Senate’s H-1B visa proposal goes far beyond Microsoft’s

[Newsjock]

Source: Seattle Times

A bipartisan Senate plan to dramatically expand a visa program for highly skilled foreign workers resembles a proposal unveiled by Microsoft last fall, but well exceeds the company’s own goals.

Led by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, five Republicans and five Democrats rolled out the Immigration Innovation Act on Tuesday to lift the annual quota of H-1B visas for those workers from 65,000 to 115,000. That new cap would grow each year if demand outstrips supply, potentially up to 300,000 visas annually.

... Kim Berry, president of the Programmers Guild, denounced the bill as a product of “backdoor negotiations with industry lobbyists.”

... Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology and an expert on H-1B visas, said he was taken aback by the bill’s scope.

Read more: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020238456_microsoftvisaxml.html

[Enrique]

1. the companies CANNOT AFFORD the labor costs!!!!!!!

our Senate is a gang of CROOKS! Will read the rest of the story now to name the names of these particular crooks.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/03/news/economy/record-corporate-profits/index.html

In the third quarter, corporate earnings were $1.75 trillion, up 18.6% from a year ago, according to last week'si gross domestic product report. That took after-tax profits to their greatest percentage of GDP in history.

But the record profits come at the same time that workers' wages have fallen to their lowest-ever share of GDP.

Here they are:

The bill’s main sponsors also include Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Chris Coons of Delaware. Hatch, Klobuchar and Coons serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over immigration issues.

[pampango]

2. There's an interesting graphic at the site comparing Senate and Obama immigration reform proposals.