Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
H-1B Aff
***1AC***..............................................................3
1AC – Plan...........................................................................4
1AC – Economy (1/)............................................................5
1AC – Economy (2/)............................................................6
1AC – Economy (3/)............................................................7
1AC – Science Diplomacy (1/).............................................8
1AC – Science Diplomacy (2/).............................................9
1AC – Science Diplomacy (3/)...........................................10
1AC – Science Diplomacy (4/)...........................................11
1AC – Heg (1/)...................................................................12
1AC – Heg (2/)...................................................................13
1AC – Heg (3/)...................................................................14
1AC – Heg (4/)...................................................................15
1AC – Heg (5/)...................................................................16
***ECONOMY***..............................................17
Economy Adv – U – On the Brink (1/)..............................18
Economy Adv – U – On the Brink (2/)..............................19
Economy Adv – U – Double Dip (1/)................................20
Economy Adv – U – Double Dip (2/)................................21
Economy Adv – U – Double Dip (3/)................................22
Economy Adv – U – Double Dip (4/)................................23
Economy Adv – Growth – Link.........................................24
Economy Adv – Growth – Key to International Business. 25
Economy Adv – Small Business – Key to Economy.........26
Economy Adv – Wages – Link (1/)....................................27
Economy Adv – Wages – Link (2/)....................................28
Economy Adv – AT: Depress Wages.................................29
Economy Adv – Competitiveness – Link...........................30
Economy Adv – Labor Shortages – Link (1/)....................31
Economy Adv – Labor Shortages – Link (2/)....................32
Economy Adv – Labor Shortages – Key to Economy.......33
Economy Adv – Labor Shortages – AT: Job Loss (1/)......34
Economy Adv – Labor Shortages – AT: Job Loss (2/)......35
Economy Adv – Labor Shortages – AT: Temporary Job Loss 36
Economy Adv – Outsourcing – Link (1/)...........................38
Economy Adv – Outsourcing – Link (2/)...........................39
Economy Adv – Financial Sector – Link (1/)....................40
Economy Adv – Financial Sector – Link (2/)....................41
Economy Adv – Financial Sector – Key to Economy (1/). 42
Economy Adv – Financial Sector – Key to Economy (2/). 43
Economy Adv – Outsourcing – Kills Economy.................45
Economy Adv – Market Investment – Link.......................47
Economy Adv – Market Investment – Key to Economy. . .48
Economy Adv – IT Sector – Shortages Now.....................49
Economy Adv – IT Sector – Link......................................50
Economy Adv – Innovation – Link (1/).............................51
Economy Adv – Innovation – Link (2/).............................52
Economy Adv – Innovation – Key to Economy................53
Economy Adv – Small Business – Link.............................55
Economy Adv – Tax Revenue – Link................................56
ADI 2010 2
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
***1AC***
ADI 2010 4
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
1AC – Plan
The United States Federal Government should raise the cap on H-1B visa allocations to
195,000.
ADI 2010 5
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
***ECONOMY***
ADI 2010 18
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
Small businesses are key to the economy and barriers keeping out entrepreneurs must be
removed.
UPI.com, 10
(July 28, “Obama, small-business owners meet,” http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/07/28/Obama-small-
business-owners-meet/UPI-62661280316553/, CW, accessed on 7/28/10)
WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- President Obama met with small-business owners in New Jersey
Wednesday and then called for tax cuts and loans legislation he called "as American as apple pie." After
meeting with the business owners at the Tastee Sub Shop in Edison, Obama said the U.S. economic
recovery depends on small businesses, and that means the federal government needs to help them.
"Government can't guarantee success, but it can knock down barriers that keep entrepreneurs from
opening or expanding," Obama said. "For example, the lack of affordable credit -- that's something the
government can do something about.
H-1B cap keeps excludes skilled foreign workers which destroys the US’s competiveness.
Barrett, 06
(Craig, Chairman of Intel, January 30, “America should open its doors wide to foreign talent,” https://docs.google.com/viewer?
url=http://www.businessfordiplomaticaction.org/news/articles/america_should_open_its_doors_wide_to_foreign_talent_barrettft_jan06.doc, CW,
accessed on 7/27/10)
The current situation can only be described as a classic example of the law of unintended consequences. We
need experienced and talented workers if our economy is to thrive. We have an immigration problem that
remains intractable and, in an attempt to appear tough on illegal immigration, we over-control the
employment-based legal immigration system. As a consequence, we keep many of the potentially most
productive immigrants out of the country. If we had purposefully set out to design a system
that would hobble our ability to be competitive, we could hardly do better than what we have
today. Certainly in the post 9/11 world, security must always be a foremost concern. But that concern should
not prevent us from having access to the highly skilled workers we need.
