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News June 1, 2000

Visa Bill Sparks E-mail Spat
By Mark Preston

The war of words between Senate leaders has spilled over to the staff
level, with top aides exchanging nasty e-mails accusing one another of
being the roadblock to H-1B visa legislation desperately being pushed
by lobbyists from the high-tech community.

The battle escalated last week, when a top aide to Minority Whip Harry
Reid (D-Nev.) sent around an e-mail suggesting that an aide to Sen.
Spence Abraham (R-Mich.) might have used the visa controversy to
pressure lobbyists into contributing more money to help the embattled
incumbent.

That charge was flatly denied by aides to Abraham and Majority Leader
Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who both have been accused of strong-arming tech
industry lobbyists to help fund independent ads meant to help save the
Michigan Senator back home.

One lobbyist circulated an e-mail March 21 claiming Republicans
suggested that the H-1B legislation was in jeopardy unless Abraham
received financial help from the high-tech community, The Washington
Post reported last month. Lott and Abraham both denied this charge.

Cesar Conda, Abraham's administrative assistant and legislative
director, opened fire on the Democrats on May 4, suggesting that the
Democrats' "foot-dragging is going to kill" legislation crafted to
increase the number of visas for foreign skilled workers.

In his e-mail to more than 20 high-tech lobbyists, Conda wrote that
the legislation was in peril unless Democrats agreed to a unanimous
consent agreement with a five amendment limit.

Conda claimed a reporter told him that Reid's office had allegedly
said Democrats would never agree to such a proposal.

Reid's legislative director and legal counsel, Jim Ryan, disputed
Conda's claims in a May 22 e-mail sent to the same lobbyists. Ryan
described Conda's e-mail as "replete with inaccuracies, misstatements
and plain untruths."

But Ryan raised the stakes when he insinuated that there were ulterior
motives behind Conda's e-mail, such as raising money for Abraham's
Senate race this year.

"While I am uncertain of the motives behind e-mailing such an
obviously misleading note, I am particularly troubled that it comes at
a time when reports of heavy handed political pressure is being
brought to bear on the high-tech industry by some Members of
Congress," Ryan wrote.

Ryan later added, "It is disturbing that some might be more interested
in using this issue as a means of garnering financial support for
beleaguered campaigns. Any efforts to tie political contributions to
the consideration of the H-1B legislation are simply unconscionable."

While Conda acknowledged that "maybe I should have called Reid's
office first" before sending out his e-mail, he flatly denied Ryan's
insinuations that potential donations were the motivating factor.

"I was sort of taken aback by it," Conda said. "My e-mail was strictly
on legislation and timing and he puts in this political stuff."

Ryan stood by his e-mail and said Conda was wrong to spread secondhand
reports without first confirming them.

"I am not going to allow someone to misrepresent Senator Reid's
position in such a public manner," Ryan said. "My leading concern is
that Senator Reid's support for passage of this legislation was
unfairly represented."

"The e-mail speaks for itself," Ryan added.

But Ryan and Conda are not the only top staffers who engaged in the
fight.

Manus Cooney, the Senate Judiciary Committee's chief counsel and staff
director, e-mailed the high-tech lobbyists some 10 hours after Ryan's
e-mail hit their desktops.

"We have been fairly straightforward in what our most recent proposal
is: take up the bill with 5 relevant amendments per side," Cooney
wrote. "This proposed u.c. has been pending since before the April
recess. We have yet to see anything from the other side of the aisle
(except e-mails and news articles professing Democratic support for
the bill)."

The tone and rhetoric of the series of e-mails sent around by the
staffers match the bitter words exchanged between Lott and Minority
Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) two weeks ago on the Senate floor and shed
further light on the political schism that is dividing the chamber
this election year.

Molly Rowley, a Daschle spokeswoman, disputed Cooney's e-mail and said
Lott has yet to approach the Minority Leader with a formal proposal.

But she added that Daschle thinks it is reasonable for Senators to
offer immigration amendments to this bill when the Senate finally
addresses it.

"Senator Daschle has said publicly and repeatedly that he supports the
bill," Rowley said. "There are Senators from both parties who would
like to have a debate on this bill and Senator Daschle would not be
inclined to prevent anyone from having a full debate."

But Rowley added, "He wants to move this bill quickly. A full debate
does not have to be an interminable debate."

The H-1B legislation would increase the number of visas for highly
skilled workers from 115,000 to 200,000 over the next three years. It
has become a top priority for the high-tech industry, as companies
complain that there are not enough skilled American workers to fill
their job vacancies.

With serious problems facing the H-1B legislation in the House, many
high-tech lobbyists said it is crucial for the Senate to pass the
legislation quickly. If not, then the United States faces the risk of
high-tech companies relocating operations to other countries.

"While the Senate debate is about who is going to claim credit for
this thing, there are real jobs that are going to get exported to
foreign companies," said a high-tech lobbyist. The lobbyist added that
his company is prepared to move a "significant portion of their
software development business to South America" if Congress fails to
pass the bill this year.

Several other lobbyists predicted that if the bill reaches the Senate
floor, at least 90 Senators will support it. But many lobbyists also
expressed concern that if the current partisanship in the Senate does
not dissipate, then it might hurt chances of its passage.

"This is just high school," one lobbyist complained. "It's just a
pissing contest and it is not getting us anywhere."

Czwartacki, Lott's spokesman, said he expects the Senate will address
the bill before the August recess.

"We are committed to it and Democrats say they are committed to it,"
Czwartacki said. "I imagine an agreement will be attempted to be
reached within the next month or two."

But even if Daschle and Lott are able to reach an agreement they might
not be able to persuade some Senators to abide by it. For example,
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has not ruled out offering his campaign
finance reform bill as an amendment to any piece of legislation moving
through the Senate this year. And there is always the threat that some
Democrats might offer gun control provisions or other controversial
measures to the bill.

"We are going to try and move this bill and try and avoid getting it
bogged down in unrelated political matters," Czwartacki said.

As for the fundraising controversy swirling around the H-1B issue, at
least one watchdog group and one individual has asked the Select
Committee on Ethics to investigate the charges.

Gary Ruskin of the Congressional Accountability Project sent a letter
to the Ethics Committee May 22 asking it to investigate allegations
that Lott linked political contributions to official action on the
bill.

And former Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley (D) formally
requested the Ethics Committee investigate the matter in a May 18
letter to the panel.

Lott spokesman John Czwartacki described all of the charges as
"baseless, politically motivated and without merit."

Victor Baird, staff director and chief counsel for the committee, said
it is committee policy not to comment on possible investigations.