[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 5, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7422-S7426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 3553
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S.
3553, the BRAINS Act, and the Senate proceed to its consideration; that
the bill be read a third time and passed; and that the motion to
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or
debate.
I will be brief because I don't want to take away from my colleagues'
time. What this bill does is provide more STEM visas than the previous
bill. It provides an entrepreneurship visa which the other bill does
not. It does not take away existing visas, which the Senator from Texas
doesn't like, but many other people find popular, good, and necessary.
The unemployment rate for those on the diversity visas coming in is
much lower than that of the national average.
If we want to pass a pure STEM bill without extraneous provisions
added by people who are anti-immigration because they don't want to see
any net increase in immigration, I urge the support of our bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, the problem
with the Senator's proposal is that this piece of legislation he has
referred to has not passed out of committee in the Senate. It has not
passed the House. This bill, the STEM Act, has passed the House. Theirs
has a 2-year sunset provision; this is permanent legislation. Also, it
has no family unification provision that will allow the immediate
family members of the green card holder to wait the time when they will
become eligible for a green card in the United States as opposed to
back in their country of origin, and it does nothing to promote merit-
based immigration reform. We ought to be looking at immigration reform
from the standpoint of not just how it can help the immigrant but how
it can help America create jobs and entrepreneurship.
For those reasons, I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, at this time I yield to the distinguished
Senator from North Dakota and then, following that, the distinguished
Senator from Iowa for any comments he cares to make.
Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I thank the esteemed Senator from Texas
and the Senator from Kentucky. I see the Senator from Iowa has joined
us as well.
I rise to speak in support of the STEM Act but also to respond to the
Senator from New York. I see the Senator has left, but I also want to
respond to some of the points in support of the Senator from Texas.
The STEM Act passed the House; it was H. Res. 6429, sponsored by
Congressman Lamar Smith. I argue that it accomplishes both of the
things we are talking about today. It provides us with the opportunity
to have a greater pool of employees with training in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics, which is what we need in this
country. It also accomplishes the diversity that was referred to by the
Senator from New York.
So what the Senators from Texas, Kentucky, Iowa, and myself are
proposing is to accomplish both goals. We are saying we can have the
students who have graduated with either a doctorate degree or a
master's degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,
which is what we very much need to get our economy growing. A growing
economy creates more employment. It also creates the revenue without
raising taxes that we need to address our deficit and debt. So this
legislation accomplishes both those goals and still provides an
increase in diversity which is what the Senator from New York was
talking about.
The additional point is the point that the Senator from Texas very
clearly made. This legislation passed the House. The last time I
checked, legislation has to pass the Senate and the House. That is a
pretty important distinction.
Referring back to the comments of the Senator from Kentucky, who said
if we cannot do it all at once because of disagreements, let's start
getting done what we can get done, here is a bill that provides us with
people in the science and technology fields who can help our economy
grow. These are people we need very much. It will increase diversity,
just as the Senator from New York said, and it has passed the House.
Common sense says let's go. Let's pass the bill.
So we want to join with the Senator from New York, the Senator from
Delaware, and the other sponsors to whom he referred, but let's join on
something we can actually get done, meaning a bill that passes the
House as well as the Senate. I think that logic is compelling.
I look at my own State of North Dakota. We are doing amazing things
in energy. As a matter of fact, we are hot on the trail of the State of
Texas when it comes to oil development. I am telling you, we are after
you.
So what is that going to take? It is going to take continued
development of the technologies that not only helps us produce more
energy, but helps us do it with good environmental stewardship. What we
are talking about is when we have the engineers, scientists,
technicians, and mathematicians who graduate from our great
universities with doctorate and master's degrees, they can stay and
help us here rather than help someone else in some other country that
would then get ahead of the United States. This will help us solve the
fundamental challenges we face today, which is getting this economy
growing so we get people back to work and creating the revenue the
right way with economic growth to help us address our deficit and debt.
With that, I yield the floor to the esteemed Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. How much time remains?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Twenty minutes.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I yield to the distinguished Senator from
Iowa for any comments he cares to make.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today, I'm proud to speak in support of
the STEM Jobs Act of 2012, a bill passed by the House of
Representatives last week. This bill would make available up to 55,000
green cards each year for foreign students who have received doctorates
or master's degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math, also
known as STEM, from a U.S. university. The bill would not increase
overall immigration levels, but rather, would move our immigration
[[Page S7423]]
system toward one in which we reward the best and brightest of the
world with the chance to remain, live, and work in this country.