ADI 2010 31
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
H-1B visa fills US employment gap by providing skilled immigrant workers that would
benefit the US economy.
The Financial Express, 07
(November 2, “H1B Visa: 'Allow world's best and brightest to US,” http://www.financialexpress.com/news/h1b-visa-allow-worlds-best-and-
brightest-to-us/235181/, CW, accessed on 7/27/10)
Washington, November 2:: A leading Republican Presidential hopeful has thrown his weight behind the H1B
visa programme stressing that bringing high skilled workers on a permanent basis to the US will be
beneficial to the economy. Former Massachusetts Gover Mitt Romney has said that while he is for increasing the quota for H1B
visa, a majority of whose aspirants are Indians, the exact figures would depend on a number of things including the strength of the US
economy and the implications for the local workforce. "I like H1B visas. I like the idea of the best and brightest in
the world coming here. I'd rather have them come here permanently rather than come and go, but I
believe our visa programme is designed to help us solve gaps in our employment pool," he said in an
interview to TechCrunch,a weblog dedicated to profiling and reviewing new internet products and companies. "Where there are
individuals who have skills that we do not have in abundance here, I'd like to bring them here and
contribute to our economy," he added.
Companies that hire H-1B visas layoff less people and do not revert to “cheap” immigrant
labor in rough economic times.
National Foundation for American Policy, 2008
(March, “H - 1 B V I S A S A N D J O B C R E A T I O N,” http://www.nfap.com/pdf/080311H1b.pdf, CW, accessed on 7/27/10)
Employers that reduced employment reduced it less if they had filed for H-1Bs visas, according to the
analysis. Examining companies in the sample that had layoffs, the regression results found a positive
association between H-1B positions requested and employment. For every H-1B position requested on a labor
condition application, total employment is estimated to be 2 workers more than it otherwise would
have been. - If the proposition was true that companies hire H-1B professionals because they’re
cheaper, then when businesses hit hard times they should hire more H-1Bs to save money. However, the
analysis shows that, overall, H-1B filings at U.S. technologies declined when companies hit hard times,
undermining the perennial assertion that H-1Bs are hired as “cheap labor.”
ADI 2010 32
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
H-1B visa does not cause American layoffs instead it allows flexibility for productivity, and
limiting H-1B causes offshoring.
Masters and Ruthizer, 00
(Suzette and Ted, CATO Institute, March 3, “The H-1B Straitjacket Why Congress Should Repeal the Cap on Foreign-Born Highly Skilled
Workers,” http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbp/tbp-007.pdf, CW, accessed on 7/28/10)
In an intensely competitive global environment, with constant pressure placed on employers to cut
expenses and increase productivity, the H-1B visa category has become a convenient target for critics
who try to draw a connection between immigration and domestic layoffs. Although it is true that large U.S.
corporations have been laying off workers in record numbers,26 many employers are firing one type of worker and hiring other workers
with different skills. H-1B professionals are not the cause of those layoffs and hiring practices but an
important source of flexibility in the labor market. The need for H-1B professionals is another
manifestation of the inexorable pressure on companies to adapt quickly to changing market conditions.
Constraining H-1B hiring won’t end corporate downsizing. It will simply force employers to shift more
and more of their operations abroad, where they can get the resources they need, including all-
important human capital, to maintain production.27
Easily enforce regulations prevent H-1B visa from displacing American workers.
Masters and Ruthizer, 00
(Suzette and Ted, CATO Institute, March 3, “The H-1B Straitjacket Why Congress Should Repeal the Cap on Foreign-Born Highly Skilled
Workers,” http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbp/tbp-007.pdf, CW, accessed on 7/28/10)
The most common argument against H-1Bs is that they allegedly displace U.S. workers and depress wages.
