June 4, 2007

 

The Honorable Harry Reid Majority Leader United States Senate S-221 Capitol Building Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell Republican Leader United States Senate S-230 Capitol Building Washington, DC 20510

 

Dear Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell:

As trade associations representing diverse American companies, we strongly urge the Senate to pass the Cantwell-Cornyn amendment to the comprehensive immigration bill. The amendment would better align the merit-based green card proposal and the H-1B reforms with the ability to attract and retain the world’s most highly skilled professionals.

The amendment would significantly improve the proposed merit-based green card system and H-1B reforms in a manner that would preserve the integrity of the compromise legislation. It would establish an employer-sponsored merit system to complement the bill’s self-sponsored merit-based system and restore the critical H-1B provisions included in last year’s Senate immigration bill. It is a strong bi-partisan proposal that will preserve the ability of US employers to determine the critical skill sets needed for global competitiveness and innovation and will make the proposed H-1B reforms more effective.

We strongly support the Cantwell-Cornyn amendment to improve the high skilled provisions in the comprehensive immigration bill and urge its passage as soon as possible.

 

Sincerely,

Information Technology Industry Council

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Financial Services Roundtable

Business Roundtable

National Association of Manufacturers

Technology CEO Council

National Venture Capitalist Association

Business Software Alliance

American Council of Engineering Companies

TechNet

Information Technology Association of America

AeA

Semiconductor Industry Association

HR Policy Committee

American Council on International Personnel

Electronic Industries Alliance

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International

Software & Information Industry Association

Computer and Communications Industry Association

Society for Human Resource Management

Association for Competitive Technology

Northern Virginia Technology Council