<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER  No. 1979 -- 2/18/2009 >>>>>

In the previous newsletter I explained how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and
the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) ganged up together to
crush the "Employ American Workers Act" (SA306) amendment to the Stimulus
Bill. For a short recap read my op-ed:

http://www.capsweb.org/content.php?id=574&menu_id=8
Bad Week for American Workers

For some unexplained reason K street lobbyists failed to stop SA306! It's
still in the final version of the bill that President Obama signed.

To see for yourselves, go here and scroll to page 494 Section 1611, Employ
American Workers Act

http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf

You can find out more details about the Stimulus bill here:

http://www.recovery.gov/

So far I haven't seen a good explanation why the amendment made it into the
final bill. Perhaps it was a small consolation for the watering down of the
"Buy American" amendment or the defeat of E-Verify, or more likely it
somehow got lost in the shuffle of the 1000+ page bill. Obama has made it
very clear that he wants to expand the H-1B visa program so the inclusion
of SA306 was a pleasant surprise.

One thing for sure, some heads are going to roll at the USCoC and AILA. I'm
sure Charlie is more than just disappointed. LOL!

   On the other hand, Charles Kuck, president of the American
   Immigration Lawyers Association, expressed disappointment at
   the inclusion of the hiring restrictions in the compromise
   stimulus bill.

Keep in perspective that SA306 is purely a symbolic victory. It's highly
unlikely that a single H-1B visa will be affected. All the amendment does
is to re-classify banks that receive TARP money as "H-1B dependent". These
banks will merely have to jump a few extra hoops to hire an H-1B, which
usually means they will probably have to file a few more forms, and they
might even have to put a fake ad in the newspaper to appear like they are
giving "good faith" efforts to hire Americans.

For banks that are pigging out on TARP money, hiring an H-1B will be
slightly easier than sponsoring a foreigner for a green card, which isn't
very difficult at all! Another way to look at it is this: banks that are
receiving billions of dollars of bailout money might have to hire a lawyer
to process the forms instead of using an HR flunky. In that regard the
Stimulus bill will succeed in getting jobs for Americans -- in the
immigration business.

Articles about SA306 abound, and many of them are already perpetuating
myths that need to be debunked. Here are a few examples, both good and bad.



Businessweek had a very good article on SA306. This excerpt is particularly
poignant:

   The amendment falls short of preventing large banks from using H-1Bs
   brought into the U.S. by outsourcing firms like India-based Infosys
   (INFY), Wipro (WIT), and Tata (TCS.NS), which are among the top
   recipients of petitions for the H-1B visa program. In other words,
   a bank could still legally force a laid-off American employee to
   train a replacement worker who is on an H-1B visa on an outsourcing
   firm’s payroll.


Those outsourcing firms mentioned are more commonly called "bodyshops". The
ones mentioned are already H-1B dependent because they employ H-1Bs from
India almost exclusively. Allowing bodyshops to contract to TARP banks is a
gaping loophole in SA306.

Patrick Thibodeau of Computerworld is one of the best writers on the
subject of H-1B, and his article on SA306 is no exception, but he goofed
here:

   The stimulus bill, once it is approved by the Senate and signed by
   President Barack Obama, will require firms that take bailout
   funding to make a good-faith effort to hire U.S. citizens before
   people who are in the country on H-1B visas.

All employers are required to make a "good faith effort" to hire qualified
American workers before sponsoring an H-1B. Being H-1B dependent doesn't
change that, but it does require employers to jump a few more hoops to game
the system. The problem is that "good faith" means different things to
different people. Take for example this quote from one of the most infamous
immigration lawyers in the business:

   When employers feel the need to legalize aliens, it may be due to a
   shortage of suitable U.S. workers, but even in a depressed economy,
   Employers who favor aliens have an arsenal of legal means to reject
   all U.S. workers who apply.
   ---  Immigration Lawyer, Joel Stewart, Esq.

Stewart was actually talking about green cards, which have far more
stringent regulations than H-1B dependent employers.


Indian webzines and newspapers are going ballistic over SA306. Here are two
reactionary examples:


   US President Barack Obama will be signing the Stimulus Bill into law
   on Tuesday. The bill also includes a clause that restricts American
   companies receiving bailout money to hire foreign skilled workers on
   H-1B visas -- a temporary work permit needed for foreigners to work
   in the US.

American companies aren't going to be restricted from hiring H-1Bs. Only
banks and financial institutions that receive TARP money will be classified
"H-1B dependent", which does nothing from stopping them from hiring H-1Bs.
Let me repeat again in case somebody missed it: SA306 DOES NOTHING TO STOP
BANKS FROM HIRING H-1BS! Only 1% of the employers in the U.S. are H-1B
dependent and they never have a problem hiring H-1Bs -- if they did have a
problem the Indian bodyshops wouldn't be able to staff themselves mostly
with Indian nationals.

   This latest measure has Indians in America worried as they make up a
   major chunk of the H1-B visa holders.

Indian nationals, and any other foreigner, have nothing to worry about
because the ones already here have visas, and the ones that want to come
here that don't have visas will have no more problems than usual to find a
company that will sponsor them for a visa. All H-1B visa holders are
subject to the 65,000 + 20,000 a year cap and in 2009 and 2010 the caps
will reach their limit because employers are scrapping for every visa they
can get. SA306 will not affect the number of H-1B visas granted because
cheap foreign labor is still very desirable by U.S. employers.

   The United States Congress has barred companies receiving government
   bailout from hiring Indians and other foreign workers through the
   skilled worker visa (H1-B) programme, if they are replacing American
   workers.

Indian newspapers are becoming very paranoid because SA306 doesn't mention
a particular nationality. Indians comprise about 65% of the total visas
handed out each year, so it could be argued that they receive a
disproportionate share of the visas, and they will continue to do so unless
the Chinese overtake them.

   The provision prevents companies supported by the troubled asset
   relief programme (Tarp) from applying for H-1B visas for highly
   skilled foreign workers if they have recently laid off US
   employees.

SA306 doesn't stop companies from doing this, but they are restricted 90
days before or after a major layoff. Unfortunately there are big loopholes
in the regulations because the definition of "layoff" is kind of fuzzy. For
that loophole and others, read:

http://www.jobdestruction.info/ShameH1B/H1BLegal.htm
"Legality of Replacing Americans With H-1Bs, A Study of What the Law Says"

   "These banks may not be looking to hire lots of new workers any time
   soon," said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign
   Relations. "It is the signal that it sends to the rest of the world
   that is troubling. We are enshrining the principle that in tough
   economic times it makes it harder to hire foreign workers."


*****  CONCLUSION  *****

Actually the Stimulus bill is business-as-usual when it comes to hiring
illegal aliens, offshoring jobs, and allowing the importation of foreign
guest workers. Nothing changes except our level of national debt and our
trade deficits.

So, by now you may be asking if the inclusion of SA306 is reason enough to
support Obama's Stimulus bill in order to realize a symbolic victory on the
H-1B issue. The very last commentary in this newsletter gives some insight
into the wisdom of the bill. 


Lou Dobbs had a very good story about SA306. At the time of the show it was
not known if the amendment would make its way into the final bill. Be sure
to watch the video.

REFERENCES:

http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=19873&security=16
01&news_iv_ctrl=1721#2
H-1B Amendment Survives Conference Committee

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2009/02/12/ldt.tucker.h1b.blitz.cn
n
Lou Dobbs:  H-1b Worker Impact  ( Feb 12, 2009 ) 

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0902/12/ldt.01.html
Lou Dobbs transcript, Aired February 12, 2009

http://www.businessweek.com/blogs/money_politics/archives/2009/02/stimulus_t
ighte.html
Stimulus: Tighter H-1B Controls on Bailed Out Banks

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&ar
ticleId=9127979
Limits on H-1B hiring by bailout recipients still in economic stimulus bill

http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=29465
Bailed-out US cos cannot hire people with H-1B visa 

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090083817
Obama's package, bad news for Indians?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/77ce7932-fa39-11dd-9daa-000077b07658.html
Hire American measures raise protectionism concerns

http://olbroad.com/2009/02/17/understanding-the-stimulus/
Understanding the "Stimulus"


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=19873&security=16
01&news_iv_ctrl=1721#2

H-1B Amendment Survives Conference Committee

An H-1B-related amendment offered by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and
Charles Grassley (R-IA) to the economic stimulus package has survived the
reconciliation process between the House and Senate and will be part of the
final bill signed by President Obama.  Entitled the "Employ American
Workers Act," the Sanders-Grassley Amendment sought to limit entities who
receive funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) -- established
by last year's $700 billion financial services sector bailout legislation
-- from displacing U.S. citizen workers. (CongressDaily, February 13,
2009). 

The original text of the amendment as it was printed in the Congressional
Record on February 4th would have barred any recipient of TARP funding from
hiring any H-1B workers. (Congressional Record, S1590).  As modified,
however, a caveat was added to the Grassley-Sanders Amendment which watered
down the amendment substantially.  (Congressional Record, S1669 & S1803).
The modified amendment was eventually adopted by voice vote. As modified,
this language "isn't as tough as the one Senator Grassley originally
proposed... [but instead the] modified amendment" makes TARP recipients
jump through extra hoops before they can hire those foreign workers."
(BusinessWeek, February 13, 2009).

COMMENT FROM ROB: In a previous newsletter I stated that it appears FAIR
didn't understand that the amendment had been watered down. This new update
proves otherwise.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0902/12/ldt.01.html
Aired February 12, 2009

DOBBS: Some good news on the economy tonight, retail sales unexpectedly
rising one percent in the month of January, that after six straight months
of decline. The jump in retail sales, by the way, is the biggest increase
in more than a year. Most economists were expecting sales to decline nearly
a full percent in January after the worst holiday sales season in four
decades. They were obviously surprised.

And we are delighted to be able to report to you more positive signs about
the economy. Of course, you probably won't hear a lot of this amidst all of
the dire talk by a lot of leading elected officials talking about
catastrophe, disaster, depression. Well, homeowners tonight have some good
news as well. Foreclosure filings nationwide were down 10 percent in
January from the month of December.

Business special interests tonight, well, they're intensifying their push
for, because we've got millions and millions more of Americans who are
losing their jobs, the business interests want more foreign worker visas.
The business lobbyists are fighting proposals that would require banks, for
example, receiving bailout money to hire American workers first -- how
about that -- Bill Tucker with our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A renewed push for H-1B
workers is underway in Washington led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the
Chamber lobbying against a requirement that banks or other financial
institutions receiving bailout money hire American workers ahead of foreign
guest workers and effectively preventing the banks from hiring guest
workers, immediately after or before large- scale layoffs of Americans. The
amendment's co-sponsor is appalled.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Just think at this moment, we're in the
middle of a deep recession. We're losing half a million jobs every month.
The financial industry has laid off itself 100,000 American workers and
their response is, gee, maybe we can get cheap labor from abroad.

TUCKER: We called the Chamber for an explanation or a comment. It declined.
However, "New York Times" writer Tom Friedman (ph) argued in his column
earlier this week that such hiring restrictions would be protectionist.
Those comments are in line with the Chamber's public comments. Friedman
(ph) also argues that such restrictions would be stupid.

For evidence, he points to a new study from the Harvard Business School
trying to examine the impact of H-1B workers from 1995 to 2006, on
applications for patents. The study concludes that a 10 percent increase in
the H-1B visa program result in a one to two percent increase in patent
applications by people with Indian or Chinese surnames residing in the U.S.
And when there's a decline in the number of visas, there's also a drop in
the number of patent applications. Norman Matloff, an ardent critic of the
H-1B program and this Harvard study says the study is seriously flawed.
NORMAN MATLOFF, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS: It's got lots of math in it.
It's got lots of references. It's from Harvard no less. A lot of people on
Capitol Hill are going to pay attention to this study, but they shouldn't.
They shouldn't be fooled.

TUCKER: That's because the study does not prove that H-1B workers or even
foreign-born workers were the recipients of the patents. It establishes a
correlation of patents being granted to recipients with non-English names.
The study's author says he understands and welcomes the arguments
surrounding his study.

BILL KERR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: This is a very, very sensitive program and
there's both sides of this debate have lots of arguments and both sides can
point to places where there are very adverse effects of the H-1B program
there and are also very beneficial effects of the program.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCKER: Now Kerr says he'll be happy if the impact of his study is to
generate more research into the H-1B program. As for the U.S. Chamber and
its lobbying efforts against American workers, well Lou we still don't know
if they are successful or not whether they killed the Grassley/Sanders
Amendment because as Dana reported up at the top of the show, that bill
just started getting printing, so nobody knows what's going on.

DOBBS: We know what -- you know, the Senate, this House are the tools of
the Chamber of Commerce and that hasn't changed with an election. But let's
go back to Harvard...

TUCKER: Yes.

DOBBS: That's the Harvard Business School...

TUCKER: Right.

DOBBS: ... we're talking about, not Harvard University. That's Harvard
Business School. It's not entirely clear how the funding for that grant
worked out for that study. Harvard Business School paid for it with funds
from whom? Do we know that?

TUCKER: No...

(CROSSTALK)

TUCKER: I talked to the author. He said 100 percent of the business school,
he accepted no sponsorship money.

DOBBS: Oh OK and did -- I wish he would have accepted one thing and that
was probably a lesson in methodology because to extrapolate from
non-English surnames that someone is automatically an H-1B visa holder is
utterly...

TUCKER: It's flawed. DOBBS: It's not a flaw, it's stupid. It is utterly
ridiculous. You know look, I mean I -- business has to follow what the
Chamber of Commerce tells it, but I'd like to see at least some
intellectual integrity, particularly at Harvard Business School. Thank you
very much.

TUCKER: You're welcome.

DOBBS: Bill Tucker. Anywhere in the country just give me intellectual
integrity. An incredible home invasion to tell you about caught on
videotape. We'll have that story and the amazing conclusion.

Also ahead illegal aliens suing an Arizona rancher who caught them on his
property and Democrats killing one of the most effective programs to fight
illegal immigration, we're going to be right back.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.businessweek.com/blogs/money_politics/archives/2009/02/stimulus_t
ighte.html

Stimulus: Tighter H-1B Controls on Bailed Out Banks
Posted by: Jane Sasseen on February 13

By Moira Herbst

In the final version of the stimulus bill, Senate and House negotiators
agreed to stricter limits on banks and other firms that take taxpayer
bailouts that use the H-1B visa program.

The proposal by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Charles Grassley
(R-Iowa) was added to the economic recovery package in the Senate on Feb.
6. A conference committee retained the provision in the version of the bill
that is expected to win final congressional approval in the coming days.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Immigration Lawyers
Association had lobbied against inclusion of the provision.

The amendment that passed isn’t as tough as the one Senator Grassley
originally proposed on Feb. 5, which would have prohibited firms from
hiring H-1Bs altogether. The modified amendment in the final bill instead
makes TARP recipients jump through extra hoops before they can hire those
foreign workers.

"The very least we can do is to make sure that banks receiving a taxpayer
bailout are not allowed to import cheaper labor from overseas while they
are throwing American workers out on the street," said Sanders in a
statement.


Here’s a link to all of the companies that have received assistance
through the TARP program and which are required to follow the new H-1B
hiring guidelines.


The amendment falls short of preventing large banks from using H-1Bs
brought into the U.S. by outsourcing firms like India-based Infosys (INFY),
Wipro (WIT), and Tata (TCS.NS), which are among the top recipients of
petitions for the H-1B visa program. In other words, a bank could still
legally force a laid-off American employee to train a replacement worker
who is on an H-1B visa on an outsourcing firm’s payroll.

Rising unemployment is leading to more scrutiny of the H-1B visa program
and its effects. On Feb. 12, federal authorities announced 11 arrests and
the indictment of one firm as part of a coordinated, nationwide crackdown
on H-1B fraud. Such efforts are likely to hamper efforts by companies like
Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL) to expand the H-1B visa program without
considerable reform.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&ar
ticleId=9127979

Limits on H-1B hiring by bailout recipients still in economic stimulus bill

House, Senate negotiators leave restrictions in compromise version of $787B
stimulus plan
Patrick Thibodeau
February 13, 2009 (Computerworld) A provision intended to require banks
receiving federal bailout funds to give hiring priority to U.S. workers
over foreigners with H-1B visas was left in the economic stimulus package
when U.S. House and Senate negotiators agreed on a compromise bill this
week.

The $787 billion stimulus bill was subsequently approved by the House of
Representatives today, and a vote in the Senate is expected tonight.