In response, Congress has spun an elaborate web of laws resulting in complex regulations supposedly to
protect native workers from any such impact. But nothing in theory, wage and job trends, or law
enforcement data indicates that the H-1B status has a negative impact on the U.S. labor market. The
U.S. Department of Labor, one of the major critics of the H-1B status, has carefully tracked the program’s so-
called abuses. We obtained and reviewed H-1B enforcement data from the Wage and Hour Division of
DOL and were surprised by what we found.33 From 1991, at the inception of the H-1B caps and labor condition
attestations, through September 30, 1999, DOL received a total of 448 complaints alleging underpayment of
H-1B professionals, and other employer violations (an average of fewer than 60 complaints nationwide each year). Of
those 448 complaints, only 304 resulted in a DOL investigation. During that period, nearly 525,000 H-
1B nonimmigrant petitions were granted.34 As can be seen clearly from Figure 1, the complaint rate for a
program supposedly rife with abuse is minuscule.
ADI 2010 35
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
H-1B cap causes companies to export jobs, while an increase in H1-B visas would create
more jobs.
National Foundation for American Policy, 2008
(March, “H - 1 B V I S A S A N D J O B C R E A T I O N,” http://www.nfap.com/pdf/080311H1b.pdf, CW, accessed on 7/27/10)
Preventing companies from hiring foreign nationals by maintaining an artificially low limit on H-1B
visas is likely to produce the unintended consequence of pushing more work to other countries. Sixty-
five percent of technology companies responding to an NFAP survey said in response
to the lack of H-1B visas they had "hired more people (or outsourced work) outside the United
States." This is significant in that even if those companies responding to the survey are heavier users of H-1B visas it
means that these are the companies most likely to hire outside the United States in response to an
insufficient supply of skilled visas for foreign nationals. “As a global company, Google is fortunate to be able to have
employees work for us in other countries if they are not allowed to stay in the U.S.,” noted a Google executive in Congressional
testimony. Fifty-two percent of companies responding to the survey believed that for every H-1B
professional they hired it created one or more complementary jobs at their firms or in the U.S. economy.
Twenty-two percent thought the hiring of an H-1B visa holder created 10 or more jobs. Seventy-four
percent of company respondents said an inability to fill positions because of the lack of H-1B visas has
potentially affected their “company’s competitiveness against foreign competitors or in international markets.”
In the critical IT sector, companies that can’t hire the professionals they need are going abroad in increasing
numbers. In recent testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration investigating this problem, witness after witness spoke to this
growing phenomenon. Susan Williams DeFife, CEO of womenCONNECT.com, a leading Internet site for women in business,
asked: “What happens when companies like mine can’t hire the workers we need? We have to delay projects
and in the Internet industry where change occurs daily and competitors are springing up all around you,
waiting to execute on a project can be lethal.”31 DeFife told the subcommittee that denying companies the
ability to hire H- 1B professionals would leave companies with three less-than-satisfactory options: limit the
company’s growth, “steal” employees from competitors, or move operations offshore. In a similar vein, Sen.
Spencer Abraham (RMich.), chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee and main sponsor of the 1998 bill raising the H-1B cap,
echoed the concern about forcing American industry to export jobs abroad: [F]oreign countries are stepping
up their own recruitment efforts, including a pitch by the Canadian government for U.S. high-tech companies to move to Canada so as
to avoid the problem of hitting the H-1B cap year after year here in America. The CEO of Lucent Technologies stated this summer
at a Capitol Hill technology forum that it has placed hundreds of engineers and other technical people in the United
Kingdom in response to an insufficient supply of U.S.-based workers—keeping many related jobs from being
created in America.32 Shall we close our eyes to globalization and take the myopic view that a job that cannot be filled with an American
is not a job worth saving? Such a policy would be harmful not only to the individual businesses affected but to
America’s general economic well-being.
ADI 2010 40
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
The financial sector and competent workers are key to the U.S. economy
Dawson 4 (Michael A.-Deputy assistant secretary for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy, Jan 8, “Protecting
the Financial Sector from Terrorism and other Threats,” http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/js1091.htm) JJN
The resiliency of the financial infrastructure is an issue that is very important to the Department of the Treasury.
