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From: Kim Berry
Date: Aug 24, 2007 8:09 AM
Subject: Compete America's Editorial in Star-Telegram

Compete America is writing Editorials again, and this is likely the first
of many. I encourage everyone to write letters to editor. See policy at
bottom of this page. I recommend 125 words, and making a point based on
personal experience:

http://www.star-telegram.com/letters_to_the_editor/

The editorial implies that H-1b workers are engaged in "*original research
and product conception*," but cites no authority. In fact only a small
fraction of H-1b are employed in these roles. Most are developing web
applications or business software, often only after under-bidding qualified
American workers or firms that hire American programmers.

It acknowledges that opponents say that H-1b depresses wages and that H-1b
are taking jobs that Americans can fill, but fails to rebut or address this
concern.

It calls on Congress to:

- Establish policies that allow employee retention in America.
- Establish policies that allow new talent recruitment in America.

We already have such policies: Employers can bring in 85,000++ "new talent"
H-1b per year for six years, for a total of over 500,000 H-1b working in the
U.S. at any one time. This is a substantial percentage in a sector that
employs only about 3.5 million total workers, and has not increased
substantially from seven years ago. Employers can also sponsor 120,000
work-based greencards each year.

Accordingly this editorial is misleading to readers who are unfamiliar with
the issue.

It says that the long-term solution is to "increase the number of Americans
studying the hard sciences." The Star apparently opposes allowing students
to choose the career paths that seem to hold the best opportunities for
them. Computer Science enrollments have been dropping, not because Americans
are getting genetically inferior, but rather because of a perception that
this career path may lead to being laid off when the job goes to India, or
ending with being forced to train your H-1b replacement.

In contrast, business, law, and medicine appear to provide upward career
mobility well after gray hair sets in.

COMPETE AMERICA USING OUTDATED BLS PROJECTIONS

Here CA cites BLS 2002-2012 employment projections. These projections were
made in 2000-2001 before the scope of offshoring was factored in:

http://www.competeamerica.org/economy/c ... index.html

The BLS 2004-2014 projections – still obsolete – made striking reductions in
these projections, as reported on this AFL-CIO website. (Unlike CA website,
this page provides references)

http://www.dpeaflcio.org/programs/facts ... scieng.htm

*2004**-2014 Job Projections Reflect Offshoring of High Tech and IT Jobs*

The latest projections by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) show that due to the increasing exodus of highly skilled
jobs overseas, the vast majority of occupations expected to experience the
largest job growth from 2004-2014 are low-wage service occupations. This is
in sharp contrast to the 2000-2010 projections, which predicted an IT boom:

Here is what Compete America wants – and a requirement to first recruit and
consider qualified Americans is not among them:

http://www.competeamerica.org/advocacy_ ... ation.html

Kim

=========================================

This editorial is from the 8/24 Star-Telegram

http://www.star-telegram.com/225/story/212342.html

Posted on Fri, Aug. 24, 2007
*H-1B for hire*

Star-Telegram

When Congress gets back to work in September amid all the distractions of
the already churning presidential campaign, it needs to take a hard look at
the visa program dealing with highly educated foreign professionals. That's
one of the issues left on the table in the meltdown over general immigration
reform.

H-1B visas are issued to foreign workers employed in the United States in
specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree or its
equivalent. That might be engineering, information technology or medicine --
or even journalism -- among many other occupations.

The number of H-1B visas is capped by federal law, and the organization
Compete America says that the entire complement of 65,000 visas available in
the current fiscal year was exhausted in the first 24 hours they were
available.

*Why you should care*

Global competition is increasingly about knowledge rather than
manufacturing. Original research and product conception and design once were
considered a major U.S. advantage. The American educational system drew the
best minds on the planet to U.S. shores for bachelor and advanced degrees;
many of those student were then hired by domestic businesses and became
permanent U.S. residents and often citizens. Without jobs, those people
return to their home countries and go into competition with the United
States.

The inability to hire foreign workers into the United States led Microsoft
Corp. to announce in July that it was opening a software development center
in British Columbia, Canada, in the fall.

"The Vancouver area is a global gateway with a diverse population, is close
to Microsoft's corporate offices in Redmond and allows the company to
recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in
the U.S.," the company said in an announcement.

*What opponents say*

Holders of H1-B visas take jobs that Americans could fill, and some of the
visas go to workers who do not meet the requirement of being highly skilled.
Critics also say that the presence of foreign workers depresses wages for
Americans in similar jobs.

*What Congress should do*

Compete America -- whose letterhead reads like a Who's Who of U.S. business
and includes Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Motorola, Google and National
Semiconductor -- has a three-point agenda for Congress:

- Establish policies that allow employee retention in America.
- Establish policies that allow new talent recruitment in America.
- Enforce existing immigration laws that sanction bad actors in America.

We agree. At stake is the global competitive position of the United States.
A more long-term solution is to increase the number of American students
studying the hard sciences, but that fix could take most of a generation. In
the meantime, adjusting the H1-B visa policy is a solution.

Other countries have figured out that it is quicker to buy and import talent
while they develop educational systems competitive to those available in U.S.
colleges and universities.

America needs to be paying attention by looking at the issue with cold eyes
rather than emotion.