Obama admininstration assures India on H-1B and offshoring
Obama admininstration assures India on H-1B and offshoring
Date: Monday, March 23, 2009 12:01 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1994 -- 3/22/2009 >>>>>
Two business associations from India just finished a large lobbying campaign
in Washington DC. They schmoozed with Obama officials and selected members of
the Senate and House. Both organizations are lobbying groups that are similar
to the U.S. Chamber or Commerce or the Business Roundtable. NASSCOM and CII
came to Washington DC to insure that our politicians tow the line on the
outsourcing of jobs to India and to increase the number of H-1B visas that
Indian nationals can receive.
The two organizations are:
NASSCOM -- National Association of Software and Services Companies. As the
name implies they represent Indian companies that are almost all high tech.
http://www.nasscom.org/
CII -- Confederation of Indian Industry. Another business association that
broader in scope than NASSCOM. They include all sorts of businesses including
manufacturing.
http://www.cii.in/
It's very significant that CII met with Lawrence Summers, who is Obama's
appointment for Director of the National Economic Council. Summers is
considered one of the high priests of the bubble economy and would no doubt be
sympathetic to the CII agenda. Read this for more on Summers:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/22/710056/-How-We-Got-Here-(Rubinism-Must-Die)updated
How We Got Here (Rubinism Must Die)--updated, by david mizner
Very little has been said about what Obama officials promised the Indian
lobbyists. In fact if it wasn't for Indian publications we wouldn't even know
the lobbying occurred! The public press releases seem to hint that Obama will
continue with the status quo, but of course that's bad enough and we don't
know what they talked about in private.
The interesting thing that everyone involved agreed to is that H-1B directly
affects the unemployment rate. With the understanding that H-1B has a negative
effect on American employment you would think that Obama and the Democrats who
are supposed to be "labor friendly" would want to reduce the number of H-1Bs,
but apparently that's not what Obama's people told NASSCOM and CII.
India's corporate leadership raised the issue of H-1B visa
restrictions during their first high level interaction with
Obama Administration officials and was assured that there
would not be a serious setback to the programme unless
unemployment rate in US plummets drastically.
The Indian journalists are probably writing with inverse logic perhaps due to
cultural differences in the way India and U.S. measures unemployment. It looks
like what they were trying to say is that H-1B will not be restricted unless
unemployment rises dramatically. Of course computer/IT is disproportionately
affected by H-1B so it's not clear what the Obama people were referring to --
whether overall unemployment or that which is specific to STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and math). Oh well, at least the Obama people
probably didn't promise to raise the yearly cap. Apparently they are happy
that H-1B hasn't leeched the blood out of the industry enough to totally kill
it. They seem to consider H-1B to be a mutually beneficial parasite, and
unemployed Americans as collateral damage.
So, it seems that NASSCOM and CII received ambiguous results on H-1B but they
must have heard much better news when it comes to offshoring -- it seems that
Obama and Congress will continue to allow offshoring to India.
"Having met with various stakeholders and experts and discussed the
protectionist measures with them, Nasscom does not see the "Buy
America" clause or the discussion on removal of "tax breaks for US
companies that create jobs offshore" provisions in their current
forms having any impact on the Indian IT-BPO industry.
The Indian lobbyists sure know who to target. Check out this picture of the
meeting between NASSCOM and Senator Charles Grassley. NASSCOM people
surrounded Grassley on all sides. It looked like a mugging!
http://www.ciol.com/Enterprise/News-Reports/NASSCOMs-update-on-US-and-Europe-visit/10309117015/0/
Make no mistake: NASSCOM is very strategic about who they target and why.
Grassley is considered a key Senator because he is one of the few who have
questioned H-1B. He sent that letter to Microsoft asking about how many H-1Bs
they use, sponsored a bill with Sen. Durbin that would impose some reforms on
the H-1B program, and he co-authored Amendment 306 to the Stimulus bill to put
mild restrictions on banks that receive TARP money.
NASSCOM representatives met Mr Grassley, apart from other Senators
and Congressmen, during their US visit. The Indian IT-BPO
association expressed interest in working with him on a new visa
legislation to curb abuse of the H1-B programme, while ensuring
it doesn t discriminate against any particular sector or set of
companies.
In a recent newsletter I questioned why Obama would reinstate Vivek Kundra the
job of chief information officer, especially considering the significant
political risks of doing so. I don't believe Kundra's reinstatement and the
visits by these Indian lobbyists is a coincidence.
Apparently our government is far more worried about kowtowing to India than
serving the American middle class. Oh well, nothing new there!
