Barbara Boxer, Senator  from California, says that doesn't want industry to be hindered by a lack of H-1Bs. 

August 5, 2002 
Mr. Gregory N. Steshenko
3030 Marlo Court
Aptos, California 95003-3668

Dear Mr. Steshenko: 

Thank you for contacting my office to express your concerns regarding H-1B visas. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss my position.

H-1B visas are typically issued to foreign workers with specialized skills. In recent years, the bulk of these visas have gone to those who work for high technology companies. Growth in this industry has resulted in a significant increase in demand for these workers, and, in turn, for H-1B visas. The need was so striking that the cap for these visas had been reached by March, 2000. In the previous year, the cap was reached in June. In answer to this need, the "American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act," which would raise the cap for H-1B visas, was enacted on October 17, 2000. 

I believe in educating our workforce with the skills to compete with foreign workers, but American industry must not be hindered while our workforce catches up to our technology. Unfortunately, the benefits of more rigorous education standards and retraining workers will not be felt overnight. For this reason, I voted to raise the visa cap. Bear in mind that H-1B visas are a temporary remedy; each visa is awarded for a period of just three years.

Like you, I believe that to meet the long term needs of the high tech industry, we must focus on increasing funding for and improving public education so that more Americans can fill these jobs. To this end, I strongly supported provisions of S. 2045 that create a pool of $195 million per year to support training of Americans for the new information technology workplace. These provisions would fund workforce training, college scholarships for low-income and disadvantaged students, and assistance to the National Science Foundation for programs in math, science, and technology education. Our economy's continued competitiveness depends upon our ability to successfully prepare our children for the math and science based high-skilled jobs of the 21st century. 

I believe that we can balance the needs of United States high tech employers with the needs of United States citizens. I value your opinions regarding how we can achieve this balance. 

Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.

Sincerely, 

Barbara Boxer

United States Senator

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