Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today the House is considering H.R. 3648, the EAGLE Act, a bipartisan bill that raises the per-country caps on family-sponsored immigrant visas and phases out the per-country caps on employment-based immigrant visas. The bill also includes significant improvements to the H-1B visa program that add protections for U.S. workers. Our immigration system has not been significantly updated since 1990, and it really just follows the basic outlines for the bill that was enacted in 1965. The failure to evolve the immigration system has significantly damaged America's ability to compete in an increasingly global economy. The system is supposed to encourage immigration based on an individual's family ties to the United States or their ability to contribute to our economy. It often falls short. For example, there are backlogs for families seeking reunification. That could be legal residents of the United States trying to get their spouse a legal residence visa. There are backlogs in some countries but none for Western Europe. In addition, in the employment-based context, before a foreign national can apply for a green card--here is the process--their employer has to advertise and demonstrate that there are no U.S. workers who are here who can do the job that they are being offered. This is to make sure that green card applicants are providing services and skills that are not readily available in America.…”