At the Treasury, we are responsible for developing and promoting policies that create jobs and improve the economy. We are
also concerned with developing and promoting policies that enhance the resilience of the economy, policies that minimize the
economic damage and speed economic recovery from a terrorist attack. Indeed, the President named Treasury as the lead agency
to enhance the resilience of the critical financial infrastructure. These two responsibilities are closely related. As Secretary Snow
has said, the financial system is the engine of our economy. In a very real sense, therefore, the resilience
of the American economy depends on the resilience of the American financial system. Fortunately, we are
starting from a very strong base. The American economy is resilient. Over the past few years, we have seen that resilience first hand, as the American
economy withstood a significant fall in equity prices, an economic recession, the terrorist attacks of September 11, corporate governance scandals, and the
power outage of August 14-15. There are many reasons for the resilience of the American economy. Good policies - like the President’s Jobs and Growth
Initiative - played an important part. So has the resilience of the American people. One of the reasons are economy is so resilient is that our people are so
tough, so determined to protect our way of life. Like the economy as a whole, the American financial system is resilient. For example, the financial system
performed extraordinarily well during the power outage last August. With one exception, the bond and major equities and futures markets were open the
next day at their regular trading hours. Major market participants were also well prepared, having invested in contingency plans, procedures, and equipment
such as backup power generators. The U.S. financial sector withstood this historic power outage without any reported loss or corruption of any customer
data. This resilience mitigates the economic risks of terrorist attacks and other disruptions, both to the financial system itself and to the American economy
as a whole. Although we are starting from a strong base, the fact remains that terrorists continue to target the U.S. economy and U.S. financial institutions.
Therefore, we must continue our vigilant efforts to protect our critical financial infrastructure. Four principles guide our efforts to enhance the resilience of
our financial infrastructure. These principles guided our actions as the financial system recovered from the attacks of September 11th. They guided our
actions during the power outage of August 14-15. They guide our day to day actions as we prepare for the next disruption. The first principle is to
remember that the financial system is really about people. People, not buildings or computers, produce
financial services. And it is people who benefit from financial services. We depend on people to run
the financial system. We need these people - tellers, technicians, loan officers, technologists - to see the
system through times of stress. Indeed, it was the commitment of these professionals to their
institutions, customers, and colleagues that helped the financial system recover from the attacks of
September 11th and weather the power outage of August 14-15.
ADI 2010 44
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
ADI 2010 45
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
Skilled immigrants create new businesses and encourage capital business investment
Nwokocha 8 (Paschal O., Chair of Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of American Immigration Lawyers Association, William Mitchell
Law Review, p 63-64) JJN
Many indicators suggest that receiving countries, and in this case the United States, benefit currently from employment-based
immigration and will continue to do so in the future.199 In 2006, immigrants made up 12.5 percent of the population, or 37.4
million people in the United States.200 In economic terms alone, the United States has measurably profited from
employment-based immigration; a recent report produced by Goldman Sachs states that overall economic output slows
as the American labor force grows more slowly, and that new migrants have added approximately 0.5 percent to
American gross domestic product every year in the past decade. Skilled immigrants supplement an
aging and shrinking American workforce; they are entrepreneurs who create jobs and wealth,
consumers of goods and services, and skilled workers whose large numbers encourage capital business
investment. Employment-based immigrants also pay taxes in the United States.203 A study by the National
Research Council points out that migrants with more than a high school education generate a net fiscal benefit of $198,000 over
their lifetime.204 Immigrant labor also helps keep the American economy stable because, during strong
growth periods, immigrants lower “the risk of wage pressures and rising inflation.”205 If growth slows,
migrants often choose to move home, to migrate to another country, or not to migrate initially.
A shortage of skilled workers is causing the labor shortage in the IT sector, not employer
selectivity
Cromwell 9 (Courtney L.JD candidate at Brooklyn Law School, The Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial, and Commercial Law, 3(2)
p. 466) JJN
Critics also claim that the apparent labor shortage is actually a result of U.S. employers’ “pickiness.” They
assert that IT employers “have no shortage of incoming resumes,” that only approximately 2% of applicants actually are hired, and that
most employers reject a majority “of the applicants they invite for in-house interviews.” While IT companies admittedly are
selective, certain IT positions require particular skill sets. Without certain training or skills required
by the position, an applicant will not be considered for it. Critics argue that, “good generic programming ability, not
skills in particular programming languages, is what counts,” and that “workers are available, but not always at a price employers are
willing to pay.” On the other hand, it seems unfair to place the burden and expense on employers to train under-
qualified employees in the specific skill sets required for the position when there are workers available
who are already trained. The issue is an ongoing circular debate.
