[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 85 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. RICK LARSEN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 6, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5855) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Chair, last year I introduced H.R. 
2972, the Creating American Jobs Through Foreign Capital Act. This 
legislation seeks to permanently reauthorize the EB 5 program. The EB 5 
program allows qualified foreign investors who create or save at least 
10 full-time American jobs by making major investments in U.S. 
businesses to seek U.S. visas. The program, first established in 1990, 
has been continued as a short-term pilot program.
  Last year the program created or saved more than 25,000 American jobs 
and generated $1.25 billion in investment, according to the Association 
to Invest In the USA. For example, in the Second Congressional District 
in Washington state, this program has created least 800 jobs in Whatcom 
County alone. The EB 5 program is one of more than 20 immigrant 
investor programs around the world that are competing for capital 
investment. In the Asia-Pacific region, programs like EB 5 exist in 
Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Canada. As the United 
States more strongly embraces our role as an Asia-Pacific nation and 
looks to create jobs through exports to the region, we are competing 
with these countries, and many more around the world, for these 
investment dollars.
  I am pleased that the Senate has included a two-year reauthorization 
of this program in Section 554 of its Homeland Security Appropriations 
bill. The Senate report highlighted that since its inception of this 
program in 1990 through 2011, USCIS estimates that a minimum of 43,280 
jobs have been created and more than $2,200,000,000 has been invested 
through the EB 5 program. Our economy cannot afford to do without these 
investments or these jobs.
  I want to thank Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member Price for 
working with me on this issue. And, even though this reauthorization is 
not included in the House bill, I would like to thank the Subcommittee 
as a whole for understanding the importance of this language and this 
reauthorization and I urge you to preserve the Senate reauthorization 
during conference committee.

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