Without a doubt, our immigration system is flawed. I have long argued
that we need to enhance and expand legal avenues for U.S. employers to
hire foreign workers. While I am a champion for rooting out fraud and
abuse from many of our visa programs, I'm also supportive of finding
ways to allow people to enter this country through legal channels.
It makes sense to allow foreign students who have been trained and
educated on U.S. soil to remain here. These students have advanced
degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math, and this bill
will ensure that we keep those highly skilled and sought-after students
here for employers in need.
Our economy cannot wait. We need to enact solutions today that create
economic growth.
We also have no reason to wait for next year's likely debate on
immigration. Attracting and retaining high-skilled workers should not
be a partisan issue. The senior Senator from New York has a similar
proposal to grant green cards to STEM students. I can only assume that
many people on the other side of the aisle would support this bill if
the majority leader gave it a chance. Nearly 30 Democrats in the House
crossed the aisle to help this bill pass last week.
Finally, as we look ahead to immigration reform, it will be important
to consider ways our policies benefit future generations, not just
solve the problems of the day. Our immigration system should be
structured in a way to recruit people with skills in STEM fields. This
bill is a good first step to changing our system to a merit-based one.
Enhancing our legal immigration channels should be a top priority, and
I am committed to working on ways to do that for all sectors of the
economy.
I hope the majority will reconsider, and allow the Senate to call up
and pass the STEM Jobs Act and send it to the President. It would be a
signal to the American people that we can work together to enact needed
immigration reforms.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I appreciate the remarks of the
distinguished Senators from Iowa, North Dakota, and Kentucky.
I think what people find so maddening about Congress and Washington,
DC, is even when we agree, we still cannot seem to get anything done.
How is it that we can agree on the importance of additional STEM green
cards and still not be able to get anything done? This is not about
what is perfect, but this is about what is possible given what has
happened in the House of Representatives.
We could do this today and send it to the President of the United
States in the next couple of days so he can sign it. The question is,
How many more years will pass while we have these highly qualified
students who graduate from our own colleges and universities with
master's degrees and Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and
math before we finally address the problem?
I realize there is other legislation people would like to have
considered, but this has actually passed the House of Representatives.
I remember the hearing we had in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on
Immigration of which I am the ranking member. The Senator from New York
said at that time--and this would not be a surprise to him since these
are his own words, and it is consistent with what he said on the Senate
floor:
If we do not enact an immigration policy that continues to
attract the world's best minds, we will cease to be the
world's economic leader.
That is why I call this a self-inflicted wound. If we agree that
American workers should get the right of first refusal, but there are
not sufficient American workers with the qualifications in these
important fields, why in the world would we not allow the creation of
jobs and new enterprises that would come with the STEM Jobs Act that
has passed the House?
I have a series of letters: one from the chancellor of the University
of Texas System, Texas A&M University System, Texas Tech University
System, the University of Houston System, the University of North
Texas, and the Texas State University System in support of STEM
legislation. I also have a letter from Rice University president David
Leebron supporting this same type of legislation.
I have a letter dated June 25, 2012, addressed to President Obama,
Leader Reid, Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner and then-Leader Pelosi
from the Partnership for a New American Economy signed by the
presidents or chancellors of 42 public and private universities. I have
a letter to Congress from the Information Technology Industry Council,
Partnership for a New American Economy, and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce supporting STEM immigration reform such as this bill.
I have another letter dated November 15, 2012, to Members of Congress
from the American Council on International Personnel and the Society
for Human Resource Management supporting this type of STEM legislation.
I have another letter dated September 19, 2012, to Speaker Boehner,
Leader Cantor, Whip McCarthy, Minority Leader Pelosi, and Minority Whip
Hoyer from CONNECT, a U.S. San Diego tech transfer commercialization
enterprise.
I also have a letter from the president of Baylor University in
support of STEM legislation.
I ask unanimous consent that the letters I just referenced be printed
in the Record at this time.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
December 4, 2012.
Statement on Visas for STEM Graduates from Texas Public University
System Chancellors
As chancellors of the six Texas public university systems,
we recognize the important role the fields of science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) play in
American competitiveness.