ADI 2010 50
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
Examining H-1B filings and year-by-year job totals for the technology companies in the S&P 500, the
National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) used a regression model that controls for both general
market conditions and firm size and found that there is a positive and statistically significant association
between the number of positions requested in H-1B labor condition applications and the percentage
change in total employment. The data show that for every H-1B position requested, U.S.
technology
companies increase their employment by 5 workers.
- For technology firms with fewer than 5,000 employees, each H-1B position requested in labor condition
applications was associated with an increase of employment of 7.5 workers. This is particularly
remarkable since the actual number of individuals hired on H-1B visas is likely to be much lower than the
total number of applications filed with the Department of Labor.
H-1B workers are crucial to overcome job instability and to bolster the IT industry
Luthra 9 (R. Reichl, Professor of Sociology, UCLA, Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies, 35(2), pg. 227-228) JDL
High-skilled occupations are generally considered part of the core positions in the labour market,
affording high wages and stability (Tilly 1996). Yet many H-1B occupations, particularly within the IT industries,
are becoming less stable. The demand for highly flexible and contract-driven software and service-
related work is growing at a much faster rate than the more ‘fixed’ jobs of hardware and
manufacturing sectors; hence the unstable jobs in the IT industries are becoming a larger proportion of total workers employed
(Labour Market Information Division 2000). The problem of ‘job churning’ in IT professions, where jobs are
created and destroyed according to short-term projects, has been cited as the source of demand for
temporary contractual work that is highly volatile (Aneesh 2001; Watts 2001).
The status quo cap on H-1B visas is destroying US innovation and tech leadership – our
link is reverse causal
Cromwell 9 (Courtney L., J.D. candidate, Brooklyn Law School. 3 Brook. J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L. 455. Ln) JM
Proponents of raising the cap argue that preventing foreign students who attend U.S. universities from accepting
positions in the United States "will be detrimental to our economic success because the United States will [*474]
lose valuable intellectual capital." n176 Some allege that U.S. visa policies, specifically Congress's refusal to raise
the H-1B cap, "are primarily to blame for the decline in international student enrollment in U.S.
academic institutions." n177 Thousands of foreign students enter the United States each year on F, M and J visas to attend
U.S. universities. n178 Not only is their attendance at these universities beneficial to the economy by injecting capital through tuition
and living expenses, n179 but their creative ideas are also crucial to our modern economy, which focuses on innovation.
n180 The cap prevents many of these graduating students from being placed in jobs in the United States,
forcing them to return to their home countries. n181 Thus, "instead of maximally retaining foreign talent. . . U.S.
immigration policies have expelled such individuals back to their home countries, where they have contributed to local workforces'
ability to compete on a national basis with the [United States]." n182 In addition to the loss of a well-educated workforce, the H-1B
cap prevents the United States from being credited for the innovation of valuable intellectual property.
In 2006, foreign nationals residing in the United States filed 25.6% of the international patent applications. n183 "Foreign nationals and
foreign residents contributed to more than half of the international patents" filed by multi-national companies such as Qualcomm, Merck
& Co., General Electric, Siemens and Cisco in 2006. n184 Furthermore, "41% of the patents filed by the U.S.
government had foreign nationals or foreign residents as inventors or co-inventors." n185 In addition,
16.8% and 13.7% of international patent applications from the United States had an inventor or co-inventor with a Chinese or Indian-
heritage name, respectively. n186 Finally, one study shows that "for every 100 international students who receive science or engineering
Ph.D.'s from American universities, the nation gains 62 future patent applications." n187 It is clear [*475] from these statistics that the
U.S. economy is dependent on the innovative ideas of foreigners. '"Economists worry about another place owning the very next big
thing' -- the next ground breaking technology . . . . 'If the heart and mind of the next great thing emerges
somewhere else because the talent is there, then we will be hurt.'" n188 If the H-1B cap remains at this
current unsatisfactory level, it will prevent the admission of foreign workers with new ideas. n189
ADI 2010 53
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
Innovation causes economic recovery and can solve major global challenges.
