Promoting Electrotechnology Careers and Public Policy

September 16, 1998

The Honorable Newt Gingrich
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Re: High Tech Guest-Worker Legislation (H.R. 3736)

Dear Representative Gingrich:

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - United States of America (IEEE-USA) urges you to support the Watt Substitute for the Leadership Agreement on H.R. 3736, the Temporary Access to Skilled Workers and H-1B Program Improvement Act, when it comes up for a vote in the House of Representatives later this week.

While IEEE-USA disputes the need for any increases in H-1B admissions - layoffs and hiring freezes in the high tech sector are increasing and mid-career and older engineers are having difficulty getting interviews, let alone jobs - the Watt Substitute is preferable to the Leadership Agreement for the following reasons.

Like the original Smith bill that was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support by the Judiciary Committee, the Watt Substitute authorizes the admission of 315,000 high tech guest-workers over the next three years. Not an insubstantial increase over current levels, but considerably less than the 515,000 called for in the Congressional Leadership Agreement.

More significantly, the Watt Substitute couples this increase with important new worker safeguards that will apply to most employers that use H-1B workers - not just a handful that employ a high percentage of H-1B workers. These safeguards are urgently needed to ensure that qualified U.S. workers, including citizens, legal permanent residents and other temporary workers, are not displaced by H-1B workers and that employers make a good faith effort to recruit U.S. workers before hiring temporary foreign workers.

To demonstrate the importance of the worker-safeguard and the high tech labor market and age- discrimination study provisions in the Watt Substitute, I am also attaching a series of letters from the San Francisco Examiner. After reading these letters, I think you will agree that the best way to maintain America's technological competitiveness is by encouraging employers to make more effective use of the nation's own engineers and scientists instead of increasing their dependence on temporary guest-workers.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a transnational technical and professional society made up of some 320,000 electrical, electronics and computer engineers in 147 countries.

IEEE-USA promotes the professional careers and technology policy interests of IEEE's 219,000 U.S. members.

Sincerely,

John R. Reinert, D.M.
IEEE-USA President

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - United States of America
1828 L Street, N.W., Suite 1202, Washington, DC 20036-5104
Office: (202) 785-0017 * Fax: (202) 785-0835 * E-mail: ieeeusa@ieee.org

Note: This letter was sent to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Last Update: Sept. 18, 1998

Staff Info Contact: Vin O'Neill, v.oneill@ieee.org