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January 21, 2010


Hon. Brian Higgins (sent to all members of the WNY House delegation)
U.S. House of Representatives
431 Cannon House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Higgins:

On behalf of the 2,500 employer members of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, I urge you to be mindful that H.R.4321, Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity (CIR ASAP), is only part of what is needed to achieve true 21st century comprehensive immigration reform. In particular, CIR ASAP fails to address the need for a reliable and legal supply of foreign labor that the United States depends on to remain competitive globally.

The Partnership strongly supports the inclusion of Senator Feinstein’s AgJOBS bill – a model compromise that reforms the H-2a agricultural guest worker program to accommodate the needs of modern agriculture and relieve the chronic farm labor shortage by permitting undocumented workers to apply and earn legal “Blue Card Status.” This pilot program would allow for the maintenance of an agricultural workforce vital to seasonal business in Buffalo Niagara and across the country during the reform process. Also, the proposed cost-cutting measures to the current H-2a program would reduce its expense significantly by allowing employers to offer housing allowances instead of mandatory free housing, curb transportation reimbursement costs and pay workers a prevailing market-based wage instead of the historically above-market adverse effect wage rate (AEWR).

High-skill visa reform is an issue of utmost importance to our members – particularly in Buffalo Niagara’s target industry sectors, including life sciences and manufacturing – and thus we especially are concerned about the damaging effects of imposing more restrictions on H-1B visa use. While our members support and understand the need to curb H-1B and L-1 visa fraud and abuse, there is great concern that the language in the bill seeks to address abuse at the expense of businesses that use the program legitimately to secure much-needed talent. For example, under H.R.4321, an employer who has more than 50 employees would be prohibited from hiring additional workers with H-1B status if 50% of their current workforce is H-1B or L-1 visa holders. This so-called “50/50” rule would constitute an automatic forfeit of highly-skilled foreign workers for many legitimate businesses creating jobs in the United States.

Comprehensive immigration reform must focus on matching the visa supply with U.S. labor demands. The proposed “recapture” of unused visas from fiscal years 1998-2008 is a step in the right direction. As the United States falls further behind in graduating workers in high-skill disciplines; there is an immediate need to remove the artificial cap on the number of H-1B visas available each year and let the number available fluctuate according to the needs of the market.

Buffalo Niagara’s employers must have the means to secure top talent to ensure a competitive edge in this challenging economy. That’s why the Partnership has joined with over 30 business organizations throughout the Great Lakes region to advocate for immigration reform (I’ve enclosed the coalition’s full agenda). Our members, from life science companies to family farms, need CIR ASAP to reform H-2a and H-1B into programs that enable them to attract and retain a skilled workforce. As you consider this comprehensive immigration reform bill, I encourage you to support a compromise that balances protection for both the U.S. economy and our country’s guest workers.


Sincerely,

Andrew J. Rudnick

cc:  Honorable Charles Schumer and Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand