NEWS CONTACTS: Eric Thomas or Frances Cox (202) 822-9491 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 1, 2006

Compete America Praises Specter Immigration Proposal to Expand Access to Highly Educated Foreign Talent  

H-1B and EB Visa Programs Would be Reformed to Ensure Access to the World’s Best Talent

Washington, D.C. – Compete America congratulated Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) on his proposals to reform U.S. immigration processes for highly educated foreign nationals.

Key provisions of the draft legislation, which the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to begin consideration of on Thursday, March 2 nd, would immediately relieve the crisis U.S. employers face when seeking to hire highly educated foreign nationals. It would also provide relief for thousands of valued foreign-born workers currently stuck in a severely backlogged green card system.

“Senator Specter understands the value of highly educated foreign nationals to U.S. competitiveness. These are the innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers that have contributed mightily to this country’s economy. The current system denies U.S. employers much-needed access to this talent pool, and is counterproductive and punitive,” said Sandra Boyd, Vice President of the National Association of Manufacturers and Chair of Compete America.

“We are very pleased with many of the provisions included in Senator Specter’s proposal specific to highly educated foreign nationals. Taken together, they would go a long way toward fixing a broken system and securing America’s position as the world’s innovation leader,” said Lynn Shotwell, Executive Director of the American Council on International Personnel. “We look forward to working with the Senator and others to make sure these provisions become law this year.”

Compete America (www.competeamerica.org) is a coalition of more than 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations concerned about legal, employment-based immigration and committed to ensuring that the United States has the highly educated workforce necessary to ensure continued innovation, job creation and leadership in a worldwide economy.

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