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[Congressional Record: September 26, 2000 (Senate)]
[Page S9237-S9241]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr26se00-142]
H-1B VISAS
Mr. WELLSTONE. I wanted to ask the Senator--I know Illinois is an
agricultural State, as is mine. Many of our rural citizens, for
example, desperately want what I think most people in the country want,
which is to be able to earn a decent living and be able to support
their families. At the same time we have our information technology
companies telling us--I hear this all the time; I am sure the Senator
from Illinois hears this--listen, we need skilled workers; we don't
have enough skilled workers; and we pay good wages with good fringe
benefits. Is the Senator aware we have people in rural America who are
saying: Give us the opportunity to develop these skills? Give us the
opportunity to be trained. Give us the opportunity to telework. With
this new technology, we can actually stay in our rural communities. We
don't have to leave.
Is the Senator aware there are so many men and women, for example, in
rural America--just to talk about rural America--who are ready to
really do this work, take advantage of and be a part of this new
economy, but they don't have the opportunity to develop the skills and
to have the training? Is that what the Senator is speaking to?
Mr. DURBIN. The Senator is right. I am sure he finds the same thing
that I do in rural Illinois when he goes through Minnesota. There are
towns
[[Page S9238]]
literally hanging on by their fingernails, trying to survive in this
changing economy, and some of them are responding in creative ways. In
Peoria, they have create a tech center downtown, jointly sponsored by
the Chamber of Commerce, the local community, and the community
college, where they are literally bringing in people, some our ages and
older, introducing them to computers and what they can learn from them.
So they are developing skills within their community, the lifelong
learning that I mentioned earlier.
Down in Benton, IL, which is a small town that has been wracked by
the end of the coal mining industry, for the most part, in our State,
they have decided in downtown Benton not to worry about flowers planted
on the streets but rather to wire the entire downtown so they will be
able to accommodate the high-tech businesses that might be attracted
there. They are trying to think ahead of the curve.
I am not prepared to give up on American workers. I know Senator
Wellstone is not, either. We need to address the need for more training
and education in rural and urban areas alike.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Could I ask the Senator one other question? I am in
complete agreement with what the Senator is saying. I had hoped to
introduce an amendment to the H-1B bill that dealt with the whole issue
of telework. I think we could have gotten a huge vote for it because
this is so important to what we call greater Minnesota.
I wish to pick up on something the Senator said earlier. He talked
about his own background. The last thing I am going to do is to go
against immigrants and all they have done for our country. I am the son
of an immigrant. I have a similar background to that of my colleague,
but I wanted to give one poignant example. I think we both tend to draw
some energy just from people we meet.
On Sunday, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission--and
I give Chairman Kennard all the credit in the world--came out to
Minnesota to do a 3-day work session with Native Americans. When we
talk about Native Americans, we are talking about first Americans,
correct?
Mr. DURBIN. Yes.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Do you know what they are saying? They are saying: In
our reservations, we have 50-percent-plus poverty. In fact, they are
saying it is not only the Internet; they still don't have phone service
for many. What they are saying is they want to be part of this new
economy. They want the opportunity for the training, the
infrastructure, the technology infrastructure.
Yet another example: I am all for guest workers and immigrants coming
in. But at the same time we have first Americans, Native Americans--I
see my colleague from Maryland is here. We talk about the digital
divide--who are way on the other side of the digital divide. There is
another example which I think we have to speak to in legislation at
this time.
Mr. DURBIN. I agree with Senator Wellstone. As he was making those
comments, I thought to myself, that is right up Senator Mikulski's
alley, and I looked over my shoulder and there in the well of the
Senate she is. Senator Mikulski addressed this issue of providing
opportunities to cross the digital divide so everybody has this right
to access. I invite the Senator to join us at this point. We were
talking about the H-1B bill that addresses an immediate need but
doesn't address the needs of the skill shortage which she raised at our
caucus luncheon, or the digital divide. I would like to invite a
question or comment from the Senator from Maryland on those subjects.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank the Senator for his advocacy on this issue.