We understand Senator John Cornyn plans to pursue
legislation during the remaining days of the 112th Congress
aimed at providing more visas for foreign graduates of
American universities in the STEM fields. Industry and
academia, particularly in Texas, face critical shortages in
the availability of qualified job applicants in these fields.
While we are actively engaged--through education outreach and
engineering extension--in preparing Texas residents for
success in the STEM fields, we recognize the need to address
existing shortages in these critical fields through a pathway
for international students already enrolled at our
institutions in these disciplines.
The severity of this situation was highlighted in the
recently published National Research Council report, Ten
Breakthrough Actions Vital to Our Nation's Prosperity and
Security. The report focuses on the role research
universities play in protecting the future of America and
recommends actions that should be taken separately and
jointly by universities, states, and the federal government.
The report specifically calls on the federal government to
streamline the processes that impact the ability of
international innovators to remain in our country and
contribute to its prosperity.
We applaud Senator Cornyn for his leadership and focus on
this issue. We urge Congress to work toward a bipartisan
solution to this important component of job growth and our
nation's innovation agenda.
Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.,
Chancellor, The University of Texas System.
Mr. John Sharp,
Chancellor, Texas A&M University System.
Mr. Lee Jackson,
Chancellor, University of North Texas System University
System.
Mr. Kent Hance,
Chancellor, Texas Tech University.
Dr. Renu Khator,
Chancellor, University of Houston.
Dr. Brian McCall,
Chancellor, Texas State.
____
Rice University,
Houston, TX, December 4, 2012.
Hon. John Cornyn,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Cornyn, I write on behalf of Rice University
to support the STAR Act and all efforts to make it easier for
foreign students who receive advanced degrees in the STEM
fields to remain in the United States and put their
educations and skills to work on behalf of the country. These
students are among the best and brightest in the world and,
equipped with a Rice University or other U.S. education, will
have much to contribute to business and job creation and
economic growth.
[[Page S7424]]
Rice University is proud to be based in Houston, Texas, and
to educate leaders and generate research and knowledge that
contribute in major ways to the vigor of our state and
country. We are equally proud to have more than 10 percent of
our undergraduate students and about 40 percent of our
graduate students from other countries. The fact that we can
attract the best and the brightest from throughout the world
is a significant strength, but to lose those students after
graduation because of overly restrictive immigration policies
is a distinct weakness for our state and country. We should
not send that education and talent away.
There is a case to be made for comprehensive immigration
reform, but the STAR Act makes significant progress towards
that goal. We would be happy to contribute our faculty
expertise if you would find that helpful. Thank you for your
leadership on this issue.
Sincerely,
David W. Leebron,
President.
____
Partnership for a New
American Economy,
June 25, 2012.
President Barack Obama,
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
Washington, DC.
Sen. Harry Reid,
Senate Majority Leader, Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. John Boehner,
Speaker of the House, U.S. Capitol,
Washington, DC.
Sen. Mitch McConnell,
Senate Republican Leader, Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Democratic Leader, U.S. Capitol,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President, Majority Leader Reid, Republican Leader
McConnell, Speaker Boehner, and Democratic Leader Pelosi: As
leaders of universities educating the creators of tomorrow's
scientific breakthroughs, we call on you to address a
critical threat to America's preeminence as a global center
of innovation and prosperity: our inability under current
United States immigration policy to retain and benefit from
many of the top minds educated at our universities.
From the industrial revolution to today's information age,
the United States has led the world in creating the
inventions and ideas that drive economic prosperity.
America's universities are responsible for 36 percent of all
research in the country, including 53 percent of all basic
research, and they help keep America at the forefront of the
21st century economy. The Federal Government has recognized
the importance of university research by providing roughly 60
percent of all academic R&D funding.
American academic research has benefited from the fact that
the US remains a top magnet for the world's best and
brightest students and graduates 16 percent of all PhDs
worldwide in scientific and technical fields. In 2009,
students on temporary visas were 45 percent of all graduate
students in engineering, math, computer science and physical
sciences--earning 43 percent of all master's degrees and 52
percent of all PhDs. New research shows that in 2011,
foreign-born inventors were credited contributors on more
than 75 percent of patents issued to the top 10 patent-
producing universities in the United States--irrefutable
proof of the important role immigrants play in American
innovation. These inventions lead to new companies and new
jobs for American workers, and are an enormous boon to our
economy.