ICTSD, 2010
(International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development, July 14, “Innovation is Critical to Economic
Recovery: OECD,” http://ictsd.org/i/news/bridgesweekly/80623/, CW, accessed on 7/29/10)
Innovation and coherence in policy interventions can spur economic recovery and address global
challenges such as climate change, according to the recently released “OECD Innovation Strategy”
report. The main findings of the report were presented in Geneva on Tuesday by Andrew Wyckoff, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Director of Science, in a panel discussion.
ADI 2010 54
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
ADI 2010 55
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
Peter Muller is the director of government relations for Intel, one of the largest sponsors of H-1B temporary visas for skilled workers.
The company was approved for 723 new H-1B visas in 2009. Muller said Intel had been hindered in hiring and keeping
the most qualified people by the annual caps on H-1B visas and the sometimes decade-long delay in
processing applications for green card. "To not be able to hire the people who really drive innovation in our company is a
frustration," he said. In past years, the allotment of H-1B visas often was gone within days after the application period opened in April.
Last year, it took until December to hit the cap. Even with a slower economy reducing demand for workers,
however, tech companies say they want the system overhauled. "Companies are still hiring, so fixing
the problems and fixing the system is important," said Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, the co-executive director of Compete
America, a coalition of companies that is lobbying for more high-skilled immigration. "It's an issue today for some companies, and it's
going to continue to be an issue that needs to be addressed."
Fears that H-1B workers cause unemployment and depress wages are unfounded. H-1B workers create jobs for Americans by
enabling the creation of new products and spurring innovation. High-tech industry executives estimate that a
new H-1B engineer will typically create demand for an additional 3–5 American workers. Reports of
systematic underpayment and fraud in the program are false. From 1991 through September 1999, only 134
violations were found by the U.S. Department of Labor, and only 7, or fewer than 1 per year, were found to
be intentional. The lack of widespread violations confirms that the vast majority of H-1B workers is being paid the legally required
prevailing wage or more, undercutting charges that they are driving down wages for native workers. Wages are rising fastest and
unemployment rates are lowest in industries in which H-1B workers are most prevalent.
Fraud claims have little evidence to back them up-prefer empirical evidence and no impact
to fraud either.
Masters and Ruthizer, 00
(Suzette and Ted, CATO Institute, March 3, “The H-1B Straitjacket Why Congress Should Repeal the Cap on Foreign-Born Highly Skilled
Workers,” http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbp/tbp-007.pdf, CW, accessed on 7/28/10)
The tame enforcement picture contrasts sharply with the widespread but unproven accusations of pervasive fraud in the H–1B visa process.
According to some opponents of the H-1B status, the alleged fraud is occasioned by employers who knowingly file
visa petitions for persons who fail to meet the statutory criteria, prospective H-1B applicants who falsify their
academic credentials, and government employees on the take who further those criminal acts. But the
evidence of H-1B visa fraud is exclusively anecdotal. Given the small number of those visas available every year and
the overwhelming need for such visas by legitimate employers complying with the law, vague, largely
unsubstantiated allegations of abuse should not be accepted without hard evidence, and they must not
obscure the very real benefits provided by this important category of visa holders. In House Immigration
Subcommittee hearings held on the topic of nonimmigrant visa fraud in May of 1999, senior Immigration and Naturalization Service official
William Yates testified that “anecdotal reports by INS Service Centers indicate that INS has seen an increase in fraudulent attempts to obtain
benefits in this category [H-1B]. These fraud schemes appear to be the result of those wishing to take advantage of the economic opportunities in
the U.S.”39 Given the small base number of proven frauds, the alleged increase hardly seems a vigorous call to action. In a similar vein, the
inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice, Michael R. Bromwich, testified that “there is very little
hard data available to gauge the magnitude of visa fraud, a point noted by [the General Accounting Office] in its
reports on this subject. . . . This lack of comprehensive statistics hinders the ability of the State Department and
the INS to appropriately respond to visa fraud.”40 Moreover, the three cases cited in the inspector general’s
testimony as ongoing fraud investigations all involved criminal activity by INS employees. No reasonable person
condones immigration fraud of any type, but the allegation of significant H1B fraud is simply unsupported by the facts.
ADI 2010 62
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
Indian and Chinese H1B workers contribute to brain circulation, creating linkages that
boost every economy involved.