First of all, I acknowledge the validity of the high-tech community's
concerns about the availability of a high-tech workforce. The proposal
here is to solve the problem by importing the people with the skills. I
am not going to dispute that as a short-term, short-range solution. But
what I do dispute is that we are precluded from offering amendments to
create a farm team of tech workers. This is what I want to do if I
would have the right to offer an amendment.
We do not have a worker shortage in the United States of America. I
say to the Senator, and to my colleagues, we have a skill shortage in
the United States of America. We have to make sure the people who want
to work, who have the ability to work, have access to learning the
technology so they can work in this new economy.
The digital divide means the difference between those who have access
to technology and know how to use technology. If you are on one side of
the divide, your future as a person or a country is great. If you are
on the wrong side, you could be obsolete.
I do not want to mandate obsolescence for the American people who do
not want to be left out or left behind. That is why I want to do two
things: No. 1, have community tech centers --1,000 of them--where
adults could learn by the day and kids could learn in structured
afterschool activities in the afternoon. Then, also, to increase the
funding for teacher training for K-12, where we would have a national
goal that every child in America be computer literal by the time they
finish the eighth grade. And maybe they then will not drop out.
That is what we want to be able to do. I do not understand. Why is it
that farm teams are OK for baseball but they are not OK for technology
workers, which is our K-12?
I share with the Senator a very touching story. A retail clerk I
encounter every week in the course of taking care of my own needs was a
minimum wage earner. I encouraged her to get her GED and look at tech
training at a local community college. She did that. In all probability
she is going to be working for the great Johns Hopkins University
sometime within the month. She will double her income, she will have
health insurance benefits, and it will enable enough of an income for
her husband to take a breather and also get new tech skills.
But they have to pay tuition. They could do those things. I think we
need to have amendments to address the skill shortage in the United
States of America.
Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Senator from Maryland. She has been a real
leader on this whole question of the digital divide. She caught it
before a lot of us caught on. Now she is asking for an opportunity to
offer an amendment on this bill. Unfortunately, it has been the
decision of the leadership in this Chamber that we will not be able to
amend this bill. We can provide additional visas for these workers to
come in from overseas on a temporary basis, but they are unwilling to
give us an opportunity to offer amendments to provide the skills for
American workers to fill these jobs in the years to come.
Alan Greenspan comes to Capitol Hill about every 3 or 4 weeks. Every
breath he takes is monitored by the press to find out what is going to
happen next at the Federal Reserve. On September 23, he gave an unusual
speech for the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He called on Federal
lawmakers to make math and science education a national priority. Who
would have guessed this economist from the Federal Reserve, the
Chairman, would come and give a speech about education, but he did. He
called on Congress:
. . . to boost math and science education in the schools.
He said it was ``crucial for the future of our nation'' in
an increasingly technological society.
He noted 100 years ago--the time I mentioned, when we
started building high schools in this country at such a rapid
rate--only about 1 in 10 workers was in a professional or
technical job, but by 1970 the number had doubled. Today
those jobs account for nearly one-third of the workforce.
Greenspan said just as the education system in the early
20th century helped transform the country from a primarily
agricultural, rural society to one concentrated in
manufacturing in urban areas, schools today must prepare
workers to use ever-changing high-technology devices such as
computers and the Internet. . . .
``The new jobs that have been created by the surge in
innovation require that the workers who fill them use more of
their intellectual potential,'' Greenspan said. . . .'' This
process of stretching toward our human intellectual capacity
is not likely to end any time soon.''
If we acknowledge that education and training is a national problem
and a national challenge, why isn't this Congress doing something about
it?
Sadly, this Congress has a long agenda of missed opportunities and
unfinished business. This is certainly one of them. For the first time
in more than
[[Page S9239]]
two decades, we will fail to enact an Elementary and Secondary
Education Act. At a time when education is the highest priority in this
country, it appears that the Senate cannot even bring this matter to
the floor to debate it, to complete the debate, and pass it into law.
