[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 37 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S2725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein):
  S. 1878. A bill to amend the Immigration Nationality Act to authorize 
a temporary increase in the number of skilled foreign workers admitted 
to the United States, to improve efforts to recruit United States 
workers in lieu of foreign workers, and to enforce labor conditions 
regrading non-immigrant aliens; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


        the high-tech immigration and u.s. worker protection act

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am honored to join Senator Feinstein to 
introduce legislation to grant a temporary increase in immigration 
quotas for high tech jobs, while taking additional steps to ensure that 
more American workers are trained for these jobs.
  For the next decade, high tech industries will create over a million 
new jobs in the United States. Some have called for a permanent 
increase in the quotas, to ensure that companies have the workers they 
need to survive in this highly competitive market.
  The problem is obvious. A permanent increase would permanently deny 
these good jobs to American workers, and that's not acceptable. The 
labor market will adjust in time, as it always does, as more and more 
Americans enter this field. It would be a mistake to tilt the balance 
unfairly against them.
  Our immigration laws should not undercut the ability of young 
Americans, downsized defense workers, and others to enter this dynamic 
field.
  This week, the General Accounting Office sent a clear warning on this 
issue, saying that the job market studies used by the industry are 
flawed, and do not prove that significant worker shortage exists.
  Our legislation will accomplish three goals:
  First, it provides a temporary increase in immigration quotas from 
65,000 to 90,000 visas a year for the next three years. This increase 
will enable U.S. companies to hire the workers they need now.
  Second, we invest in training U.S. workers. Americans want these 
jobs, and they deserve the training needed to get them. Our bill 
proposes a modest $250 application fee for each foreign worker sought 
under the immigration quota. The fee will raise approximately $100 
million each year over the next three years to fund training 
opportunities for Americans.
  Third, our bill strengthens the enforcement of the immigration laws. 
It gives the Labor Department greater authority and resources to ensure 
that employers pay the proper wage and meet other standards in hiring 
foreign workers. We specifically make it illegal for employers to lay 
off American workers and hire foreign workers to replace them. In other 
words, employers should hire at home first in obtaining new workers, 
before importing them from abroad.
  We believe these steps meet the immediate needs of this important 
industry, while preserving the priority we own our own workers, and we 
urge Congress to enact them.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that additional material be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   Kennedy-Feinstein High-Tech Immigration and United States Worker 
                             Protection Act

       Temporarily increases 65,000-visa immigration quota of 
     temporary foreign professional and skilled workers (``H-1B 
     visas'').
       FY 98-2000: 90,000 visas.
       After FY2000, return to 65,000 visas annually.
       Creates $100 million training program funded through $250 
     employer user fee.
       $90 million for loans to workers to obtain training.
       $10 million to local ``regional skills alliances'' to 
     identify local labor market needs and develop strategies.
       Enhances Accountability and Program Integrity.
       Authority to investigate: Provides Labor Department 
     independent ability to enforce labor laws against those who 
     break the law instead of waiting for a complaint. Provides $5 
     million for this purpose.
       Requires attestation that companies will not lay off 
     American workers: Bars employers from laying off U.S. workers 
     and bringing in replacement foreign workers.
       Requires attestation that companies will recruit at home 
     first: Requires local recruitment efforts before employers 
     can obtain foreign workers under the program.
       Expedited process: Retains requirement that Labor 
     Department process employer applications within 7 days to 
     ensure that new requirements pose no additional delay.

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