response from Congressman Mike Honda
Dear XXXX:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the issuance of H1-B visas for
temporary foreign workers who have professional expertise not readily
available in the U.S. I appreciate hearing your views on this important
matter, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
As you may be aware, the economic prosperity of the 1990’s fueled a
drive to increase the levels of employment-based immigration. During the
Clinton Administration, our nation enjoyed one of its longest periods of
economic expansion, keeping the unemployment rate low. Many
policymakers, including myself, were concerned that a scarcity of labor could
curtail the pace of economic growth. A primary legislative response was to
increase the supply of foreign temporary professional workers through
the year 2003 by raising the number of H1-B visas that could be issued.
The recent economic downturn in the information technology sector has
diminished demand for H-1B workers in that sector and has raised
questions about the lay-offs of H-1Bs. Clearly, there are many who oppose any
further increases or easing of admissions requirements since there is
no longer evidence of a labor shortage in these professional areas.
However, our economy will rebound, and we, therefore, must be taking steps
to prepare our workforce for future opportunities. The education of
students and retraining of the current workforce was and remains a
critical way to address our skilled worker shortage. Meanwhile, an appropriate
number of H-1B workers is essential if the United States is to remain
globally competitive.
While the tides of our economy will certainly ebb and flow, we must
never forget that there are real people and real lives that move with
those tides. I strongly believe that once we ask a temporary worker to come
to the United States to help make our economy grow, we must treat that
person as we would any worker in this country-with dignity, respect and
fairness.
Once again, I thank you for sharing your views me and will keep them in
mind as this issue moves through Congress. Your voice is critical in
shaping the way I represent our district. I hope that you will continue
to keep me apprised of issues that are important to you.
Sincerely,
Mike Honda
Member of Congress
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I used the email in
http://capwiz.com/aila2/home/ that i got from immigration-law.com. What are you guys interpretation of this email. I am planning to respond to this and explain futher specifically about the senate judiciary bill.
http://capwiz.com/aila2/home/