REFERENCES:
http://ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/$all/D144110395B988E76525757E00252548
Indian CEOs raise H-IB visa issue with Obama Administration
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Software/Protectionism-will-only-hurt-the-US-economy-NASSCOM/articleshow/4246128.cms
http://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-promises-india-no-new-h-1b-restrictions-unless-unemployment-gets-worse-2009-3
White House Promises India: No New H-1B Restrictions -- Unless Unemployment
Gets Worse
http://www.rediff.com/money/2009/mar/12bcrisis-protectionist-measures-to-hurt-us-economy-nasscom.htm
Protectionist measures to hurt US economy: Nasscom
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/New-H1-B-visa-norms-to-isolate-India/articleshow/4251475.cms
'New H1-B visa norms likely to isolate Indian IT'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/$all/D144110395B988E76525757E00252548
Indian CEOs raise H-IB visa issue with Obama Administration
Lalit K Jha
Washington, Mar 19 (PTI) India's corporate leadership raised the issue of H-1B
visa restrictions during their first high level interaction with Obama
Administration officials and was assured that there would not be a serious
setback to the programme unless unemployment rate in US plummets drastically.
The issue was raised by the visiting CII's CEO Mission led by Bharati
enterprise chairman Sunil Bharati Mittal, who among others met Lawrence
Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, at the White House
yesterday.
During the meeting, the delegation comprising of top Indian CEOs brought to
the notice the concerns about the recent developments in the US with regard to
H-1B work visa programme and certain provisions in the stimulus bill.
"I do not see that there would be serious setback to H-1B visa programme or
export programme, unless the unemployment rate goes down further in a severe
manner," Mittal, chairman and group CEO of Bharati Enterprise, told PTI in an
interview after the meeting.
"They were positive," Bharati said referring to the response from the Obama
Administration officials with regard to these issues raised by the CII
delegation. "They believed that US will still remain open," he said.
During the meeting the officials shared the pressure the administration is
facing from the US Congress on the issue of unemployment in the country.
PTI
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Software/Protectionism-will-only-hurt-the-US-economy-NASSCOM/articleshow/4246128.cms
Protectionism will only hurt the US economy: NASSCOM 10 Mar 2009, 0035 hrs
IST, Deepshikha Monga, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Protectionism will only hurt the US economy and could prolong the
country s recovery out of recession, IT-BPO association NASSCOM told
officials of the US Commerce and State Departments and the Trade
Representative during its recent visit to the country.
NASSCOM representatives made the visit in the backdrop of President Barack
Obama saying in his maiden budget speech that he will remove tax breaks for
American firms outsourcing jobs and the introduction of the new law that
restricts hiring of foreign workers in the US by financial institutions that
have received bailout from the government.
NASSCOM vice-president Ameet Nivsarkar says the association highlighted the
global nature of business in its meeting with the US officials and how a
protectionist stance could lead to a similar approach being adopted by other
countries towards American firms.
"That could make it even more difficult for the US to come out of the
recession," he said.
The US officials agreed with the assertion but are themselves under a lot of
pressure. Unemployment in the US surged to 8.1% in February, the highest in 25
years, while job losses since December 2007, when the recession started, now
total 4.4 million.
Outsourcing has been linked to job losses in the US. Senators like Chuck
Grassley have contended that various firms abuse visa programmes such as the
H1-B to bring cheaper foreign workers and displace qualified Americans.
Mr Grassley recently introduced a legislation to prevent recipients of
government bailouts from hiring H1-B visa holders for one year.
The Senate cleared a watered-down version that allows such companies to hire
H1-B workers but first prove they had made efforts to hire American workers.
NASSCOM representatives met Mr Grassley, apart from other Senators and
Congressmen, during their US visit. The Indian IT-BPO association expressed
interest in working with him on a new visa legislation to curb abuse of the
H1-B programme, while ensuring it doesn t discriminate against any particular
sector or set of companies. Indian companies figure among the leading users of
H1-B visas but Mr Nivsarkar says people tend to miss out the fact that they
accounted for only 11% of the 107,000 H1-B visas issued in 2008.
Apart from the US, NASSCOM officials also visited the UK and continental
Europe. The association is working with the European Commission on pan-Europe
work permits that would be eligible across various countries in the region.
It submitted a white-paper to the commission on the difficulties faced by
foreign workers in obtaining multiple visas and its suggestions. Nasscom is
confident a policy on the same would be formulated this year.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-promises-india-no-new-h-1b-restrictions-unless-unemployment-gets-worse-2009-3
White House Promises India: No New H-1B Restrictions -- Unless Unemployment
Gets Worse Eric Krangel|Mar. 20, 2009, 11:09 AM|36
PrintTags: Startups, Economy, Online, Big Tech, Politics, H-1B, India If you
think the H-1B issue has been controversial in America, in India they're
apoplectic.
So when a delegation of Indian CEOs visited the White House yesterday to
discuss economic and trade issues, they brought up the H-1B controversy.
Obama Administration officials -- including Lawrence Summers -- assured the
Indian business leaders no new wave of protectionist policies was in the
works. That is, unless unemployment gets worse.
That's what the Indians say they were told, anyway.
