From: cnd-us@cnd.org (CND-US Editors) Subject: CND-US Update on the Simpson Bill (III), December 2, 1995 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ US Regional Special Issue: Update on the Simpson Bill (III) December 2, 1995 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | CND-US, normally 1 or 2 issues a week, is a supplement to CND-Global and | | has basically no overlap with the CND-G news. CND-US provides in-depth | | information concerning Chinese students/scholars in the United States. | +-------------------------------ISSN 1024-9141-----------------------------+ Table of Contents # of Lines ============================================================================ 1. Summary of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee Mark-up of Simpson Bill S.1394 -- By the IFCSS (2 Items) .................... 150 2. Senator Simpson's Revisions to Address the Concerns of Business, Summary of Subcommittee Markup of S.1394 -- By the ACCA ............. 145 --- --- --- More Info on S.1394 Is Available at URL http://cnd.cnd.org/visa/simpson-bill/ Or at URL http://www.cnd.org/ (Look for Server Announcements on the top page) ============================================================================ CND is a free network news service run by volunteers. To subscribe to/unsub. various CND Services and/or for more information,see trailer of the package. CND-US is published by China News Digest International, Inc. All rights are reserved. Redistribution is hereby permitted provided that it is not for profit and with proper acknowledgement to CND. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Summary of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee Mark-up of Simpson Bill S.1394 -- By the IFCSS (2 Items) .................... 150 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Ifcss Hq 12/01/95, HQ NR #7062 Summary of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee Mark-up of Simpson Bill S 1394 Simpson Bill S 1394 was adopted on November 29 with a vote of 5 to 2. Only did two Democrats Kennedy (D-MA) and Simon (D-IL) vote Nay agai- nst the bill. Senator Feinstein crossed the line and joined other Republicans to favor it. The IFCSS presents hereby the summary of the mark-up in the following. From the given remarks in Mark-up, you may be aware of what and how these Senators were thinking about, which will be good for the on-going campaign. Although some provisions were removed, it still contains very strict items, and doesn't change its instinct of being an anti-immigration, anti-business, and extre- mely discriminative legislation. * * * * * In his opening statement, Simpson explained his stands and acknowled- ged the concerns that business and education groups had expressed to him, and noted that he was making a number of changes to address the- se concerns. Kennedy objected to the cuts proposed in family spon- sored and business related immigration, and Simon, expressing a simi- lar theme, said that illegal, but not legal immigration is the probl- em, and that, in general, the public is "thoroughly confused" about the distinction. However, Grassley (R-IA) supported the overall redu- ction in numbers but wanted to make sure that labor shortages could be dealt with in a timely manner. He noted that his constituents in Iowa are concerned not only about illegal immigration, but also with the level of legal immigration. Feinstein said she was "undecided" on the issue of cuts , but preceeded to talk about the perceived nega- tive impacts of immigration on California. An immigrant comes to Calif., and "ends up bringing 35 or 40 people, and this has an impact". ___ ___ ___ * Simpson' Concessions to the Business Community - Four revisions to the bill were offered by him, which were accepted without objection as a modification to the underlying bill prior to the offering of actual amendments: 1). Reduce the fee that employers would be required to pay when they sponsor a foreign worker; 2). Direct that the fees paid by employers be put into a private fund dedicated to providing scholarship and training in the given industry; 3). Restore, with a few conditions, the visa category the bill had previously eliminated for outstanding professors and researcher; 4). Remove the requirement that the two year of post degree work experience outside the US for foreign students to qualify for an em- ployment-based visa. * Immunizations required for new immigrants - Offered by Kyl (R-AZ) and passed by voice vote. * Formula for Refuge Targeted Assistance - Offered by Feinstein, which would direct more "targeted assistance" money to California and passed by voice vote. * Discussion on family immigration - Presented by Kennedy to ameliorate some of S 1394's more restritist measures aimed at family-sponsored immigration. Due to Simpson's opposition, the amendment was not offered, and Kennedy vowed to do it again in full Judiciary Committee; * English requirement for employment-bsed immigration - Offered by Simon to soften Simpson's more restrict provision, but it was defeated by a vote of 5 to 1. * Protection for conditional status immigrants - Offered by Kennedy to provide protection to immigrant workers who would be subjected to a new two year conditional status. Under S 1394, employment-based immigrants would only receive permanent resident if they demonstrate at the end of a two year conditional period that they are still with the same employer who sponsored them for their visa. The amendment would allow a worker to escape an exploitative or abusive employer if that employer "materially altered" the terms and conditions of employment. It passed. * Parachute kids - Offered by Feinstein for requiring the elementary childred to stay at the private school as they apply the visa for, but not move to pub- lic one. -------------------------------------- The IFCSS presents again in the following the provisions regarding the employment based immigration after the mark-up, for your reference: * Worldwide employment-based preference is reduced to 90,000 from current 140,000; * Labor Certificate (L.C.) becomes very difficult to obtain because employers must pay 10% fee (value