[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4297-4298]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    REFORMING THE H-1B VISA PROGRAM

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I rise to speak about H-1B visas, often 
called the high-skilled immigration visa. Every year, the U.S. 
Government issues 85,000 new H-1B visas, including 20,000 for workers 
with advanced degrees. This is in addition to hundreds of thousands of 
foreign workers already in the United States on H-1B visas.
  Beginning on April 1, employers can submit petitions for new H-1B 
visas. Every year, within a few days, the government announces that it 
has received many more petitions for visas than the number of visas 
available.
  The government then conducts a random lottery to decide which 
employers will receive the visas. Every year this leads to a hue and 
cry from our business community about the need to increase the annual 
cap for H-1B visas.
  Like clockwork, this process played out last week, just as it does 
every year. Let's take a look at what happened.
  When most people think of H-1B visas, they think of big tech 
companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple hiring top-notch computer 
engineers, paying them top dollar to come in from overseas.
  But here is the reality. In fact, the top recipients of H-1B visas 
are foreign companies that use loopholes in the law to displace 
qualified American workers and send American jobs offshore.
  In 2013, outsourcing firms received more than 50 percent of the 
annual H-1B visa cap. Think about that. Over half of these H-1B visas, 
designed to bring skilled foreign workers into the United States, are 
being given to foreign outsourcing companies.
  It sounds wrong; doesn't it?
  In 2014, 15 of the top 20 H-1B employers used the H-1B visa primarily 
to offshore American jobs; that is, to take Americans, put them out of 
work, and have foreign workers take their jobs. These 15 firms gobbled 
up over 190,000 new H-1B visas over 10 years.
  This is how it works. Foreign outsourcing companies import thousands 
of foreign guest workers using H-1B visas. These companies then cut 
deals with American companies to outsource American jobs and to move 
them offshore. The United States keeps them in the United States but 
with these foreign workers. The U.S. company gives their American 
workers notice that they will be fired. But before the American workers 
are laid off--listen to this--the American workers are forced to train 
the foreign guest workers who are going to take over their jobs.
  After they are trained, the outsourcing company returns the foreign 
workers to their home country where--guess what--they compete with the 
United States.
  Most of these foreign outsourcing companies are from India: Infosys, 
Tata, and Wipro. You may not recognize those names, but they are making 
billions of dollars using the H-1B visa to outsource American jobs and 
displace American workers.
  A high-ranking Indian Government official even called the H-1B visa 
``the outsourcing visa.'' The International Herald Tribune investigated 
these Indian companies, and this is what they concluded: ``Rather than 
building a thriving community of experts and innovators in the United 
States, the Indian firms seek to funnel work--and expertise--away from 
the country.''
  Congress intended the H-1B program to allow an employer to hire a 
skilled foreign worker in a specialized occupation when the American 
employer couldn't find an American worker with those skills and 
abilities.
  We didn't create this program for foreign outsourcing firms to 
exploit the program and to bring foreign workers to our country to be 
trained by talented American workers in order to see their jobs shipped 
away.
  So let's take an example. In the last year alone, media reports have 
documented the replacement of hundreds of American workers by these 
foreign outsourcing companies. Let me give an example close to home. 
Abbott Labs of Illinois, headquartered near Chicago, signed a contract 
for information technology services with Wipro, one of the largest 
foreign outsourcing companies based in India and one of the top users 
of the H-1B visa program.
  Here is how it worked: Approximately 150 U.S. employees at Abbott 
Labs in Illinois are going to lose their jobs. The workers being laid 
off have stellar experience--many of them have been at Abbott for 
years. They have the credentials, the performance reviews, and some 
have amazing work records spanning decades at Abbott Labs. I know from 
recent conversations with Abbott Labs employees that this layoff is 
taking its toll on the morale of their remaining workforce.
  When I heard about these plans, I wrote to Miles White, the CEO of 
Abbott Labs. I urged him to reconsider this plan and to keep his 
American workers who have worked so hard for Abbott Labs for years. 
Well, I am sorry to report he responded to my letter and confirmed his 
company's plans to terminate these American workers.
  I am very concerned about Abbott Labs because they have required the 
employees who are losing their jobs and being laid off to sign away 
their right to sue or even disparage the company if they want to 
receive any severance pay. As a result of this agreement, Congress and 
the American people are unable to hear directly from the employees who 
are affected by this decision at Abbott Labs--employees who are losing 
their jobs to Wipro, an Indian company that specializes in outsourcing 
American jobs. Abbot employees have told my staff they were concerned 
that even if they spoke with our office about what was happening at 
Abbott Labs, they could be placed in jeopardy.
  Other companies that have signed contracts with foreign outsourcing 
companies to replace American workers have also forced their employees 
to sign these nondisparagement agreements. So we are in the dark about 
the human impact of these outsourcing arrangements on the Americans 
losing their jobs. What we do know is this: 150 skilled and experienced 
American workers will lose their jobs and have had to sign an agreement 
that they will not say anything negative about their current employer. 
If they do not comply with that, they do not get their severance pay.
  I sent a follow-up letter to Mr. White today about the gag order he 
has forced on his employees. We should be able to hear firsthand from 
workers who are losing their jobs because of outsourcing as to just 
exactly what is happening to them.

