[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 184 (Friday, December 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            FAIRNESS FOR HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JEFF FLAKE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 2011

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 3012, The 
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act.
  I congratulate my colleague from Utah and my colleague, the esteemed 
chair of the Committee on the Judiciary, for moving this bill through 
the committee process and bringing it to the floor. I am pleased to be 
a cosponsor.
  This bill will eliminate per-country limits on employment-based 
immigration, which limit the total employment-based immigration from 
any one country to just seven percent of the overall number of visas 
allowed.
  While there may have been a rationale for per-country limits in the 
past, currently they have created a bottleneck for those seeking to 
legally emigrate from high population countries. These high population 
countries also happen to be countries from which a large percentage of 
high-skilled workers come.
  Simply put, H.R. 3012 will reform our employment-based immigration 
such that our economy will have better access to the best and the 
brightest in the world.
  The value of foreign-born, high-skilled talent simply cannot be 
overstated.
  For example, researchers at Duke University and University of 
California--Berkeley found that, from 1995 to 2005, more than a quarter 
of engineering and technology companies started in the U.S. had at 
least one foreign-born founder and in 2006 these companies employed 
450,000 workers and produced $52 billion in sales.
  Facilitating U.S. industry having access to the best and the 
brightest from around the world is crucial to ensuring that we stay on 
the leading edge of global innovation.
  Given the economic realities we face, these reforms could not come at 
a better time and this legislation has received support from 
CompeteAmerica, the Information Technology Industry Council, 
TechAmerica, and Immigration Voice.
  This bill is the right policy at the right time and it is my hope 
that it moves through the legislative process and ultimately lands on 
the President's desk expeditiously.
  In addition, Congress can and should continue to look for fixes to 
our current approach to legal immigration that will benefit our 
economy.
  For example, there is a growing consensus that steps should be taken 
to ensure that we are able to retain foreign-born graduates with 
advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math, as 
opposed to losing them to countries with which we compete.
  I look forward to working with the Chairman and my colleagues on 
commonsense reforms that can help the U.S. retain its competitive edge 
and remain at the forefront of the global marketplace.

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