But after we have trained and educated these future job
creators, our antiquated immigration laws turn them away to
work for our competitors in other countries. Low limits on
visas leave immigrants with no way to stay or facing
untenable delays for a permanent visa. Top engineers from
India and China face wait times of up to 9 years to get a
permanent visa, and new applicants from these countries may
face considerably longer waits. And while we turn away these
American-educated, trained and funded scientists and
engineers, there is a growing skill gap across America's
industries. One quarter of US science and engineering firms
already report difficulty hiring, and the problem will only
worsen: the US is projected to face a shortfall of 230,000
qualified advanced-degree workers in scientific and technical
fields by 2018.
The US cannot afford to wait to fix our immigration system.
Even as we send away highly skilled workers trained at
American universities, competing economies are welcoming
these scientists and engineers with streamlined visa
applications and creating dedicated visas to ensure that the
foreign students who graduate from their own universities can
stay and contribute to the local economy. We ask you to work
together to develop a bipartisan solution that ensures our
top international graduates have a clear path to a green
card, so they can stay and create new American jobs. Recent
polls show that there is broad, bipartisan support for this
reform, and that the American people want our leaders in
Washington to act. Now is the time to do so and ensure that
the US remains the world's leading home for innovators.
Sincerely,
(77 Signatures).
____
December 4, 2012.
To the Members of the United States Congress: The
Information Technology Industry Council, the Partnership for
a New American Economy, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
recently joined together to prepare a new report, released
last week, ``Help Wanted: The Role of Foreign Workers in the
Innovation Economy''. According to the report, foreign-born
professionals in the fields of Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are complementing--not
displacing--their U.S. counterparts and the U.S. economy is
in need of more STEM talent.
As Congress deliberates initiatives to reform our
immigration system--including expanding visas for those with
advanced STEM degrees earned at U.S. universities--the report
provides evidence of critical labor force needs in America's
innovation economy.
There is universal agreement that reforming U.S. education
and job training to encourage more U.S. students to enter
STEM occupations is essential to a strong economy. Yet these
fixes will take years to yield results, and many of the
talented STEM workers who could fill the gaps in our labor
force are already here training in American universities.
Reforming American immigration laws to allow foreign-born
STEM students who earn advanced degrees from U.S.
universities to stay and work in jobs where there are no
available qualified American workers will fill an immediate
need and promote economic growth and job creation.
Our report analyzes data from the U.S. Census and the U.S.
Department of Education Integrated Post-Secondary Education
Data System (WEDS) to examine employment in the STEM fields.
The report confirms that:
There is full employment for U.S. STEM workers with
advanced degrees: While the current national unemployment
rate hovers around 8 percent, the unemployment rate for
United States citizens with PhDs in STEM fields is just 3.15
percent, and 3.4 percent for those with master's degrees in
STEM fields. Given that the U.S. government has defined
``full-employment'' to be 4 percent, this suggests a skills
shortage of STEM professionals with advanced degrees.
In many STEM occupations, unemployment is virtually non-
existent: Unemployment is particularly low in STEM
occupations such as Petroleum Engineers (0.1 percent),
Computer Network Architects (0.4 percent), Nuclear Engineers
(0.5 percent), Environmental Scientists and Geoscientists
(1.2 percent), Database Administrators (1.3 percent),
Statisticians (1.6 percent), Engineering Managers (1.6
percent), and Aerospace Engineers (1.9 percent).
STEM fields employ a far higher proportion of foreign
workers than non-STEM fields: In STEM fields, 26.1 percent of
workers with PhDs are foreign born, as are 17.7 percent of
workers with master's degrees. In comparison, in non-STEM
fields, just 6.4 percent of doctoral workers and 5.2 percent
of master's workers are foreign born.
STEM fields with high percentages of foreign STEM workers
have low unemployment rates for US workers: Although nearly
25 percent of medical scientists are foreign born, United
States medical scientists enjoy an unemployment rate of just
3.4 percent, fully five percentage points lower than the non-
STEM unemployment rate (8.4 percent). Similar stories exist
for STEM occupations such as physical scientists and computer
software designers, where immigrants make up more than 20
percent of the field and unemployment is just 4 percent.