The provision designed to curb the use of H-1B visas was proposed last week
by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) as an amendment
to the Senate's stimulus legislation. The proposal initially sought to bar
H-1B hiring by financial services firms receiving bailout money, but it was
later modified to restrict such hiring.

The stimulus bill, once it is approved by the Senate and signed by
President Barack Obama, will require firms that take bailout funding to
make a good-faith effort to hire U.S. citizens before people who are in the
country on H-1B visas.

Opponents of the measure said it is so restrictive that affected financial
services firms will likely stop hiring H-1B workers altogether. However,
the provision doesn't prevent them from using offshore outsourcing
contractors, which typically are heavy users of H-1B visas.

As a result of the conference agreement, Sanders said in a statement today
that he expects the H-1B provisions to be adopted along with the rest of
the stimulus bill. He added that what may have prompted the negotiators to
keep the H-1B restrictions in the bill were all of the ongoing layoffs and
other job losses. "With thousands of financial services workers unemployed,
it is absurd for banks to claim they can't find qualified American
workers," Sanders said.

The proposed restrictions require firms that receive money under the
federal Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to comply with hiring rules
set for "H-1B dependent" firms — those with more than 15% of their
workers on visas. Those rules set a number of strict requirements for
hiring H-1B holders, including a need for companies to attest that they
actively recruited American workers and are not displacing or replacing
U.S. citizens with foreign workers.

However, the impact of the new legislation on offshoring of IT work may be
limited. Ron Hira, an assistant professor of public policy at Rochester
Institute of Technology and co-author of the book Outsourcing America,
claimed that many TARP-recipient banks "have huge shadow workforces —
people who work for the bank indirectly through outsourcing contract
firms."

The TARP-related hiring provision "will rectify some of the indefensible
practices of quasi-nationalized banks," Hira said. "But unfortunately, it
doesn't close the loopholes where most of the abuse occurs."

Hira said the amount of outsourcing by Wall Street firms has actually
increased since the bailout program began last fall, citing deals such as
offshore outsourcer Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.'s October agreement to
acquire a unit of Citigroup Inc. that does business process outsourcing and
IT services work. Similarly, Wipro Ltd. agreed in December to buy
Citigroup's IT subsidiary in India.

In addition, Hira contended that "many, if not all, of these banks have
human resource practices where they force their American workers to train
foreign replacements, and subsequently lay off the American workers." That
practice "sometimes results in tragedy," he added, citing the 2003 suicide
of a former Bank of America Corp. programmer who reportedly was laid off
after training his replacement.

On the other hand, Charles Kuck, president of the American Immigration
Lawyers Association, expressed disappointment at the inclusion of the
hiring restrictions in the compromise stimulus bill.

"These banks will not able to hire qualified foreign talent to pull them
out of this mess — if that was necessary," Kuck said. "Maybe we've got
all the homegrown talent we need to pull us out of this mess, because now
we have to hope we do."

While the restrictions don't prevent employers from hiring H-1B holders,
Kuck predicted that the affected firms will be unlikely to do so because of
the added cost and work that will now be involved. The key advantage of the
H-1B program, he said, is the ability it gives companies to quickly hire
people to fill available jobs.

"There are very few employers that are going to wait that period of time to
be able to do that [under the restrictions] when they have to bring
somebody on board right away," Kuck said. "You are effectively saying, 'You
can't use the program.'"

The big question, according to Kuck, is whether companies receiving TARP
funds will be able to bring in "the best person available to do the job."
That's a separate issue, he said, from the low-level work that typically is
going to outsourcing firms.

While the H-1B hiring restrictions made it into the final version of the
stimulus bill, the negotiators dropped a related provision that would have
required businesses taking bailout money to use the federal government's
E-Verify system to vet the employment status of their workers.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=29465

Bailed-out US cos cannot hire people with H-1B visa 

2/14/2009 6:42:20 PM

The United States Congress has barred companies receiving government
bailout from hiring Indians and other foreign workers through the skilled
worker visa (H1-B) programme, if they are replacing American workers.

The bar comes even as information technology firms in the US and India is
demanding an increase in the H1-B visa, which is capped at 65,000 a year
now. Indians account for a majority of those with H1-B visa, issued to
non-immigrant skilled workers for up to six years.