It is an indictment on the leadership of the House and the Senate
that we will not come forward with any significant education or
training legislation in this Congress.
We will come forward with stopgap measures such as H-1B visas to help
businesses, but we will not come forward to help the workers develop
the skills they need to earn the income they need to realize the
American dream.
I remember back in the 1950s, when I was a kid just finishing up in
grade school, that the Russians launched the satellite, Sputnik. It
scared us to death. We didn't believe that the Russians, under their
Communist regime, and under their totalitarian leadership, could ever
come up with this kind of technology, and they beat us to the punch.
They put the first satellite into space.
Congress panicked and said: We have to catch up with the Russians. We
have to get ahead of them, as a matter of fact. So we passed the
National Defense Education Act, which was the first decision by
Congress to provide direct assistance to college students across
America. I am glad that Congress did it because I received part of that
money. I borrowed money from the Federal Government, finished college
and law school, and paid it back. And thousands like me were able to
see their lives open up before them.
It was a decision which led to a stronger America in many ways. It
led to the decision by President Kennedy to create the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, putting a man on the moon and, of
course, the rest, as they say, is history.
Why aren't we doing the same thing today? Why aren't we talking about
creating a National Security Education Act? Senator Kennedy has a
proposal along those lines. I would like to add to his proposal
lifetime learning so that workers who are currently employed, as
Senator Wellstone said, have a chance to go to these tech centers that
Senator Mikulski described, to community colleges, and to other places,
to develop the skills they need to fill these jobs that we are now
going to fill with those coming in from overseas.
Make no mistake--I will repeat it for the Record--I have no objection
to immigration. As the son of an immigrant, I value my mother's
naturalization certificate. It hangs over my desk in my office as a
reminder of where I come from. But I do believe we have an obligation
to a lot of workers in the U.S. today who are looking for a chance to
succeed. Unfortuantely, we are not going to have that debate. The
decision has been made by the leadership that we just don't have time
for it.
Those who are watching this debate can look around the Chamber and
see that there are not many people here other than Senator Wellstone
and myself. There has not been a huge cry and clamor from the Members
of the Senate to come to the floor today. The fact is, we have a lot of
time and a lot of opportunity to consider a lot of issues, and one of
those should be education.
I might address an issue that Senator Wellstone raised earlier, as
well as Senator Mikulski. How will workers pay for this additional
training? How can they pay for the tuition and fees of community
colleges or universities? It is a real concern.
In my State, in the last 20 years, the cost of higher education has
gone up between 200 and 400 percent, depending on the school. A lot of
people worry about the debt they would incur. I am glad to be part of
an effort to create the deductibility of college education expenses and
lifetime learning expenses. I think if you are going to talk about tax
relief--and I am for that--you should focus on things that families
care about the most and mean the most to the country.
What could mean more to a family than to see their son or daughter
get into a school or college? And then they have to worry about how
they are going to pay for it. If they can deduct tuition and fees, it
means we will give them a helping hand in the Tax Code to the tune of
$2,000 or $3,000 a year to help pay for college education.
I think that is a good tax cut. I think that is a good targeted tax
cut, consistent with keeping our economy moving forward, by creating
the workforce of the future. It is certainly consistent with Alan
Greenspan's advice to Congress, as he looks ahead and says, if we want
to keep this economy moving, we have to do it in a fashion that is
responsive to the demands of the workplace. Many Members have spoken
today, and certainly over the last several months, of the importance of
skills training.
Robert Kuttner, who is an economist for Business Week, wrote:
. . . what's holding back even faster economic growth is
the low skill level of millions of potential workers.
I think that is obvious. As I said earlier, in visiting businesses,
it is the No. 1 item of concern. The successful businesses in Illinois,
when I ask them, What is your major problem? they don't say taxes or
regulations--although they probably mention those--but the No. 1
concern is, they can't find skilled workers to fill the jobs, good-
paying jobs. It really falls on our shoulders to respond to this need
across America.