Saxenien 2. (“Brain Circulation: How High-Skill Immigration Makes Everyone Better Off” Brookings Institution.
http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2002/winter_immigration_saxenian.aspx) SEW
Understandably, the rapid growth of the foreign-born workforce has evoked intense debates over U.S.
immigration policy, both here and in the developing world. In the United States, discussions of the
immigration of scientists and engineers have focused primarily on the extent to which foreign-born
professionals displace native workers. The view from sending countries, by contrast, has been that the
emigration of highly skilled personnel to the United States represents a big economic loss, a "brain
drain." Neither view is adequate in today's global economy. Far from simply replacing native workers,
foreign-born engineers are starting new businesses and generating jobs and wealth at least as fast as
their U.S. counterparts. And the dynamism of emerging regions in Asia and elsewhere now draws
skilled immigrants homeward. Even when they choose not to return home, they are serving as
middlemen linking businesses in the United States with those in distant regions. In some parts of the
world, the old dynamic of "brain drain" is giving way to one I call "brain circulation." Most people
instinctively assume that the movement of skill and talent must benefit one country at the expense of
another. But thanks to brain circulation, high-skilled immigration increasingly benefits both sides.
Economically speaking, it is blessed to give and to receive. "New" Immigrant Entrepreneurs Unlike
traditional ethnic entrepreneurs who remain isolated in marginal, low-wage industries, Silicon Valley's new
foreign-born entrepreneurs are highly educated professionals in dynamic and technologically sophisticated
industries. And they have been extremely successful. By the end of the 1990s, Chinese and Indian
engineers were running 29 percent of Silicon Valley's technology businesses. By 2000, these companies
collectively accounted for more than $19.5 billion in sales and 72,839 jobs. And the pace of immigrant
entrepreneurship has accelerated dramatically in the past decade.
ADI 2010 66
Frap/Russell H-1B Aff
***SCIENCE DIPLOMACY***
ADI 2010 69
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H-1B visa is key to solving science competitiveness – we’re falling behind the rest of the
world
Schwartz 8 (Peter, Chairman of the Global Business Network. GBN, “Daring to Dream”
www.gbn.com/articles/pdfs/GBN.SFC_VFT_Dare2dream.pdf) JM
Around the world, we are seeing a boom in scientific interest and investment—from established and growing centers
in East Asia to emerging research clusters in Africa. Yet in the U.S., only 15 percent of all American
undergraduates receive their degrees in natural science or engineering, compared to 47 percent in France, 50
percent in China, and 67 percent in Singapore (National Science Board). Michio Kaku observes that “America’s students are
comparable to a third-world country in many of our [pre-university] science exams.” Dean Kamen reminds us that “society
as a whole is always in a race between catastrophe and education, and I hate to see this be the first generation where catastrophe wins
that race. If we don’t get a substantially higher number of kids, particularly women and minorities, interested in
mathematics and science as the world gets much more complex, it’s a double-whammy: then not only are we
going to see more difficult technology problems than we have ever seen, coming faster, but this will be the
first generation that will grow up less capable of dealing with them.” Yet these are surmountable
problems that the U.S. is capable of addressing, through enlightened educational policies. Michio also proposes
increasing the opportunity for foreign-trained scientists to study in the U.S. through the H1B visa
program, to enable cross-cultural exchange of knowledge. Numerous board members also commented on the ability
for science fiction to capture the imagination and inspire a new generation of scientists. Indeed, many mentioned how influential Star
Trek had been in their own lives. So interestingly, the creative arts and media can act as critical communication vehicles to engage more
of America’s youth to participate in the global Renaissance taking place in science and engineering.
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economic growth and societal development tomorrow. It is in this context that international science cooperation provides
the opportunity to build bridges between countries, both through governments and through civil society
relationships. To be most effective, such an approach needs commitment from all interested parties—not just scientists and engineers, but
policy-makers, the foreign policy community, educators and the public. This emerging reality inspired the American Association for the
Advancement of Science to establish a Center for Science Diplomacy earlier this year. In October, the Center convened intensive meetings with
top U.S. leaders from foreign policy, business, education and science to discuss the best ways to pursue international partnerships, even with
nations such as North Korea and Cuba, where governmental relationships have been profoundly strained. Still, an overarching challenge
confronts us now: At a time of financial crisis, we must work together to address world problems in a way that contributes to sustainable, long-
term economic growth. Governments play an important role in such partnerships, but they cannot succeed without the commitment of individual
researchers in Russia, the United States, and many other countries. If scientists and engineers take leadership, we can pursue
new discoveries and solutions to shared problems even as we build understanding and trust between our
nations.