of the annual compensation inclu- ding wages, benefits, and all other compensation) for each applica- tion; * Maximal stay for Non-immigrant H-1B and L visas is reduced to 3 years (current 6 yrs for H-1B and 5/7 for L); * New fee is imposed on employers who want to employ H-1B applicant makeing employers very difficult to hire aliens. The fee would be 5% first year, 7.5% second year, and 10% last year of stay ( fee = annual compensation including wages, benefits and all other comp- ensation); * Additional attestations are required before approval of H-1B: a. Employers must pay H-1B workers at least 100% of the actual compensation or 105% of the prevailing wage level; b. no displacement of U.S. workers ( or must pay H-1B replacement workers 105% of the mean of the compensation paid the laid-off US worker); * The bill will take effect on October 1, 1996, if it passes. ___ ___ ___ 2) From: Ifcss Hq 12/02/95, HQ NR #7062 Supplement Important Clarification and Supplement on Summary of the Mark-up Besides the amendments listed in IFCSS HQ NR #7062, several pieces of important messages are provided right now after the HQ staff checked carefully with Simpson's office late this afternoon. We apologize for the incomplete information released before: 1. H-1B fee eliminated, dual intent restored, and no showing of reduced dependency, except for H-1B dependent employers/aliens. H-1B dependent employers defined as those with fewer than 41 employees and four or more H-1Bs; or 41 or more employees and 10% H-1Bs (Simpson); 2. Prevailing wage determinations for academic researchers based on non-profit sector only (Simon); 3. Reduced investor visas restored ($500,000) (Simon); 4. Overseas experience requirement eliminated for H-1B and permanent categories; experience requirement reduced to 3 years for profe- ssionals with advanced or bachelors degrees and skilled workers; (Simpson). Please make a note of it when HQ NR #7062 is forwarded. We sincerely apologize again for this inconvenience. By the way, Senator Simpson will announce his retirement within a couple of days. [CND-US Editor's Note: It is reported today that Senator Simpson said that he will retire in February 1997.] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Senator Simpson's Revisions to Address the Concerns of Business, Summary of Subcommittee Markup of S.1394 -- By the ACCA ............. 145 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _From: acca-2@ACCAIC.ORG (Association for Chinese Community Affairs) 12/02/95 Subject: National Committee on Immigration News Release #9535 From: Maurice Belanger, National Immigration Forum SEN. SIMPSON'S LEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL, S. 1394, PASSES SENATE IMMIGRATION SUBCOMMITTEE; WILL BE JOINED WITH ENFORCEMENT BILL By a vote of 5-2, Sen. Simpson's (R-WY) bill to cut legal immigration, the Immigration Reform Act of 1995 (S. 1394), was voted favorably out of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee on November 28. Following the vote, Senator Simpson made a motion to have the Immigration Subcommittee staff join S. 1394 with his previously-passed enforcement bill, the Immigrant Control and Financial Responsibility Act of 1995 (S. 269). That motion also passed 5-2, guaranteeing a Senate bill that mixes the issue of legal immigration with that of illegal immigration, just as Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has done in the House with H.R. 2202. Only Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Simon (D-IL) voted both against the bill and the motion to join it with Simpson's illegal immigration bill. Sen. Specter (R-PA) was not present for the markup, but voted by proxy with the majority. Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) voted in favor of both the bill and the motion. A date has not been set for Judiciary Committee consideration, but Senator Simpson promised that the amended and joined legislation will be ready "as soon as possible." In his opening statement, Sen. Simpson explained that the 25% reduction in immigration proposed by his bill would give a "breathing space" for five years to demonstrate that Congress "can exercise control" over immigration. He praised the work of the Commission on Immigration Reform (chaired by Barbara Jordan) for its work, and said that his bill, in part, follows the Commission's recommendations. He acknowledged the concerns that business groups had expressed to him, and noted that he was making a number of changes to address those concerns. Sen. Kennedy, in his opening remarks, objected to the cuts proposed in family-sponsored immigration, saying that he was concerned the Senate was "adopting public policies that deny the reunification of families." Sen. Simon, expressing a similar theme, said that illegal, not legal immigration is the problem, and that, in general, the public is "thoroughly confused" about the distinction. Sen. Grassley (R-IA) said that he supports the overall reduction in numbers proposed by the bill, but wanted to make sure that labor shortages could be dealt with in a timely manner. He noted that his constituents in Iowa are concerned not only about illegal immigration, but also with the level of legal immigration. Sen. Feinstein said that she was "undecided" on the issue of cuts to family-sponsored immigration, but proceeded to talk about the perceived negative impacts of immigration on California. An immigrant comes to California, she said, and "ends up bringing 35 or 40 people, and this has an impact." Following the opening statements, a series of amendments were offered. The amendments focused on the employment-based provisions, though there was some discussion about the family provisions. Below is a summary of some of the amendments and discussion. It is not an inclusive listing of all amendments offered. Sen. Simpson's concessions to the business communitys. Prompted by attacks that various high-tech companies, such as Microsoft, have made against S. 1394, Senator Simpson offered a series of four revisions to the bill designed to address the concerns of the business community. The changes were accepted without objection as a modification to