Political Quotes

“I thank my colleagues, who are very generous. I should have stated at the beginning that I very much support the provision that Senator Specter and Senator Kennedy put in the underlying bill. There were similar provisions in Leader Frist's bill, in the Protecting America's Competitive Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. Amendment No. 4071 Mr. President, this underlying bill provides that U.S. advanced STEM degree graduates--that is science, technology, engineering, and math-- get up to 1 year after graduation to be placed with a U.S. company in their field of study. It will make sure they can find a place to work, and then get permanent residency to process their applications. It will allow U.S. companies to keep U.S. graduates to the benefit of U.S. jobs. And it will make our country much more competitive with other countries with the same reform now attracting high-tech workers to our detriment because they go overseas. The amendment I have offered ensures that we do not leave a portion of these students behind. The underlying bill says it applies to students on F-visas. We include those same types of students on J- visas. There are a significant portion of J-visa students studying in my State, pursuing advanced studies in biology, biomedical engineering, and, particularly in my State, genetic engineering and plant biotechnology. They are Ph.Ds.…”