreign students who are educated here in the United States. S. 2961 would retain U.S.-educated students and use a market-based approach to promote competitiveness. This bill exempts from the annual H-1B cap any professional who has earned an advanced degree from an accredited U.S. university. It also exempts from the annual green card cap any U.S.-educated worker with an advanced degree. The bill raises the H-1B (specialty occupation) cap and creates a flexible system that adjusts with the market, preserving unused visas for the following year and treating immigrant visas (i.e. green card) the same way.

I introduced S. 2961 on May 2, 2006, and it was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee—of which I am a member—for further consideration. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent the interests of Texans in the United States, and you may be certain that I will keep your views in mind as I discuss S. 2961 and other relevant legislation with my Senate colleagues. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/editorial/16193730.htm

"Gov. Rick Perry is wise enough to realize that. He told the Texas Border Coalition on Wednesday that building a wall to separate the United States from Mexico is a 'preposterous idea'."

I received the same response, so I sent this follow-up:

Dear Sen. Cornyn. You have apparently been misinformed. I do business in China regularly and am forced to dispute your claim that China produces four times as many engineers as the US on several counts.

First off, China has approximately four times the number of citizens as does the US, meaning that it SHOULD produce four times as many graduates for every degreed profession. The problem is that the Chinese do not apply the term “engineer” in the same way that we do. Air conditioner repairmen, for example, are “degreed engineers” in China. Include all the air conditioner repairmen and similar professionals in the US who are equivalent to these Chinese “engineers” and the US produces as many engineers as does a country four times as populous.

But of greater concern than raw numbers is the issue of need. Does the US have a shortage of engineers? Mr. Cornyn, I work in an electronic and mechanical engineer intensive industry, and I can tell you firsthand that there is no shortage of engineers. If needed, I can easily procure all the engineering talent I need from any of a number of temp agencies that now specialize in placing degreed professionals. That’s right, there is such an abundance of readily available engineers that new graduates are having to hire out through temp agencies.

THAT, Senator Cornyn, is the reality on the ground. But as with other issues related to immigration, you appear to have no concept of what the reality on the ground is or what your constituents’ wishes are. For this reason, if you persist in this giveaway of American jobs and with your guest worker/pathway to citizenship nonsense for the other aliens who are illegally flooding this country, I and others will do everything in our power to oust and replace you with an honest and patriotic American in the next primary election.

Sincerely,

xxxxx xxxxx

Hi Crockett's Ghost,

Awesome rebuttal.

Wonder how much the lobbyists are paying John Cornyn, and Kay Baily H....

I told his aid on the phone that the so-called "skil" bill will be well remembered on election day, and that I'm an American, a voter, and a taxpayer who talks to friends and neighbors. I asked him to ask the Senator to make up his mind which country he represents - USA or India.

John Cornyn needs to grow up or resign. Damn, what a disgrace.

The United States currently does not produce enough engineers to encourage healthy levels of innovation. China graduates four times as many engineers as the U.S., and within a few years approximately 90 percent of all scientists and engineers in the world will be living and working in Asia.

And who exactly is to blame for this, we are through our insatiable demand for cheap goods, including electronics, and cheap labor! Do you folk have any idea how much money communist China takes in from the United States annually? Basically we're funding the education of those so-called engineers and giving them a reason to produce more. The only way to right our fast sinking ship is to cancel any trade agreements made with China and to prevent American businesses and corporations from outsourcing jobs to China (Cisco comes to mind). Trust me, China has no interest in being our friends, but they are interested in taking advantage of our willingness to fund their armies and technological advances. Ironically, we are contributing to the advancement of a country that will eventually replace us as the world super power.

Hmmm..........I guess when the nukes start flying and the largest army in the world starts advancing on the United States and our allies, we'll then be able to say we made them what they are. When that day comes, we'll have something to really be proud of, won't we?

If we have a problem with producing the folks we need for our job market - we need to fix the problem in house!

Call me old fashioned, but I still haven't figured out why we're doing business with a communist country!

Just in case anyone missed it - WE ARE HELPING TO BUILD THE NEXT WORLD SUPER POWER (our replacement)! I don't know about the rest of you, but that just doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy, especially when you consider what a communist super power could mean to our national security.

Remember, corporate America greed is the link that will be our demise. Our U.S. Congress knows what is going on, but they are dependent on America's corporations and businesses. Unfortunately, it costs an awful lot of green to run for and/or hold a seat in the U.S. Congress! Moreover, individual states and districts rely on the jobs and money large corporations and businesses bring. It doesn't take a genuis to figure out who is controlling the strings on our puppets sitting on Capitol Hill!

The only way we can be triumphant over corporate America's influence is through sheer numbers. Someone we must convince our representatives that we control their destiny (and job), not corporate America. In order to do this, we must rally the people behind our cause. They'll never fear us if they don't know we exist!

CrocketsGhost wrote:

Dear Sen. Cornyn. You have apparently been misinformed. I do business in China regularly and am forced to dispute your claim that China produces four times as many engineers as the US on several counts.

First off, China has approximately four times the number of citizens as does the US, meaning that it SHOULD produce four times as many graduates for every degreed profession. The problem is that the Chinese do not apply the term “engineer” in the same way that we do. Air conditioner repairmen, for example, are “degreed engineers” in China. Include all the air conditioner repairmen and similar professionals in the US who are equivalent to these Chinese “engineers” and the US produces as many engineers as does a country four times as populous.

But of greater concern than raw numbers is the issue of need. Does the US have a shortage of engineers? Mr. Cornyn, I work in an electronic and mechanical engineer intensive industry, and I can tell you firsthand that there is no shortage of engineers. If needed, I can easily procure all the engineering talent I need from any of a number of temp agencies that now specialize in placing degreed professionals. That’s right, there is such an abundance of readily available engineers that new graduates are having to hire out through temp agencies.

THAT, Senator Cornyn, is the reality on the ground. But as with other issues related to immigration, you appear to have no concept of what the reality on the ground is or what your constituents’ wishes are. For this reason, if you persist in this giveaway of American jobs and with your guest worker/pathway to citizenship nonsense for the other aliens who are illegally flooding this country, I and others will do everything in our power to oust and replace you with an honest and patriotic American in the next primary election.

Sincerely,

xxxxx xxxxx

Nice job, CrocketsGhost. Now if we could only get the clown to listen!

Great letter Crocket. I also wrote a scathing letter to Cornyn and the other top Senate brass.