[[Page 4298]]

  Senator Chuck Grassley and I first introduced bipartisan legislation 
to reform the H-1B visa program in 2007--almost a decade ago. Our bill 
would end these abuses and protect American and foreign workers from 
exploitation. The outsourcing companies are worried about our 
legislation. For a long time, Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin were on 
the front page of a lot of Indian newspapers. Listen to the corporate 
jargon Wipro uses to talk about our bill:

       With the growth of offshore outsourcing receiving 
     increasing political and media attention, there have been 
     concerted efforts to enact new legislation to restrict 
     offshore outsourcing. This may adversely impact our ability 
     to do business in these jurisdictions and could adversely 
     affect our revenues and operating profitability.

  Let me be clear. My first obligation as a U.S. Senator is to protect 
American workers. If that adversely affects the profits of a foreign 
company that specializes in outsourcing American jobs, so be it.
  In 2013 I joined the Gang of 8--Democrats and Republicans--and we put 
together a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Corporate interests 
fought hard to protect these H-1B visas, but we successfully included 
several important changes to the program in the bill. Let me give an 
example. Under current law, employers are permitted to pay H-1B visa 
holders substandard wages, which creates an incentive to fire Americans 
and hire foreign workers.
  The vice president of Tata, out of India, one of the leading foreign 
outsourcing firms, candidly acknowledged they use H-1B visas to 
undercut American workers. Here is what he said:

       Our wage per employee is 20-25 percent lesser than U.S. 
     wage for a similar employee. . . . The issue is that of 
     getting workers in the U.S. on wages far lower than local 
     wage.

  He was pretty candid about it. The object is to put Americans out of 
work and to charge less than what the Americans are being paid. So I 
wrote a provision in the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill 
that discouraged employers from hiring foreign workers as a source of 
cheap labor by doubling the minimum wage of H-1B employees, and 
employers of large numbers of H-1B visa holders would be required to 
pay, at a minimum, the average wage paid to an American. That is why 
the chief executive of Tata in India said our bill would have been 
``very tough'' on outsourcing companies. So be it.
  The Senate passed that bill on this floor 68 to 32. Unfortunately, 
the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives refused to 
even call the bill. They wouldn't debate it or call it for a vote.
  Now, the two leading Republican Presidential candidates, Donald Trump 
and the junior Senator from Texas, have jumped on the bandwagon. They 
want to reform the H-1B program. Unfortunately, their track records 
call into question their real commitment. Mr. Trump owns companies that 
have sought to import at least 1,000 temporary guest workers while 
turning away hundreds of American workers. In 2013, when the Judiciary 
Committee considered the comprehensive immigration reform bill, Senator 
Cruz of Texas offered an amendment to increase--increase--the annual 
cap for H-1B visas to 325,000 per year--almost four times the current 
number.
  Nonetheless, if they have changed their mind out on the campaign 
trail, we welcome that change of heart and welcome them to this debate. 
We must reform the H-1B visa program and fix other parts of our broken 
immigration system to protect American and immigrant workers. The 
solution is still comprehensive immigration reform. The time for action 
is now. Congress has avoided its responsibility for far too long.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam 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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