The sad truth is, we have allowed this wonderful revolution to pass
many of our people by. We have to do something about American
education. It is imperative that we look to our long-term needs,
expanding opportunities in our workforce.
This means providing opportunities in schools, but also it means
afterschool programs, programs during the summer, worker retraining
programs, public-private partnerships, and grants to communities to
give the workforce of the future a variety of ways to become the
workers of the 21st century.
As far as this is concerned, I say, let a thousand flowers bloom, let
communities come forward to give us their most creative, innovative
ideas on how they can educate their workforce and students to really
address these needs.
We have to improve K-through-12 education. I will bet, if I gave a
quiz to people across America, and asked-- What percentage of the
Federal budget do you think we spend on education K through 12? Most
people would guess, oh, 15, 20, 25 percent. The answer is 1 percent of
our Federal budget. One percent is spent on K-through-12 education.
Think about the opportunities we are missing, when we realize that if
we are going to have more scientists and engineers, you don't announce
at high school graduation that the doors are open at college for new
scientists and engineers.
Many times, you have to reach down, as Senator Wellstone has said, to
make sure that the teachers are trained so that they know how to
introduce these students to the new science and the new technology so
that they can be successful as well. That is part of mentoring for new
teachers. It is teacher training for those who have been professionals
and want to upgrade their skills.
I would like to bring that to the Senate floor in debate. I would
like to offer an amendment to improve it. But no, we can't. Under this
bill, all we have is the H-1B visa. Bring in the workers from overseas;
don't talk about the needs of education and training in America.
In addition to improving K-through-12 education, we also have to look
to the fact that science and math education in K-through-12 levels
really will require some afterschool work as well.
It has been suggested to me by people who are in this field that one
of the most encouraging things they went through was many times a
summer class that was offered at a community college or university,
where the best students in science and math came together from grade
schools and junior highs and high schools to get together and realize
there are other kids of like mind and like appetite to develop their
skills. I think that should be part of any program.
The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress has noted
that we are doing better when it comes to the number of students who
are taking science courses. We are doing better when it comes to SAT
scores in science and math. But clearly we are not going to meet the
needs of the 21st century unless we make a dramatic improvement.
[[Page S9240]]
Teacher training, as I mentioned, is certainly a priority. In 1998,
the National Science Foundation found that 2 percent of elementary
schoolteachers had a science degree--2 percent in 1998; 1 percent had a
math degree; an additional 6 percent had majored or minored in science
or math education in college. In middle schools, about 17 percent of
science teachers held a science degree, 7 percent of math teachers had
a degree in mathematics; 63 percent of high school science teachers had
some type of science degree; and 41 percent of math teachers in high
school had a degree in that subject.
It is a sad commentary, but a fact of life. In the town I was born
in, my original hometown, East St. Louis, IL, I once talked to a leader
in a school system there. It is a poor school system that struggles
every day.
He said, he'd allow any teacher to teach math or science if they
express a willingness to try, because they couldn't attract anyone to
come teach with a math and science degree. We can improve on that. We
can do better. There are lots of ways to do that, to encourage people
to teach in areas of teacher shortages and skill shortages, by offering
scholarships to those who will use them, by forgiving their loans if
they will come and teach in certain school districts, by trying to
provide incentives for them to perhaps work in the private sector and
spend some time working in the schools. All of these things should be
tried. At least they should be debated, should they not, on the floor
of the Senate? And we are not going to get that chance. Instead, we
will just limit this debate to the very narrow subject of the HB visa.
We also need to reach out to minorities. When it comes to developing
science and engineering degrees, we certainly have to encourage those
who are underrepresented in these degree programs. The National Science
Foundation reports that African Americans, Hispanics, and Native
Americans comprise 23 percent of our population but earn 13 percent of
bachelor's degrees, 7 percent of master's degrees, and 4.5 percent of
doctorate degrees in science and engineering.
