[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 42 (Monday, October 23, 2000)]
[Pages 2505-2506]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First 
Century Act and Non-Immigrant Worker Fee Legislation

October 17, 2000

    I am pleased today to sign into law S. 2045, the ``American 
Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act,'' and H.R. 5362, an Act 
to increase the fees charged to employers who petition to employ H-1B 
non-immigrant workers. Together, these laws increase the number of H-1B 
visas available to bring in highly skilled foreign temporary workers and 
double the fee charged to employers using the program to provide 
critical funding for training U.S. workers and students. The Acts 
recognize the importance of allowing additional skilled workers into the 
United States to work in the short-run, while supporting longer-term 
efforts to prepare American workers for the jobs of the new economy.
    At the core of my economic strategy has been the belief that fiscal 
discipline and freeing up capital for private sector investment must be 
accompanied by a commitment to invest in human capital. The growing 
demand for workers with high-tech skills is a dramatic illustration of 
the need to ``put people first'' and increase our investments in 
education and training. Today, many companies are reporting that their 
number one constraint on growth is the inability to hire workers with 
the necessary skills. In today's knowledge-based economy, what you earn 
depends on what you learn. Jobs in the information technology sector, 
for example, pay 85 percent more than the private sector average.
    My Administration has made clear that any increase in H-1B visas 
should be temporary

[[Page 2506]]

and limited in number, that the fee charged to employers using the 
program should be increased significantly, and that the majority of the 
funds generated by the fee must go to the Department of Labor to fund 
training for U.S. workers seeking the necessary skills for these jobs. 
This legislation does those things. But the need to educate and train 
workers for these high-skilled jobs goes beyond what has been addressed 
here.
    I want to challenge the high-tech companies to redouble their 
efforts to find long-term solutions to the rapidly growing demand for 
workers with technical skills. This will require doing more to improve 
K-12 science and math education, upgrading the skills of our existing 
workforce, and recruiting from underrepresented groups such as older 
workers, minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and residents of 
rural areas. Many companies have important initiatives in these areas, 
but we clearly need to be doing more.
    This legislation contains a number of provisions that merit concern. 
For example, one provision allows an H-1B visa holder to work for an 
employer who has not yet been approved for participation in the H-1B 
program. In addition, there are provisions that could have the 
unintended consequence of allowing an H-1B visa holder who is applying 
for a permanent visa to remain in H-1B status well beyond the current 6-
year limit. I am concerned that these provisions could weaken existing 
protections that ensure that the H1-B program does not undercut the 
wages and working conditions of U.S. workers, and could also increase 
the vulnerability of H-1B workers to any unscrupulous employers using 
the program. For example, one of the key requirements of the H-1B 
program is that the foreign worker is paid the same wage as U.S. workers 
doing the same job. This legislation, however, by allowing H-1B workers 
to change employers before a new employer's application has been 
approved, could result in an employer--knowingly or unknowingly--not 
paying the prevailing wage. For these reasons, I am directing the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, in consultation with the 
Department of State and the Department of Labor, to closely monitor the 
impact of these provisions to determine whether the next congress should 
revisit these changes made to the H-1B program.
    I had hoped that the Congress would take this opportunity to address 
important issues of fairness affecting many immigrants already in this 
country. We need to meet the needs of the high-tech industry by raising 
the number of visas for temporary high-tech workers. But we also must 
ensure fairness for immigrants who have been in this country for years, 
working hard and paying taxes. The Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act 
(LIFA) will allow people who have lived here for 15 years or more--and 
who have established families and strong ties to their communities--to 
become permanent residents. It will also amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment 
and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) to extend the same protections 
currently offered to people from Cuba and Nicaragua to immigrants from 
Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti, and Liberia who fled to this 
country to escape serious hardship. Finally, it will allow families to 
stay together while their applications for permanent resident status are 
being processed. These fundamental fairness provisions have been 
embraced by humanitarian groups, business groups, and Members of the 
Congress from both sides of the aisle. I will continue to insist 
strongly on passage of the Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act this year, 
before the Congress adjourns.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 October 17, 2000.

Note: S. 2045, approved October 17, was assigned Public Law No. 106-313, 
and H.R. 5362, approved October 17, was assigned Public Law No. 106-311.