Press Trust of India: India's corporate leadership raised the issue of H-1B
visa restrictions during their first high level interaction with Obama
Administration officials and was assured that there would not be a serious
setback to the programme unless unemployment rate in US plummets drastically.
The issue was raised by the visiting CII's CEO Mission led by Bharati
enterprise chairman Sunil Bharati Mittal, who among others met Lawrence
Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, at the White House
yesterday.
During the meeting, the delegation comprising of top Indian CEOs brought to
the notice the concerns about the recent developments in the US with regard to
H-1B work visa programme and certain provisions in the stimulus bill.
"I do not see that there would be serious setback to H-1B visa programme or
export programme, unless the unemployment rate goes down further in a severe
manner," Mittal, chairman and group CEO of Bharati Enterprise, told PTI in an
interview after the meeting.
"They were positive," Bharati said referring to the response from the Obama
Administration officials with regard to these issues raised by the CII
delegation. "They believed that US will still remain open," he said.
During the meeting the officials shared the pressure the administration is
facing from the US Congress on the issue of unemployment in the country.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.rediff.com/money/2009/mar/12bcrisis-protectionist-measures-to-hurt-us-economy-nasscom.htm
Protectionist measures to hurt US economy: Nasscom
BS Reporter in Mumbai | BS | March 12, 2009 | 10:23 IST
Protectionist measures such as the 'Buy America' clause and the H-1B
legislation suggested by the US government will not have any impact on India's
IT-BPO industry, says Nasscom, adding that, in fact, the measures will hurt
the US economy.
Nasscom representatives, on their recent visit to the US, met a large cross-
section of stakeholders ? the US administration, elected representatives of
the Congress, various associations, US headquartered companies and customer
companies as well.
The industry body also said that protectionist policies would only delay the
recovery of the US from the ongoing recession. Nasscom also pointed out that
with more countries affected by the slowdown, such protectionism would trigger
similar protectionist measures.
The US has been under tremendous pressure to protect local jobs as the
unemployment rate looks to breach the 10 per cent mark. Unemployment in the US
surged to 8.1 per cent in February, the highest in 25 years.
The Nasscom delegation met US Senator Chuck Grassley, apart from other
senators and Congressmen.
The delegation also expressed interest to work with Grassley on the H-1B visa
issue and ensure that while Nasscom would apprehend and stop any fraudulent
use of H-1B visas, legitimate business users would not get affected.
In its current form the amendment to H-1B visa legislation seem to isolate and
unfairly target Indian IT companies and severely restrict the level playing
field. Contrary to popular belief of Indian companies taking majority of H-1B
visas, the Indian IT industry constituted only 11 per cent of the total visas
issued in 2008.
The H1-B visas are used for providing technically qualified talent, open new
markets, accelerate innovation and increase competitiveness.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/New-H1-B-visa-norms-to-isolate-India/articleshow/4251475.cms
'New H1-B visa norms likely to isolate Indian IT'
11 Mar 2009, 0139 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: The National Association of Software and Services Company
(Nasscom) has expressed its concern over the proposed amendment to the H1B
visa legislation and said the amendment is likely to isolate and unfairly
target Indian IT companies, restricting the level-playing field.
A statement from Nasscom said on Tuesday that it is 'working closely with
stakeholders and policy makers in the US Congress' and the administration to
ensure that the Indian IT industry is not disadvantaged in any manner due to
this.
A team of six officials of Nasscom recently visited the US to prevail upon
them over the visa issue and also over the proposed 'Buy America' measure of
the Obama administration.
The delegation met senator Charles Grassley, belonging to Iowa, who is
spearheading the H-1 B legislation. Nasscom would be working with him to
ensure that any fraudulent use of the H-1 B visas are apprehended and stopped
and ensure legitimate business users are not affected.
The industry body said the only 11% of the total visas issued last year was to
the Indian IT industry.
The delegation also met a large cross section of stakeholders from the US
administration, elected representatives of the Congress, various associations,
US headquartered companies and customer companies.
"Having met with various stakeholders and experts and discussed the
protectionist measures with them, Nasscom does not see the "Buy America"
clause or the discussion on removal of "tax breaks for US companies that
create jobs offshore" provisions in their current forms having any impact on
the Indian IT-BPO industry. We are confident that US will consider all factors
as they have in the stimulus bill and other proposed initiatives for reviving
the economy and employment," the statement said.
"The Indian IT-BPO industry has played a crucial role in helping US companies
tap these benefits and remains committed to being a part of the solution to
help tide over this crisis It is imperative that the US and all countries
continue to be proponents of free trade. With more countries impacted with the
slowdown, such protectionism would trigger similar protectionist measures. The
world economy will find it difficult to reverse this trend quickly. Restricted
trade affects businesses, incomes and employment in other countries thus
resulting in lower spending and subsequently lower demand for US goods and
services globally," it added.
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