Recruiting young people in the high-tech field will require
initiatives to not only improve the quality of math and science
education but also to spark kids' interest. I talked about the summer
programs in which we can be involved, but there are many others as
well. The National Defense Education Act should be a template, a model,
as the GI bill was, for us to follow. It really was a declaration by
our Government and by our people that the security of the Nation at
that time required the fullest development of the mental resources and
technical skills of its young men and women. That was said almost 50
years ago. It is still true today. The time is now for the Congress to
step up to the plate and reaffirm our commitment to education.
Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Approximately 13 minutes.
Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Chair.
Let me close by addressing another critically important amendment
which is not being allowed with this bill. It is one of which I am a
cosponsor with Senators Kennedy and Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Harry
Reid of Nevada. It is entitled the Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act.
There are many issues which come to the floor of the Senate, but there
are few that enjoy the endorsement and support of both the AFL-CIO and
the national Chamber of Commerce. This bill is one of them.
What we wanted to propose as an amendment was a change in our
immigration laws to deal with some issues that are truly unfair. While
we look to address the needs of the tech industry, we should not do it
with blinders on. There are many other sectors of this robust economy--
perhaps not as glamorous as the latest ``dot-com'' company but still
very much in need of able and energetic workers--that have difficulty
finding workers they need in the domestic workforce. Oddly enough, many
of these workers are already here. They are on the job. They are
raising families. They are contributing to their communities. They are
paying taxes. But they are reluctant to step forward.
I am speaking now of immigrants who come to this country in search of
a better life. Many immigrants left their homelands against their will.
They left because of the appallingly brutal conditions they
encountered, whether at the hands of despotic Central American death
squads or in the chaotic collapse of much of Eastern Europe. To stay
there in those countries meant death for themselves and their families.
I am reminded of those immortal words of Emma Lazarus on our Statue
of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor.
Maybe some of these immigrants are tired. Who could blame them? Many
of them are poor. I can tell you this: Whether people come from other
lands to work in high-tech jobs, as the H-1B visa bill addresses, or
clean the offices, wash the dishes, care for our children, care for our
grandparents and parents in nursing homes, these are some of the
hardest working people you will ever see. As Jesse Jackson said in a
great speech at the San Francisco Democratic Convention: They get up
and go to work every single day.
Here they are in this new land, looking to make the best new start
they possibly can. But for many of these immigrants, we require them to
make that effort with one hand, and maybe even both hands, tied behind
their backs. I am afraid our current immigration laws are so
cumbersome, so complex, and so inherently unfair that thousands of
immigrants to this country are afraid to become fully integrated into
the workforce, afraid because our laws, our regulations, and sometimes
the unpredictable policies of the INS have created a climate of
uncertainty and fear.
Employers are looking for workers. The workers are looking for jobs.
But they are afraid to step forward. There are thousands upon thousands
of people in this country, this great country of ours, who are being
treated unfairly--people who have lived here now for years, sometimes
decades, but are still forced to live in the shadows, where they are
loathe to get a Social Security number, respond to a census form, or
open a bank account. People who are an essential component of this
thriving economy--everybody knows this. People who are doing jobs that
most other people simply do not want to do. Yet we refuse them the
basic rights and the opportunities that should belong to all of us.
There is no other way to say it: This is simply a matter of an unfair
system, created by our own hands here on Capitol Hill, that is ruining
lives, tearing families apart, and keeping too many people in poverty
and fear. We have the means at hand to change this. With an amendment
to this bill, we can rally the forces in the Senate to change the
immigration laws and make them fairer. My good colleagues, Senators
Kennedy and Reed, and I have made a vigorous effort to bring these
issues to the floor. We have been stopped at every turn in the road. We
want to have a vote on the bill, the Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act.
I can't go back to my constituents in Illinois and tell them, yes, we
made it easy to bring in thousands of high-tech workers because Silicon
Valley had their representatives walking through the Halls of Congress
and on the floor of the Senate and the House, but we couldn't address
your needs because you couldn't afford a well paid lobbyist. No, we
have to do the very best we can to be fair to all. That is a message
that will inspire confidence in the work we do in the Senate.
