Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 20:23:42 -0800 From: Norm Matloff To: Norm Matloff Subject: false expression of concern on H-1B/L-1/offshoring To: H-1B/L-1/offshoring e-newsletter I keep hearing from readers that Dean, Kerry, Clark etc. are making remarks sympathetic to American programmers and engineers on the topics of H-1B/L-1/offshoring. Though I have hope in this regard for Kucinich, I want to "translate" what Dean and Clark are saying, which isn't sympathetic after all once you decipher the code words. Here are (a) an excerpt from Dean's Web page, and (b) remarks made by General Clark: http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_policy_foreign_ issue_visas DEAN FOR AMERICA P.O. Box 1228 Burlington, VT 05402 802.651.3200 Dean on: H1-B and L-1 Visas It shouldn't be easier to hire a foreign worker than a US worker. A company should not be allowed to lay off an American worker and rehire a foreign worker at a lower wage. And law abiding companies that play ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ by the rules should not suffer a competitive disadvantage. We need ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ visa programs that protect US workers and we need programs that cannot be exploited. To ensure this happens, we need to fully fund business ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ immigration enforcement so that companies that abuse these programs ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ are punished. This will curb abuses, but still allow US companies to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ obtain the foreign workers that they legitimately need and ensure that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ foreign companies will still want to locate in the US. In the longer ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ term, we need to use the funds generated by the visa programs to educate and train US workers so that they can acquire the skills that they lack to fill the positions legally held by foreign workers. Paid for and maintained by DEAN FOR AMERICA Contributions to Dean for America are not tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes. Copyright © 2003 Dean for America Privacy Policy - Legal Info "My goal is to ensure that American workers who have the skills have the opportunity to get those jobs. H-1B and L-1 visa programs should be a last resort, not a first. Second, we should continue to charge a fee that is dedicated to upgrading the skills of more of our workers. At the same time, I support vigorous enforcement of ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ provisions in H-1B and L-1 visa programs that forbid employers to pay ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ visa holders less than their American counterparts. Finally, our ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ long-run goal must be to have the type of education and training system in this nation that allows more and more of our people to be able to perform the high-wage, high-skills jobs of the future."--Gen. Wesley Clark, statement to the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers in response to a recent questionnaire. I'm told that Sen. Kerry has made similar remarks. As someone mentioned to me, Dean's remarks sound like they were written by Harris Miller of the ITAA. (Which they might have. Miller is active in the Democratic Party, and some of the phrasing above could have been adapted from things he said.) Even the term "business immigration" is one seen only in the industry lobbyists' literature. You can see what is going on here. The buzz in Democratic Party circles is apparently that H-1B is basically a good thing, a needed remedy to address a shortage of American programmers and engineers, but that a small minority of employers are abusing the program by breaking the law, and thus better enforcement is needed. By taking this stance the Party can continue to rake in the money it gets from the industry lobbyists, while blaming an unseen, unnamed "small minority." Thus the words "enforcement" and "abuse" become mantras (along with the obligatory mother of all mantras, "education"). The fact is that (a) it is NOT an enforcement issue and (b) it is NOT just a "small minority" of employers who are to blame. The employers are in full compliance with the law when they underpay the H-1Bs. The loopholes are so gaping and so numerous that there is nothing to enforce. And virtually every employer of H-1Bs underpays them. Just look, for instance, at the salaries for Intel H-1Bs on Rob Sanchez's and the DOL's H-1B Web pages. Here is the real mantra: THE PROBLEMS WITH H-1B ARE NOT--REPEAT NOT--ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS. Instead, the problem is that the basic law itself is written to allow the employers to LEGALLY underpay H-1Bs. In other words, in spite of some nice-sounding words, Dean and Clark want the status quo, business as usual, NOT REFORM OF H-1B LAW. You can then ask the question as to whether their characterization of the problem as being enforcement is sincere ignorance or cold, calculated misrepresentation. To answer that question in Clark's case, see the posting I made a month ago to this e-newsletter, at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/Clark.txt and draw your own conclusions. But even the most charitable reading would be that they don't WANT to be informed on this issue, lest it turn out that the industry turns out to be the bad guys. If they wanted to be informed, they would have contacted the AFL-CIO or IEEE-USA, the two most visible related organizations in DC, and as far as I know, they have never done so. Norm