A month ago, my colleagues, Bob Goodlatte, Chris Cannon, Tom Campbell, and I introduced the Technology Worker Temporary Relief Act that increased the number of skilled temporary foreign H-1b workers by 45,000.

Today there is still no objective, credible study that documents a shortage of American high-tech workers. The Department of Commerce says it does not know if there is a shortage. The study that Congress commissioned by the National Science Foundation is not scheduled to be completed until after we adjourn this year. In the private sector, two substantive non-profit studies concluded that it is unclear whether there is a shortage.

What is new is that two weeks ago the INS informed us that demand for these visas is running 50,000 ahead of last year. In addition, the INS reported that the number of visas the INS approved last year above what the law allowed was more than 21,000.

So, there is obviously a significant growth in demand for foreign high-tech workers.

Such demand can indicate any of the following: An actual shortage, a spot shortage, a preference for cheap labor or replacement workers, or something else.

Given the importance of the high-tech industry to our economy, I think we should give the industry the benefit of the doubt and accommodate the current level of demand.

The new Temporary Worker Temporary Relief Act I am introducing today will set no limits on the number of skilled temporary foreign workers we admit during the next three years. Let the market determine how many foreign skilled workers we need rather than have Congress set limits based on arbitrary numbers.

This bill responds generously to the immediate temporary needs of the high-tech industry and also includes provisions that are good for American workers.

It will require companies applying for these visas to show they have increased their number of American employees and increased compensation to American employees.

This bill requires employers to file public reports on skilled temporary foreign workers they have hired, what jobs they’ve been assigned to do, and the wages they are paid.

Since these are foreign workers who are filling what could otherwise be Americans’ jobs, it is appropriate the American public knows what the industry is doing.

This legislation also sets a floor on wages for these workers--$40,000 per year. The industry has said that it uses these workers to fill critical positions in their workforce. This wage is a good starting point for any high-tech professional.

This bill also requires full implementation of the 1998 American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act before the additional visas are available in 2001 and 2002.

Strong anti-fraud measures are necessary to address known abuses. This bill requires skilled temporary foreign workers to be full-time employees, requires employers to have assets of at least $250,000, eliminates the substitution of work experience for a degree, and provides for checks of foreign educational institutions that award degrees to these workers.

These common sense provisions that benefit American workers and reduce fraud are essential to any workable H-1b visa bill.

Finally, this legislation addresses only a small part of America’s future workforce. Ninety percent of all future jobs will require more than a high school education. Tragically, 35 percent of legal immigrants, more than 300,000 annually, lack this essential qualification.

If we have learned anything from the debate over the demand for more skilled temporary foreign workers, it is that our current legal immigration system is failing us. It provides large numbers of workers with no skills but does not provide the high-tech workers we do need.

Every day that Congress debates temporary foreign workers is a warning that we need a legal immigration system that better serves America’s interests.