Restricting hiring of H1-B visa holders forms part of American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, widely known as the stimulus bill that was passed by the
Congress yesterday. With thousands of jobs being cut by US companies almost
daily over the past few months, there have been widespread apprehensions
that these positions could go to low-cost foreign workers or might be
outsourced to places like India.

The government data for 2008 shows that about 5.7 lakh Indians were issued
H1-B and other non-immigrant visas. Experts believe the Congress' move
would certainly impact hiring of H1-B visaholders, thus affecting in a big
way the engagement of Indian techies in the US, but might not affect
outsourcing of jobs to places like India.

About two years ago, the US had cut down the H1-B visa limit to 65,000,
from 1, 95,000 a year previously. Information technology firms, both Indian
and American, have been asking to raise the cap to allow the companies in
the US greater access to the growing talent pool across the world.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who along with another Senator Charles Grassley had
moved the proposal for such restrictions, said that about a dozen banks
which are getting over USD 150 billion as the bailout money have sought
visas for over 21,800 foreign workers in past six years to replace sacked
Americans.

These banks have announced at least one lakh job cuts in the recent months,
Sanders noted. Earlier this month, India-born international economist
Jagdish Bhagwati also argued that the provision to restrict hiring of H1-B
visaholders would deprive the US of the best global talent which comes in
the form of highly trained and talented people.

"In terms of broader considerations like the people who are coming in on
H1-B visas -- they're frequently highly trained and talented people and ...
a lot of our progress and prosperity depend on having such people,"
Bhagwati, Professor of Economics at the Columbia University had said.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association, which also has been opposing
the measure, described the Congress approval as "disappointing" and argued
that this would prove to be counterproductive as it prevents the US
companies to hire the best available global talent.

The amended stimulus bill would require the banks receiving the bailout
money to hire only Americans for two years unless they could prove they
were not replacing laid-off Americans with guest workers, Sanders had said.
"With thousands of financial services workers unemployed, it is absurd for
banks to claim they can't find qualified American workers," Sanders said.

"While we are suffering through the worst economic crisis since the Great
Depression, the very least we can do is to make sure that banks receiving a
taxpayer bailout are not allowed to import cheaper labour from overseas
while they are throwing American workers out on the street," he said.

In addition to banks, the Sanders-Grassley provision also restricts hiring
of guest workers at any other firm that receives funds under the Troubled
Asset Relief Programme or from emergency loans made by the Federal Reserve.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090083817

Obama's package, bad news for Indians?
Sarah Jacob
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 (New York) 
 
 
US President Barack Obama will be signing the Stimulus Bill into law on
Tuesday. The bill also includes a clause that restricts American companies
receiving bailout money to hire foreign skilled workers on H-1B visas -- a
temporary work permit needed for foreigners to work in the US.

This latest measure has Indians in America worried as they make up a major
chunk of the H1-B visa holders.

For 24-year-old Kirti Raghuveer, the US government's latest move does not
spell good news. He works for AIG -- one of the earliest companies on Wall
Street to be bailed out for $85 billion dollars.

"I feel like bad luck is smiling all over me. I have been working at AIG
since October and I was supposed to apply for my H-1B in April. But now,
with this news, I don't think that will be possible," he said.

This is also a difficult time for 25-year-old Vijay Jadhav, an MBA student
who took a loan to pay for his college tuition. Vijay is supposed to
graduate this summer and has been frantically applying for jobs in a market
where 350 US companies have received American taxpayers money in some form
or the other.

"It was always my dream to come here, live in this city and work on the
Wall Street. But in this tough market, this new rule has distressed the
student community," he said.

The H-1B visa programme is a controversial one. While respected
entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and the New York Times columnists like Tom
Friedman have been arguing against restricting this programme, there are
many others who are supporting the restrictions as they believe these visas
take jobs away from Americans.

Now, Congress's decision will only make life tougher for Indians in
America, who are trying to survive in an already tough economic
environment. The silver lining for India, however, is that this could stem
to our long-standing brain-drain problem. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/77ce7932-fa39-11dd-9daa-000077b07658.html

Hire American measures raise protectionism concerns
By Alan Beattie in Washington

Published: February 14 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 14 2009 02:00

The final stimulus bill that emerged on Capitol Hill yesterday may have
been portrayed by Barack Obama, US president, as a success for the US
economy. But finance ministers from the Group of Seven meeting in Rome
today will remain concerned about the protectionist signals it may be
sending.