Unemployment across all STEM occupations is just 4.3 percent,
and the unemployment rate is even lower in 10 of the 11 STEM
occupations with the largest proportion of foreign workers.
Foreign-born STEM workers are paid on par with US STEM
workers: There is no verifiable evidence that foreign-born
STEM workers adversely affect the wages of American workers
by providing a less expensive source of labor. The average
STEM worker actually makes slightly more than his or her
United States counterpart, earning on average $61 more per
week.
These findings reaffirm a December 2011 report,
``Immigration and American Jobs,'' released by the American
Enterprise Institute and the Partnership for a New American
Economy, which found that every foreign graduate with an
advanced degree from a U.S. university who stays and works in
a STEM field, creates an average of 2.62 new jobs for
American workers.
We are committed to reforming our immigration system in
ways that advance U.S. competitiveness, innovation, and job
creation, and look forward to working with you to achieve
this important goal.
Sincerely,
Information Technology Industry Council,
Partnership for a New American Economy,
U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
____
American Council on International Personnel and Society
for Human Resource Management
November 15, 2012.
Dear Member of Congress: As you consider measures in the
lame-duck congressional session to restore America's fiscal
health and put our economy back on track, the American
Council on International Personnel (ACIP) and the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) urge you to act on a key
high-skilled legal immigration reform that has bipartisan
support and the
[[Page S7425]]
backing of the U.S. business community, and that will help
jumpstart U.S. growth and job creation: making green cards
available for foreign-born holders of U.S. STEM advanced
degrees who have a job offer.
Highly educated, foreign-born professionals have a long
history of making great contributions to our economy, and
this legislation will help U.S. employers to more easily
recruit, hire and retain these job creators and innovators.
The visas would be immediately available to these
professionals, helping them avoid the decades-long green card
backlog that currently plagues top talent trying to
contribute to our country. This legislation will help
reenergize America's competitiveness at an extremely critical
time.
Our organizations, now strategic affiliates, represent
thousands of employers across the country working hard to
grow America's economy. While there is much to be done in the
next session, this small step now will pay big dividends in
keeping our economy on the right track until more
comprehensive reforms can be enacted.
We encourage Congress to start building the necessary
consensus needed for future immigration legislation by
sending this bipartisan reform to the president for enactment
before year's end.
Sincerely,
Lynn Shotwell,
Executive Director, ACIP.
Michael P. Aitken,
Vice President, Government Affairs, SHRM.
____
Connect,
September 19, 2012.
Speaker John Boehner,
Majority Leader Eric Cantor,
Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy,
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,
Minority Whip Steny Hoyer,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, As a
leading voice for tech start-up and emerging companies,
CONNECT applauds you for your efforts to address a critical
innovation policy issue by bringing to a vote the STEM Jobs
Act of 2012, H.R. 6429. This important legislation will spark
innovation across the U.S. and assist start-up company
growth, which remains America's best job-creating engine.
CONNECT was birthed out of the University of California--
San Diego over twenty-five years ago with the mission to
propel creative ideas and emerging technologies to the
marketplace by training entrepreneurs and connecting them to
the comprehensive resources they need to sustain viability
and business vibrancy. Since 1985, CONNECT has assisted in
the formation and development of over 3,000 companies and is
recognized as one of the world's most successful regional
innovation development programs. In 2010, CONNECT won the
Innovation in Economic Development Award in the Regional
Innovation Clusters category presented by the U.S. Department
of Commerce's Economic Development Administration.
Although much of the discussion regarding STEM visa reform
centers around the benefits that will accrue to larger
companies in the tech sector, it should not be overlooked
that a STEM visa reform proposal like H.R. 6429 will
facilitate new STEM grads to also be hired by startup and
emerging companies. As both the Small Business Administration
and the Kauffman Foundation have confirmed, the vast majority
of America's net job growth in recent years has come from
startup and emerging companies. Allowing foreign-born STEM
graduates to stay in the U.S. to work in startup and emerging
companies will help keep America at the edge of the frontier
of global competitiveness. However, that edge is being
aggressively trimmed by our foreign competitors. Thus, it is
imperative we retain U.S.-educated, foreign-born STEM talent
instead of forcing them to find jobs overseas with global
competitors.
