[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 170 (Monday, November 5, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13763-S13765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, earlier this year, the Senate tried to 
solve the very complex and emotional issue

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of immigration reform. The immigration bill we considered included 
border security, interior enforcement, and amnesty.
  It also included many needed reforms to our legal immigration 
process. I said throughout the debate that Congress needs a long-term 
solution to the immigration issue. We cannot pass a bandaid approach 
that includes a path to citizenship for law breakers; rather, Congress 
needs to improve our legal immigration channels.
  I firmly believe companies want to hire legal workers, and people 
want to enter the United States legally. If we fix our visa policies, 
we can restore integrity to our immigration system, and all parties can 
benefit. But if we cannot pass a comprehensive bill--and I think as 
time goes on it is going to look more difficult as we go into an 
election year--if we cannot pass such a comprehensive bill, I think 
that we should consider passing legislation we can agree on.
  I am taking the floor at this time to talk about the H-1B visa 
provisions that were included in the immigration bill and ask my 
colleagues to take a second look at these needed reforms.
  Many companies use H-1B programs. It has served a valuable purpose. 
But we need to reevaluate how this program operates and work to make it 
more effective. The H-1B program was officially created in 1990, 
although we have brought foreign workers legally into our country for 
over 30 years.
  It was brought into existence to serve American employers that needed 
high-tech workers. It was created to file a void in the U.S. labor 
force. The visa holders were intended to file jobs for a temporary 
amount of time, while the country invested in American workers to pick 
up the skills our economy needed.
  We attached fees to the visas that now bring in millions of dollars. 
These fees and the dollars that come with it are invested in training 
grants to educate our own workforce. We use the funds to put kids 
through school for science, technology, engineering, and math skills. 
We provide students with scholarships with the hope that they will 
replace imported foreign workers.

  Unfortunately, the H-1B program is so popular, it is now replacing 
the U.S. labor force rather than supplementing it. The high-tech and 
business community is begging Congress to raise or eliminate the annual 
cap that currently stands at 85,000 visas each year. These numbers do 
not include and account for those who are exempt from the cap. For 
instance, we don't count employees at institutions of higher education 
or nonprofit research organizations. We don't count those who change 
jobs or renew their H-1B visa. My point is, we have many more than 
85,000 H-1B visas distributed each year. I am here to tell my 
colleagues that increasing the visa supply is not the only solution to 
the so-called shortage of high-tech workers.
  Since March of this year, the Senator from Illinois, Mr. Durbin, and 
I have taken a good look at the H-1B visa program. We have raised 
issues with the Citizenship and Immigration Service as well as the 
Department of Labor. We have asked questions of companies that use the 
H-1B visa, and I have raised issues with attorneys who advise their 
clients on how to get around the permanent employment regulations. I 
would like to share what I have learned. I want to give some fraud and 
abuse examples. Unfortunately, there are some bad apples in the H-1B 
visa program.
  In 2005, a man was charged with fraud and misuse of visas, money 
laundering, and mail fraud for his participation in a multistate scam 
to smuggle Indian and Pakistani nationals into the United States with 
fraudulently obtained H-1B visas. The man created fictitious companies, 
often renting only a cubicle simply to have a mailing address. He 
fabricated tax returns and submitted over 1,000 false visa petitions.
  Another man pled guilty last August to charges of fraud and 
conspiracy. This man and an attorney charged foreign nationals 
thousands of dollars to fraudulently obtain H-1B visas. He provided 
false documents to substantiate their H-1B petitions. The Programmer's 
Guild, a group representing U.S. worker interests, filed over 300 
discrimination complaints in the first half of 2006 against companies 
that posted ``H-1B visa holder only'' ads on job boards. Anyone can go 
on the Internet and find jobs that target H-1B visa holders.
  There are more than just national anecdotes, however. Everyday 
Americans are affected. Since looking into the H-1B visa program, some 
of my constituents have come to me and spoken out against abuses they 
see. One of my constituents has shared copies of e-mails showing how he 
is often bombarded with requests by companies that want to lease their 
H-1B workers to that Iowan. There are companies with H-1B workers who 
are so-called ``on the bench,'' meaning they are ready to be deployed 
to a project. Hundreds of foreign workers are standing by waiting for 
work. Some call these H-1B ``factory firms.'' This Iowan even said one 
company went so far as to require him to sign a memorandum of 
understanding that helps the H-1B factory firm justify to the Federal 
Government that they have adequate business opportunity that requires 
additional visa holders. It is a complete falsification of the market 
justification for additional H-1B workers.
  These firms are making a commodity out of H-1B workers. They have 
visa holders but are looking for work. It is supposed to be the other 
way around. There should be a shortage or a need, first and foremost. 
Then and only then do we allow foreign workers to fill these jobs 
temporarily.
  Another constituent sent me a letter saying that he saw firsthand how 
foreign workers were brought in while Iowans with similar 
qualifications were let go. He tells me he is a computer professional 
with over 20 years experience. He was laid off and has yet to find a 
job. He states:

       I believe [my employer] has a history of hiring H-1B 
     computer personnel at the expense of qualified American 
     citizens.

