Political Quotes

“I rise to support S. 2045, the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000. In the summer of 1999, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held hearings to investigate the workforce shortage affecting America's high-tech industry. The high-tech industry's explosion in the U.S. has created over 1 million jobs since 1993 and has produced an industry unemployment rate of 1.4 percent. As a result, our nation's economy has soared and the American people are enjoying the highest standard of living in history. However, the United States' computer and information technology industry does not have access to growing numbers of highly skilled personnel. Lack of skilled workers threatens our nation's ability to maintain robust economic growth and expanding opportunities. The H-1B visa program allows foreign professionals to enter and work 'temporarily' in the U.S. There are currently over 364,000 unfilled positions in the high-tech industry. In Northern Virginia alone, there are 28,000 openings. The Department of Labor projects that this deficit will increase by 1 million workers in the next decade. At the present time, the annual limit for granting H-1B visas is 115,000, which was reached in March, 2000. America needs to sustain its position as the world leader in the information technology industry.”