the underlying bill prior to the offering of actual amendments. The changes reduce the fee that employers would be required to pay when they sponsor a foreign worker, direct that the fees paid by employers be put into a private fund dedicated to providing scholarship and training in the given industry, and restore, with a few conditions, the visa category the bill had previously eliminated for outstanding professors and researchers. Sen. Simpson also made it easier for foreign students to qualify for an employment-based visa by removing the requirement that the three years of post-degree work experience called for in the bill be obtained outside the U.S. Immunizations required for new immigrants. Senator Kyl (R-AZ) offered an amendment that would require vaccinations for all people seeking immigrant status who did not already have the requisite immunizations. The cost of the vaccinations, estimated at approximately $248, would be born by the immigrant. The amendment passed by voice vote. Formula for Refugee Targeted Assistances. Sen. Feinstein offered an amendment to require that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) distribute "targeted assistance" money to counties on the basis of the population of refugees that have entered the county during the five years prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. The amendment would remove the discretion the Director of ORR currently has to distribute targeted assistance to areas with an "unusually large" influx of refugees. The effect of the amendment would be to direct more "targeted assistance" money to California. The amendment passed by voice vote. Discussion on family immigrationsSen. Kennedy (D-MA) presented for discussion, but did not yet actually offer, an amendment to ameliorate some of S. 1394's more restrictionist measures aimed at family-sponsored immigration. Sen. Kennedy argued that we could maintain cuts in overall immigration levels without abandoning our commitment to family immigration. During his discussion, Sen. Kennedy made specific reference to reducing the percent by which family immigration would be cut, and softening the requirement that parents be required to get long term health care equivalent to Medicare and Medicaid before they would be allowed to come to this country. Sen. Simpson, unsurprisingly, was unmoved by Sen. Kennedy's speech. Sen. Feinstein remarked that she found herself in a "Catch 22," but would end up voting to reduce immigration numbers because she saw that as being in her state's best interests. It was not difficult to infer from her discussion of the issue that, in Sen. Feinstein's mind, immigrants=immigrants on welfare=costs to California. Sen. Kennedy will likely offer his family immigration amendment in the full Judiciary Committee. English requirement for employment-based immigrants. Sen. Simon offered an amendment to delete S. 1394's requirement that employment-based immigrants subject to the labor certification process be able to speak English. Sen. Simon said that up to now, this country has resisted giving preference to those who speak, read, and write English. In this context, he said that it would not make sense if, for example, a French restaurant wanting to hire a French chef would have to wait until the chef learned English. After the Subcommittee members sang "Happy Birthday" to Senator Simon, whose birthday it was, they voted down his amendment 5-1, despite Sen. Simon's wish that they would vote better than they sang. Protection for conditional status immigrants. Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) offered an amendment to provide protection to immigrant workers who would be subjected to a new two year conditional status. Under S. 1394, employment-based immigrants would only receive permanent residence if they demonstrate at the end of a two year conditional period that they are still with the same employer who sponsored them for their visa. The amendment would allow a worker to escape an exploitative or abusive employer if that employer "materially altered" the terms and conditions of employment, or committed illegal acts such that a reasonable person would leave. The amendment passed by voice vote. Parachute kids There is always something new to worry about. Sen. Feinstein offered an amendment to close what she saw as a glaring loophole in our immigration laws. She noted that there is a problem with what she called "Parachute Kids." According to Sen. Feinstein, these are elementary and secondary-school children who obtain visas for the purpose of attending private schools in this country. Once here, they switch to a public school, get their education at the expense of the state, and use the money they save for other purposes. (We are not making this up. Apparently, the concern was sparked by a two-year old Los Angeles Times article reporting on a study that was then already three or four years old.) Her amendment would require that children obtaining visas in order to attend private school actually attend that school. The amendment would not apply to college students or exchange students. It was approved by voice vote. +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Executive Editor of This Issue: Bo Xiong (Chicago, IL) | | Coordinating Editor of This Issue: TANG Hong (Colorado Springs, CO) | | CND Mailing Lists Maintainers: Bo Xiong | | Haosheng Zhou (Canada) | | CND Reader Technical Consultant: XU Ming Yang (Australia) | | CND Manager: Bing Wen (Canada) | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | China News Digest (CND) offers the following services: | | (1) Global News (Every Other Day) (2) US Regional News | | (3) Canada Regional News (4) Europe & Pacific Regional News | | (5) HXWZ (Weekly Chinese Magazine) (6) InfoBase | | CND back issues, database and related information are available via: | | ftp://cnd.org [132.249.229.100]; gopher://cnd.org; http://www.cnd.org | | For Readers in Canada: ftp://canada.cnd.org [142.132.1.50] | | To subscribe or get information, mail request to: CND-INFO@CND.ORG | | To contribute news, please send it to: CND-EDITOR@CND.ORG | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+