There is much talk in Washington about helping start-up
businesses, but the STEM Jobs Act takes tangible action
toward achieving that goal. We commend you for advancing this
solution that will have real-world benefits for America's
entrepreneurs and innovators.
In CONNECT's ``Innovation Agenda for the 112th Congress''
and ``Seven Innovation Policy Ideas to Spark an American
Recovery,'' we endorsed STEM visa reform. Continuing that
long-term commitment in support of the issue, we encourage
the House to pass the bill and we stand ready to assist the
Senate in its consideration of H.R. 6429.
Sincerely,
Timothy Tardibono, M.A., J.D.,
Vice President of Public Policy, CONNECT.
____
Baylor University,
Waco, TX, December 5, 2012.
Senator John Cornyn,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Cornyn: Since 1845, Baylor University has
promoted academic excellence and Christian service, and its
achievements have been recognized around the world. As a
nationally ranked research institution, Baylor is also
dedicated to scientific discovery and training the inventors
and entrepreneurs who will create the jobs of the future. We
now have more than 70 masters and doctoral degree programs,
including eleven science, technology, engineering, and math
(STEM) programs. Of the Masters and PhD students enrolled in
our STEM programs, 13 percent are foreign nationals. Many of
these students are listed as co-inventors in patent
applications filed by Baylor research teams.
Unfortunately, our innovation efforts are being undermined
by U.S. immigration laws. Many of our STEM Masters and PhD
students may not be able to obtain an appropriate work visa
in industry because of the low cap on the number of such new
visas that can be issued. They would have to return to their
home country after graduation or obtain a visa in an
occupation that is unrelated to their education. The House-
passed STEM Jobs Act would create 55,000 additional visas for
foreign nationals with an advanced STEM degree from a U.S.
research institution. It represents an important step in
fixing America's broken immigration system.
I encourage the Senate to pass this legislation.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Winston Starr.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I think the record should be clear that
our side of the aisle believes we should act today and not wait and not
delay further this important STEM Jobs Act for the very reason I said
earlier, which is that it will help job creators and entrepreneurs.
The reason STEM visas are particularly powerful is because these
individuals with special expertise in math, technology, engineering,
and the like are uniquely qualified to be able to start up new
enterprises and to attract and create jobs for other people. In other
words, there is a multiplier effect. For every 1 of the 55,000 green
cards that would be created by this act, there are hundreds of
thousands of people who would enjoy jobs as a result of the economic
activity in this country.
I hope we don't sacrifice another crop of science, technology, and
engineering graduates in the hope that we can get the perfect
immigration bill. In fact, we know this is a difficult area in which to
legislate, and both sides of the aisle know we need to deal with all of
the different facets of our broken immigration system. But this bill
has passed the House. It is here and now. We could pass it today by
unanimous consent but for the objection of our friends across the aisle
and the objection, amazingly enough, of the President of the United
States who himself has claimed for at least the last 4 years that he is
in favor of immigration reform.
It is also an important confidence builder in terms of the acceptance
of this legislation by the American people. The American people are
justifiably skeptical of Congress passing another omnibus or
comprehensive piece of legislation. We tried that before, and we found
out that even if people have read bills going into the thousands of
pages in length, many times there are unintended consequences.
So I believe it is very important that we start with this important
STEM Jobs Act, that we demonstrate we are worthy of the confidence and
trust of the American people when it comes to addressing our broken
immigration system, in an area where we have consensus such as the STEM
jobs field. I tell my colleagues they have my personal commitment that
I will be there to work with them to deal with other parts of our
broken immigration system as we go forward.
The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to start here. If we can't
pass this legislation--and I am skeptical based upon the objection we
have heard today--I wonder if we will ever be able to pass immigration
reform. If we can't do this consensus bill, tell me one other piece of
legislation we could pass in this field by agreement of the political
parties and send it on to the President. Indeed, I think there is room
to wonder whether some people in this Chamber would prefer to have this
an issue they can wield in the next election rather than to join
together on a bipartisan basis and to solve what is broken in our
immigration system.
Let's start here. Let's build on this. We can do it today if we can
just somehow avoid the objections and pass this legislation that has
been passed by the House. It passes the STEM visa bill, it keeps
families together, and it represents values I would think both sides of
the aisle would applaud.
With that, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
[[Page S7426]]
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of New Mexico). Without objection,
it is so ordered.
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