Apart from the Buy American provisions restricting government spending to
US companies, other items in the bill could also give cause for alarm. An
amendment proposed by Bernie Sanders, a leftist independent senator for
Vermont, and Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, would restrict the
use of foreign worker visas by financial institutions being bailed out by
the federal government. The provision prevents companies supported by the
troubled asset relief programme (Tarp) from applying for H-1B visas for
highly skilled foreign workers if they have recently laid off US employees.
"The very least we can do is to make sure that banks receiving a taxpayer
bail-out are not allowed to import cheaper labour from overseas while they
are throwing American workers out on the street," Mr Sanders said.

"These banks may not be looking to hire lots of new workers any time soon,"
said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "It
is the signal that it sends to the rest of the world that is troubling. We
are enshrining the principle that in tough economic times it makes it
harder to hire foreign workers."

The White House and Congress are being pulled in two directions: on one
side, the political imperative to benefit US workers; on the other,
lobbying from multinational companies and trading partners. Mr Obama
appeared in Peoria, Illinois, with Jim Owens, CEO of Caterpillar - a
staunch opponent of Buy American and a consistent, if sometimes minority,
voice in favour of new trade agreements.

But the final version of the stimulus bill contained a relatively strong
version of the Buy American measures, with broad restrictions on buying
foreign-made iron, steel and manufactured goods softened by a reminder that
international trade agreements need to be respected. Robert Gibbs, White
House spokesman, said: "Where we ended up . . . is the right compromise
that respects the [Buy American] laws that we've had on our books for many,
many years while also ensuring that the language doesn't create unnecessary
trade disagreements."

The stimulus bill and its Buy American provisions have also provoked
accusations of hypocrisy. While the administration has resisted pointing
the finger at its trading partners, lawmakers and activists have said
Canada and the European Union, which have complained about the provisions,
have their own restrictions on procurement. Public Citizen, a campaign
group, cites a report from the US trade representative's office from last
year which says many European governments have de facto restrictions on
buying US products, an accusation the European Commission says is
unwarranted. "Even for procurement that is not covered by the GPA [the
World Trade Organisation government procurement agreement], there is no
equivalent 'Buy European' provision," the Commission said.

Business associations representing multinationals were disappointed. Harold
McGraw, chairman and CEO ofMcGraw-Hill and chairman of the Business
Roundtable, an association of CEOs, said: "If we aren't being a good global
partner . . . we are going to pay a price."

Editorial Comment, Page 6 Analysis, Page 8 Lex, Page 16


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://olbroad.com/2009/02/17/understanding-the-stimulus/
Understanding the "Stimulus"

Shortly after class, an economics student approaches his economics
professor and says, "I don't understand this stimulus bill. Can you explain
it to me?"

The professor replied, "I don't have any time to explain it at my office,
but if you come over to my house on Saturday and help me with my weekend
project, I'll be glad to explain it to you." The student agreed.

At the agreed-upon time, the student showed up at the professor's house.
The professor stated that the weekend project involved his backyard pool.

They both went out back to the pool, and the professor handed the student a
bucket. Demonstrating with his own bucket, the professor said, "First, go
over to the deep end, and fill your bucket with as much water as you can."
The student did as he was instructed.

The professor then continued, "Follow me over to the shallow end, and then
dump all the water from your bucket into it." The student was naturally
confused, but did as he was told.

The professor then explained they were going to do this many more times,
and began walking back to the deep end of the pool.

The confused student asked, "Excuse me, but why are we doing this?"

The professor matter-of-factly stated that he was trying to make the
shallow end much deeper.

The student didn't think the economics professor was serious, but figured
that he would find out the real story soon enough.

However, after the 6th trip between the shallow end and the deep end, the
student began to become worried that his economics professor had gone mad.
The student finally replied, "All we're doing is wasting valuable time and
effort on unproductive pursuits. Even worse, when this process is all over,
everything will be at the same level it was before, so all you'll really
have accomplished is the destruction of what could have been a truly
productive action!"

The professor put down his bucket and replied with a smile,
"Congratulations. You now understand the stimulus bill."


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