  Another Iowan from Cedar Falls wrote in support of our review of the 
H-1B program. He is a computer programmer with a master's degree and 
over 20 years of work experience in that field. He says:

       Despite all of my qualifications, in the last four years I 
     have applied to over 3,700 positions and have received no job 
     offers.

  He believes he is in constant competition with H-1B visa holders.
  I received a letter from a man in Arizona who works for a company 
that employs dozens of H-1B workers. When he asked his supervisor why 
so many foreign nationals were being hired, the head of human resources 
said:

       If the company has an American and a person from India, 
     both with the same skill set, the company will hire the 
     person from India because they can pay them less.

  These are firsthand stories from U.S. workers. I ask those begging 
for an increase in foreign workers to explain these cases to me. Why 
are Americans struggling to get jobs as software developers, data 
processors, and program analysts?
  Senator Durbin and I inquired with several foreign-based companies 
that use the H-1B program. Rather than sending a letter to all 
companies that use the program, which would be over 200 companies, we 
decided to start our investigation with foreign-based entities. Our 
intention was to learn how foreign companies are using our visas. We 
learned that the top nine foreign-based companies used 20,000 visas in 
2006. Think of what a high percentage that is of the 85,000, just nine 
foreign-based companies, 20,000 visas in the year 2006. I say that 
twice for emphasis. It just so happens that Indian companies are using 
one-third of the available visas we allocate each year, but there is 
more to learn. We are not done asking questions. We, meaning Senator 
Durbin and I, continue to talk to U.S.-based companies and companies in 
our own States that use the program.
  The Citizenship and Immigration Service also has concerns. Our review 
has prompted discussion among the executive branch, businesses, labor 
unions, and workers, and workers are the ones we are concerned about. 
So we are not the only ones asking questions. The U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Service is also worried about fraud in the program. This 
agency's investigative arm, that subdivision called the Fraud Detection 
and National Security unit, is doing a fraud assessment of the H-1B and 
L visa programs. I asked the unit to brief my staff on their work, and 
they reported they are not finished with analyzing the data. Senator 
Collins of Maine and I put the agency on

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notice that we are anxiously awaiting this report so we may continue 
our quest to reform the program appropriately. In the meantime, the 
bill Senator Durbin and I introduced includes measures to rein in the 
abuse. It goes a long ways to close some loopholes to protect American 
workers. It is our hope that these measures will bring the program back 
to its original mission; that is, to help U.S.-based companies find 
highly skilled workers to fill the shortage for a temporary period of 
time. That is what the H-1B visa program is all about.

  Under current law, companies can bring in foreign workers on an H-1B 
visa without first attempting to hire an American. Our bill would 
require every employer to attest that it is not displacing a U.S. 
worker by hiring an H-1B visa holder and that the employer has taken 
good-faith steps to recruit U.S. workers for the jobs in which an H-1B 
visa holder is being sought. Why would anyone oppose this measure? Our 
bill also gives more oversight and investigative authority to the 
Department of Labor. Right now the Department may only review labor 
certification for ``clear indication of fraud and misrepresentation.'' 
The Secretary of Labor is unable to review applications for anything 
but what the law calls incompleteness and cannot initiate an 
investigation unless requested. This means the Labor Department in 
effect is required to turn a blind eye to information that is 
suspicious.
  To remedy this problem, our bill provides the Department of Labor the 
ability to initiate an investigation on its own and gives the 
Department of Labor more time to review applications. The Department 
could also do random audits of any company that uses the program. Aside 
from these measures, our bill would prohibit employers to only 
advertise available jobs to H-1B visa holders. It would encourage 
information sharing between the Department of Labor and the Department 
of Homeland Security. It would double the penalties for employer 
noncompliance with the H-1B program requirements.
  I am happy to report that most of these commonsense solutions were 
included in the immigration bill. I challenge any of my colleagues to 
oppose these needed reforms before we talk about increasing the number 
of H-1B visas or at the very least in conjunction with that process.
  Today I take the floor to tell my colleagues that I am willing to 
work on this issue before the end of the year. I know businesses want 
more visas. I know groups that represent workers and visa holders want 
reforms. I know the American people want a sensible system in place 
that gives their children a chance at these highly skilled jobs. Some 
of my colleagues think the solution is increasing the annual cap on H-
1B visas and doing nothing else. Before we agree to import more foreign 
workers, let's restore integrity in this H-1B program. The system needs 
a makeover. I am willing to consider an increase in the H-1B visa 
supply, but only if reforms are included. We must fix the loopholes 
before we just allow more foreign workers to come in and take jobs that 
Americans want to do. I would think my colleagues would want this 
program to work as it was intended by its original authors. My 
colleagues should want to protect the jobs of our various 
constituencies and help our businesses find the workers they truly 
need.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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