PRINTER'S NO. 2784
No. 494 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY SAYLOR, McGEEHAN, REICHLEY, LONGIETTI, BARRAR,
CAPPELLI, CREIGHTON, DeLUCA, DENLINGER, GOODMAN, GRUCELA,
HORNAMAN, R. MILLER, MOYER, PAYNE, PETRONE, SEIP AND SWANGER,
OCTOBER 30, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS,
OCTOBER 30, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to
2 ensure that the H-1B and L-1 visa programs are utilized for
3 the purpose for which they were intended.
4 WHEREAS, The H-1B classification relating to visas applies to
5 persons in a specialty occupation which requires the theoretical
6 and practical application of a body of highly specialized
7 knowledge, requiring completion of a specific course of higher
8 education; and
9 WHEREAS, The L-1 classification relating to visas applies to
10 intracompany transferees who, within the three preceding years,
11 have been employed abroad continuously for one year and who will
12 be employed by a branch, parent, affiliate or subsidiary of that
13 same employer in the United States in managerial, executive or
14 specialized knowledge capacity; and
15 WHEREAS, Loopholes in United States visa law, primarily the
16 H-1B and L-1 laws, are being exploited to such a degree that a
17 significant number of American workers are being put at
1 significant risk of losing their jobs; and
2 WHEREAS, A 2004 study by the Center for Immigration Studies
3 showed that despite the requirement that H-1B workers are paid
4 the prevailing wage, H-1B workers earn significantly less than
5 their American counterparts where, on average, applications for
6 H-1B workers in computer occupations were for wages $13,000 less
7 than Americans in the same occupation and state; and
8 WHEREAS, Most offshoring projects include an onshore
9 component staffed by persons with H-1B or L-1 visas; and
10 WHEREAS, The Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban
11 Economics of the Haas School of Business, University of
12 California, predicts that the United States will transfer 14
13 million service jobs offshore; and
14 WHEREAS, In 2001, the United States lost more than 500,000
15 jobs in the information technology sector alone; and
16 WHEREAS, The Customs and Immigration Service determined that
17 as of April 2, 2007, it had received enough H-1B petitions to
18 reach the Fiscal Year 2008 H-1B cap and set the "final receipt
19 date" as April 2, 2007; and
20 WHEREAS, There have been efforts to increase the number of
21 origin workers through this program; and
22 WHEREAS, In Fiscal Year 2005, the United States issued 10,000
23 more visas than the law required; and
24 WHEREAS, Congress should act to tighten current law before
25 increasing the number of H-1B visas; and
26 WHEREAS, Every contract awarded to a foreign country or to a
27 domestic company making use of foreign resources permanently
28 removes state jobs while cutting into the state tax base;
29 therefore be it
30 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
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1 Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to enact
2 legislation to ensure that the H-1B and L-1 visa programs are
3 utilized for the purposes for which they were intended and not
4 to displace American workers with lower-cost foreign visa
5 holders; and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
7 the President of the United States, to the presiding officers of
8 each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from
9 Pennsylvania.
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