U.S. Senate Approves H-1B Visa Bill Co-Sponsored by Senator Feinstein
- Measure Includes Senator Feinstein’s Amendment to Increase
Funds for Science Education and High-Tech Training -
October 3, 2000

Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate today approved H-1B visa legislation for skilled foreign workers, which included an amendment by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to designate funds collected from fees on these visas to help better train U.S. students in math and science so they can fill high-tech jobs that are now being filled by foreign workers.

The following is a statement by Senator Feinstein on the bill:

“As a cosponsor of S. 2045, ‘American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000,’ I am pleased to see this important legislation pass the Senate today.

One of my most sobering experiences as a U.S. Senator occurred a few years ago when several CEOs of California's leading high-tech companies told me our schools were not producing enough skilled graduates and asked me to support an increase in the number of H-1B temporary visas for skilled foreign workers.

Initially, I did not believe this. But subsequently the problem became very clear at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the subject. California's high-tech sector has fueled our record economic expansion, providing more than 784,000 high-tech jobs in our state alone. But that continued growth is threatened if California cannot produce an adequate number of well-educated workers. Clearly our education system needs major reform.

I asked TechNet, a network of the nation's leading high-tech CEOs, to help me develop
a program to reduce our reliance on H-1B workers. The discussions led to a public-private plan, which Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich., and I offered as an amendment to the H-1B visa bill. It was approved by the Judiciary Committee in March.

From the funds collected for H-1B fees over the next three years, the amendment would allocate 15 percent of the H-1B fees, or roughly $23 million for National Science Foundation kindergarten through12th grade math and science education and skills-development programs. The technology industry will match these funds and then some. This is an incredible commitment by the industry to help develop a pipeline of American students who are better prepared for the workplace of tomorrow.

Additionally, as a result of the amendment, $35 million will be designated for post-secondary school scholarships for 16,000 to 18,000 low-income students to obtain degrees in science, math or other technology-related disciplines so that they can compete for the cutting-edge jobs in the high-tech sector.

Another $83 million, or 55 percent of the H-1B fee revenue, as a result of an amendment by Senator Kennedy, would be allocated to workforce training programs and demonstration projects to provide technical skills training for U.S. workers. I am hopeful that, in the end, we can work in a provision to increase the H-1B visa fee from $500 to $1,000. This will double the amount of funding for these important education and training programs.

I support lifting the H-1B visa cap, but clearly it is only a short-term solution to a long-term problem. The technology industry recognizes this and has already made significant financial contributions to education training programs. These amendments represents an additional industry commitment to educating America's workforce.

Recent research indicates that the number of bachelor of science degrees awarded in computer science and math fell 29 percent from 1985 to 1995. Engineering degrees fell 16 percent from 1985 to 1997; computer and information sciences experienced a 42 percent drop. Yet it is expertise in these very areas that businesses, especially high-technology companies, need in order to stay globally competitive.

Our society is undergoing a dramatic technological transformation. Information technology has changed every aspect of our society, from telephone and banking services to commerce and education. Given this, the demand for highly skilled professionals has exploded. Even excluding the biotechnology industry, the high-tech explosion has created over 4.8 million jobs in the United States since 1993 and produced an industry unemployment rate of 1.4 percent.

Despite the billions of dollars that companies spend annually on training, a gap still exists between professionals available in the U.S. workforce and the needs of employers. We need to raise the H-1B cap for the next few years because often employers' needs are immediate; they cannot afford to wait for workforce training or retraining while positions remain unfilled. I look forward to the day when it is not necessary to bring in workers from abroad for these positions because California's schools are producing students who can match the best and brightest from anywhere across the globe.

I am also pleased that the Senate has adopted as an amendment to the H-1B legislation, the provisions of S. 2586, the “Immigration Services and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2000,” which I introduced earlier this year. As we seek to address the needs of the high tech industry by increasing the number of H-1B visas, I am pleased to see that we are also taking an active role in addressing the unacceptably long backlogs in visa application processing.

We have all heard the horror stories of the long processing delays associated with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). What was once a 6-month process has now become a three- to four-year ordeal. While the INS has made some improvements in reducing processing times for some applications, the INS’s overall record keeping and computer systems still suffer from serious flaws. Many forms filed during the application process have been lost, automatically disqualifying immigrants from an immigrant visa or naturalization because they missed their INS appointments.

It is unacceptable that millions of people who have followed our nation’s laws, made outstanding contributions to our nation, and paid the requisite fees have had to wait months, and even years, to obtain the immigration services they need. These processing delays have had a negative impact on businesses seeking to employ or retain essential workers.

Faced with a shortage of highly skilled workers in the U.S., many of our nation’s businesses, including those in the high tech industry, must increasing rely on the INS to help provide them with access to highly skilled foreign professionals. However, long delays and inconsistencies in INS processing are causing many companies to postpone or cancel major projects that support their fiscal growth.

I believe the backlog reduction provisions included in this bill will send a clear signal to the INS that it is time to change the way they do business. The provisions would require the INS to process H-1B applications and other non-immigrant visa applications within 30 days, and naturalization applications, permanent employment visas, and other immigration visa applications within six months. In addition, the provisions would establish a separate account within the INS to fund backlog reduction efforts.

This account would permit the INS to fund across several fiscal years infrastructure improvements, including additional staff, computer records management, fingerprinting, and nationwide computer integration. Finally, the provisions would require the INS to put together a plan on how it intends to eliminate existing backlogs and report on this plan before it could obtain any appropriated funds.

The backlog reduction provisions are intended to provide the INS with direction and accountability, and would enable millions of law-abiding residents, immigrants, and businesses, who have paid substantial fees to the INS, to have their applications processed in a timely manner. I believe enactment of these provisions as part of the H-1B legislation will send a strong Congressional directive to the INS that timely and efficient service is not merely a goal, but a mandate.

Our nation has undergone a dramatic technological transformation. The U.S. economy has enjoyed unprecedented expansion, in large part because of the high tech industry. In California alone, this growth in technology has made our State number one in high tech employment by creating almost 800,000 jobs and comprising 61 percent of California’s exports. I am convinced that the economy of California as well as the rest of the nation could run out of steam if the driving engine–that is, the high tech industry–does not have the resources it needs to continue its unprecedented growth.

Certainly, it is in our interest to ensure that these industries, which are located in the U.S. and help drive our economy, can continue to obtain qualified, highly skilled employees. This bill meets the needs of the industry by providing additional temporary visas for exceptional professional personnel. Despite the billions of dollars that companies spend annually to train their work force, a gap still exists between professionals available in the U.S. work force and the needs of employers. Often employers’ needs are immediate; they cannot afford to wait for work force training or retraining while positions remain unfilled.

I look forward to the day when it is not necessary to bring in workers from abroad for these positions because California’s schools are producing students who can match the best and brightest from anywhere across the globe.”