Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2004 10:32:57 -0800 From: Norm Matloff To: Norm Matloff Subject: more on Hillary To: H-1B/L-1/offshoring e-newsletter Two articles enclosed here, both from the Indian press. The first article chronicles Senator [oddly, the article's first referral to her is as "Former First Lady" instead of "Senator"] Clinton's appearance on the Lou Dobbs Show on CNN a few weeks ago. The author feels that Dobbs "ambushed" Clinton. Unfortunately, the article does not provide the context for this. Many of you will recall what happened. Clinton was going on and on, saying how awful offshoring is, and especially saying how awful Bush is for allowing it. But then Dobbs pointed out that Clinton herself was very closely allied with Tata Consultancy Services, an Indian offshoring giant. Clinton looked obviously startled and nervous, and then agreed that TCS is indeed an offshoring giant. Clinton tried to justify herself by pointing out that Tata had created 10 jobs in Buffalo, NY after Clinton had helped Tata established itself there. Gee, 10 whole jobs! Remember, TCS has thousands of H-1Bs and L-1s in the U.S. But even if that number 10 does grow, the key point is that those jobs won't be filled by Americans. Tata has admitted that most of the jobs it opens in the U.S. are filled with Indians. (See http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/Tata.txt) The second article is about a Friends of India organization recently formed in the U.S. Senate. No surprisingly, Sen. Clinton is co-chair of the body. As can be seen here, the Indian-American physicians are among the real activists here. This puts the 60 Minutes puff piece on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in interesting context. If you recall, there was Brand IIT public relations campaign being conducted at the time. According to the producer of the 60 Minutes piece, the piece had been suggested to 60 Minutes by "an Indian doctor." This part is interesting: At a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, House lawmakers grilled administration officials over granting Pakistan a ''major non-NATO ally'' status despite the ongoing probe into the country's involvement in nuclear proliferation. ''Do you think that the designation of Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally should wait until we've made that determination?'' Democrat legislator Gary Ackerman asked sharply. On the surface, it's nice to hear the Rep. Ackerman is concerned about nuclear proliferation. But the article here raises the possibility that his "sharp" tone is more a product of Indian-American campaign contributions than anything else. I don't condemn the Indian-American activism. This is the American way, and more power to them. But it is important to understand the dynamics of the politics of the offshoring issue. And I would point out that these activists do not necessarily represent the points of view of the Indian-American population at large. A whole lot of Indian-Americans are being hurt by H-1B and outsourcing. Norm Hillary Clinton stands up for Tatas, outsourcing CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA TIMES NEWS NETWORK, FRIDAY, MARCH 05, 2004 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/538674.cms WASHINGTON: Former First Lady Hillary Clinton on Wednesday defended the general principles of free trade and outsourcing, while rejecting suggestions that she was allowing Indian info-tech major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to take away jobs from the state that elected her to the Senate. The New York Senator was ambushed by CNN's Lou Dobbs on his show, a daily outlet for anti-free trade rants, with questions about a TCS center she opened last year in Buffalo in upstate New York despite the company's reputation as an 'outsourcer.' "Of course, I know they outsource," Clinton retorted. "But they have also brought jobs and they intend to be a source of new jobs in the state." Outsourcing works both ways, she told Dobbs and his constituency of anti-free traders who tried to corner her on the issue. While not minimizing the problems of job flight, she said free trade also provided opportunities for the US to attract jobs from around the world if they got the domestic diagnosis right. The administration and the Congress needed to figure out changes in tax codes and trade laws to provide incentives for companies to keep jobs at home and create new jobs instead of blindly striking out against outsourcing. "We are not against all outsourcing; we are not in favour of putting up fences," Clinton said firmly, adding that Americans were capable of competing against anyone if they summoned the will. TCS opened a 10-person center in Buffalo last March at the prompting of the former First Lady and local officials eager to generate local employment. The company also collaborates closely with the University of Buffalo on various projects aimed at galvanising the local sci-tech economy. But anti-outsourcing elements have targeted the office, arguing that TCS will simply outsource the jobs to India or bring in Indian hands to Buffalo to do the work. They have also attacked Clinton for inviting TCS, and in some instances accused her of working with what one anti-outsourcing website described as the 'enemy.' But the New York Senator dismissed the fears on Wednesday, and instead offered various prescriptions aimed at creating more jobs at home, including creating a 'Manufacturing Research Agency.' Her proposals, amid a slew of other prescriptions and legislations by other lawmakers, prompted speculation that she was moving center-stage with an eye on the vice-presidential ticket alongside John Kerry. But the former First Lady laughed away the suggestion saying she was happy with her work as a Senator. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/593175.cms Senators form 'Friends of India' CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2004 08:30:48 PM ] WASHINGTON: A new bipartisan group called 'Friends of India' has been formed in the US Senate on the lines of the decade-old Congressional Caucus of India and Indian-Americans in the House of Representatives. About 20 Senators have signed up for the new caucus, the first country-specific body in the Senate. It will be led by Texas Senator John Cornyn and co-chaired by New York's Hillary Clinton. Senate Majority Leader and Tennessee Republican Bill Frist and Minority Leader and South Dakota Democrat Thomas Daschle will also be members of the group, Cornyn said at a Capitol Hill Gala Dinner hosted by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) on Tuesday night. The Senate caucus addresses the long-standing feeling among community activists that while India lobbied effectively on the House side, it lacked punch in the Senate, where lawmakers have often been uncaring or unapprised about India's concerns. The India Caucus in the House has nearly 150 members. Indian community activists worked to push for the Senate Caucus at a time when the Bush administration is seen as having gone totally overboard in its support and promotion of the military dictatorship of Pakistan. There is also concern in the community over the unexpected backlash against India over the issue of outsourcing. At a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, House lawmakers grilled administration officials over granting Pakistan a ''major non-NATO ally'' status despite the ongoing probe into the country's involvement in nuclear proliferation. ''Do you think that the designation of Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally should wait until we've made that determination?'' Democrat legislator Gary Ackerman asked sharply. But US officials, who have been giving an almost daily serial certification of Pakistan's good behavior on terrorism and proliferation issues in the face of searching questions from many quarters, contended that the granting of the status was based on ''other factors'' - an oblique reference to Islamabad's help in hunting for al Al Qaeda elements. However, there is apprehension among Indian activists that their efforts on the Hill will amount to little if the administration itself continues to bat for Pakistan in the manner it has done so far. At the AAPI event, everyone made the right noises even though the Bush administration's actions over the past few weeks have frayed Indo-US ties significantly. Cornyn, who is a freshman senator, said he undertook the job of creating an India Caucus in the US Senate because of the importance of US-India relations and the incredible experiences he had on a recent visit to India. Harking back to the worn out recollection of poor Indo-US ties during the Cold War, Cornyn said ''We have to make up for lost time.'' But Indian officials say privately that while the two countries did make up for lost time in the recent years, Washington had lost the plot yet again.