Let me tell you briefly what this bill does. This bill, the Latino
and Immigrant Fairness Act, supported by both organized labor and the
Chamber of Commerce, establishes parity; that is, equal treatment for
immigrants from Central America and, I would add, from some other
countries, such as Liberia, where Senator Reed of Rhode Island has told
us that literally thousands of Liberians who fled that country in fear
of their lives, by October 1 may be forced to return to perilous
circumstances unless we change the law; where those who have come from
Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Eastern Europe, and other
countries, who are here because of their refugee status seeking asylum,
may see the end of that status come because the Congress failed to act.
We will have their future in our hands and in our hearts. I hope the
Senate and Congress can respond by passing this reform legislation.
We also have decided, since 1921, from time to time to give those who
have
[[Page S9241]]
been in the United States for a period of time, sometimes 14 years, and
have established themselves in the community, have good jobs, have
started families, pay their taxes, don't commit crime, do things that
are important for America--to give them a chance to apply for
citizenship. It is known as registry status. The last registry status
that we enacted was in 1986, dating back to 1972. We think this should
be reenacted and updated so there will be an opportunity for another
generation.
Finally, restoring section 245(i) of the Immigration Act, a provision
of the immigration law that sensibly allowed people in the United
States who were on the verge of gaining their immigration status to
remain here while completing the process. This upside down idea has to
be changed--that people have to return to their country of birth while
they wait for the final months of the INS decision process on becoming
a citizen. It is terrible to tear these families apart and to impose
this financial burden on them.
I hope we will pass as part of H-1B visa this Latino and Immigrant
Fairness Act. It really speaks to what we are all about in the
Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Many people have said they are compassionate in this political
campaign. There are many tests of compassion as far as I am concerned.
Some of these tests might come down to what you are willing to vote
for. I think the test of compassion for thousands of families ensnared
in the bureaucratic tangle of the INS is not in hollow campaign
promises. The test of compassion for thousands from El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti refugees asking for equal treatment is
not in being able to speak a few words of Spanish. The test of
compassion for hard-working people in our country who are forced to
leave their families to comply with INS requirements is not whether a
public official is willing to pose for a picture with people of color.
The test is whether you are willing to actively support legislation
that brings real fairness to our immigration laws. That is why I am a
cosponsor of this effort for the 6 million immigrants in the U.S. who
are not yet citizens, who are only asking for a chance to have their
ability to reach out for the American dream, a chance which so many of
us have had in the past.
These immigrants add about $10 billion each year to the U.S. economy
and pay at least $133 billion in taxes, according to a 1998 study.
Immigrants pay $25 billion to $30 billion more in taxes each year than
they receive in public services. Immigrant businesses are a source of
substantial economic and fiscal gain for the U.S. citizenry, adding at
least another $29 billion to the total amount of taxes paid.
In a study of real hourly earnings of illegal immigrants between
1988, when they were undocumented, and 1992 when legalized, showed that
real hourly earnings increased by 15 percent for men and 21 percent for
women. Many of these hard-working people are being exploited because
they are not allowed to achieve legal status. The state of the
situation on the floor of the Senate is that we are giving speeches
instead of offering amendments. It is a sad commentary on this great
body that has deliberated some of the most important issues facing
America.
Those watching this debate who are witnessing this proceeding in the
Senate Chamber must wonder why the Senate isn't filled with Members on
both sides of the aisle actively debating the important issues of
education and training and reform of our immigration laws. Sadly, this
is nothing new. For the past year, this Congress has done little or
nothing.
When we see all of the agenda items before us, whether it is
education, dealing with health care, a prescription drug benefit under
Medicare, the Patients' Bill of Rights for individuals and families to
be treated fairly by health insurance companies, this Congress has
fallen down time and time again. It is a sad commentary when men and
women have been entrusted with the responsibility and the opportunity
and have not risen to the challenge. This bill pending today is further
evidence that this Congress is not willing to grapple with the
important issues that America's families really care about.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be
allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(The remarks of Mr. Wellstone pertaining to the introduction of S.
3110 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
____________________
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