Christian Science Monitor
Friday, September 22, 2000

Senate grapples with high-tech 'labor gap'


Businesses want 200,000 foreign workers, but critics say people here can
fill the jobs.
By Gail Russell Chaddock Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor



Flush from a victory on the China trade bill, the business community is
wasting no time in pushing Congress to move on its next major area of
concern: the high-tech labor shortage.


If the Senate takes up a foreign-worker bill - a decision it is expected to
make soon - the move would represent something of a coup for the high-tech
industry. Business groups are lobbying hard to bring 200,000 additional
workers to the US to fill what they say are pressing vacancies.


With time running down on the 106th session, getting any nonspending-related
bill onto the end-of-year calendar is daunting. Moreover, the foreign-worker
measure, known as the H-1B visa issue, is fraught with tough choices for
lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Some analysts see it as a true test of
high-tech companies' clout on the Hill.


For Democrats, the key issue is how to address the concerns of Hispanic
groups who see a double standard in extending visas to high-tech workers
while denying them to illegal immigrants already living and working in the
United States, in agricultural and other jobs. In May, the White House
proposed linking the two issues, and the Hispanic Caucus wants to hold
President Clinton and the Democratic leadership to that commitment.


"The person that picks our lettuce and our tomatoes, that cleans our
bathrooms, that takes care of our children - their work deserves the same
respect and dignity as the high-tech worker," says Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D)
of Illinois, chairman of the Hispanic Caucus task force on immigration and
naturalization.


At the same time, Republicans face strong opposition within their own ranks
to increasing the level of immigration. Some GOP lawmakers are calling for
guarantees that American workers will not be pushed out of their jobs by
lower-wage foreign professionals. And most Republicans balk at the idea of
linking the measure with other immigration issues.


"The White House says there shall be no high-skill-worker visas without
amnesty for individuals here illegally. The demand is ludicrous. The White
House has overreached," says Rep. Lamar Smith (R) of Texas, chairman of the
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims.


A House Judiciary bill, which Mr. Smith authored, has been awaiting House
action. This version removes the cap on H-1B visas for three years -
provided that companies hire foreign workers with college degrees and pay
them more than $40,000 a year, to ensure companies do not replace American
workers.


Business groups favor an alternative bill, cosponsored by California Reps.
Zoe Lofgren (D) and David Dreier (R), that raises the number of visas
without conditions on hiring. Without congressional action, the number of
H-1B visas will drop to 107,000 in 2001 and 65,000 in 2002.


The action has now shifted to the Senate. "If the Senate can pull a clean
H-1B vote through it will facilitate our efforts," says House Majority
Leader Dick Armey (R) of Texas.


Members of the Hispanic Caucus who met with the president this week say that
Mr. Clinton assured them he is still prepared to veto a bill that does not
address their concerns. But they add that he also urged them to consider
alternative vehicles.


Meanwhile, business groups are stepping up their blitz on key legislators.
They want a clean bill with no constraints and no "unrelated" amendments.




High-tech clout


On Tuesday, the Information Technology Industry Council sent a letter to
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R) of Mississippi, warning that even
procedural votes on this issue will be scored in this year's "high-tech
voting guide." And industry lobbyists are warning Senate Democrats not to
add on amendments that threaten passage of the bill.


Computer companies are becoming big players in Campaign 2000. "They're the
fastest-growing industry in terms of campaign contributions," says Larry
Makinson, director of the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics.
The computer industry has already contributed $22.1 million to this campaign
cycle, up from $9.5 million in 1998.


But the high-tech community is winning a key element in this battle: Their
contention that there is a critical labor shortage that can only be resolved
by bringing in skilled outsiders is now a given in the debate.


"We're predicting a vacancy rate of 850,000 [jobs] in the next year," says
Jeffrey Lande, vice president for the Information Technology Association of
America, based in Arlington, Va. "If ... there is not the staff located
domestically to fill the gap, companies will fill it by bringing workers in
or going offshore. The only other alternative is to cease product
development, production, and marketing."




Is there a labor gap?


However, experts say that the evidence to support this claim is mixed.


"There is some compelling evidence that these companies are not short of
résumés. What they may be short of are younger workers willing to work for
less money," says James Lindsay, a senior fellow at the Washington-based
Brookings Institution.


A recent Commerce Department study found that the data on labor shortages in
the industry didn't support a conclusion either way. "Overall, there just
haven't been the wage increases in the information-technology field that
would be indicative of a major labor-supply problem," says Carol Ann Meares,
an author of the 1999 report.


A two-year study by the National Academy of Sciences commissioned by
Congress on this issue is expected to be released Oct. 12, too late to shape
the debate.