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Increase in Middle East relations are crucial for to stop Iran Strikes
Leverett et al, 10 (Flynt, director of the New America Foundation’s Iran Initiative, Hillary Mann Leverett, CEO of Strategic Energy and
Global Analysis (STRATEGA), a pol itical risk consultancy.“The United States, Iran and the Middle East’s New ‘‘Cold War’’”, The
International Spectator, Vol. 45, No. 1, March 2010, 75–87, 7/27/10, atl)
Thus, American political realities strongly suggest the need for a comprehensive approach to US–Iranian diplomacy, just as
Iranian strategic concerns do. So why has the United States – even under the Obama administration – not moved more purposefully to
embrace comprehensive engagement with Tehran, aimed at a fundamental realignment of relations? Part of the answer lies in domestic
While US domestic political dynamics necessitate a comprehensive approach to rapprochement
politics.
with Iran, they also make this difficult to do. Certainly, American foreign policy since the end of the US–Soviet
Cold War remains heavily influenced by domestic constituencies mobilised in ways that raise the political risks to an
American administration of pursuing strategic realignment with Iran.29 But a larger part of the explanation, in our view, lies in
ongoing confusion among American foreign policy elites about two critical questions: The first of these questions is the relative
stability/fragility of the Islamic Republic’s political order. This question has become even more controversial following
Iran’s June 2009 presidential election. We have argued elsewhere that the Islamic Republic is not imploding – the Islamic Republic
has withstood numerous internal and external political challenges during its 30-year history, and there is no evidence that the
‘‘Green’’ movement which emerged out of the 2009 election could displace the current political order.30 On this basis, we
argue that Washington should engage the Islamic Republic as it is presently constituted, not as some in the United States
and elsewhere might wish it to be. Of course, other analysts take a different view; within this camp, even some who oppose the
imposition of sanctions or US military action against Iran argue that the United States should pull back from diplomatic engagement with
The second of these questions is whether Tehran’s national
Tehran until the political situation becomes clearer.
security and foreign policy strategies are designed to resist aspects of US hegemony that threaten
Iranian interests and regional prerogatives or to replace American hegemony in the Middle East with Iranian
hegemony. We have argued elsewhere that, since the death of Ayatollah Khomeni in 1989, the Islamic Republic’s national
security and foreign policy strategies have been primarily defensive in nature, designed to resist and
undermine various aspects of American hegemony.31 On the basis of that analysis we argue for strategically
grounded rapprochement with Tehran as the optimal policy choice for the United States. For those who believe that the
Islamic Republic aspires to replace the United States as the Middle East’s regional hegemon, real rapprochement seems
impossible; from this perspective, Washington’s strategic options toward Iran boil down to some mix of
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containment and deterrence, on the one hand, or the explicit embrace of regime change in Tehran as the
ultimate objective of America’s Iran policy.
Strikes would cause Iran to develop the bomb and draw Russia and China into the fight ending in inevitable extinction
Jan 06 (Abid Ullah, “Why American will Reap in Iran What it Doesn’t expect”, posted February 20th http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?
x=528456)
If Iran has no nuclear weapons, as concludes Mohammed el-Baradei the respected chief of the IAEA, the war on Iran, in itself, will not lead to the
speculated World War 3. It will only worsen the situation worldwide. Instead of directly ending up in a World War, the war on Iran will only
become a next phase in spreading the World War that is already on without our realizing that we are passing through its initial phases. [1] On the
other hand, a false assumption that Iran has no nuclear weapons will, in fact, quickly engulf many more countries and take the World War that is
already on to a quick climax.[2] Under-estimating Iran’s nuclear capacity is pushing the extremists in Washington into launching a war that the
US administration has been planning since a long time. The IAEA’s inspections and confirmation that Iran has no nuclear weapons and there is
no nuclear program in operation are no different than the confirmation by the United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq that Saddam had no
weapons of mass destruction. Confirmation of the absence of weapons actually led to the United States' final decision
to launch a war of aggression on Iraq. This time around, the United States is in for a big trouble. It is
attacking Iran, not for the reason that it has, or it is planning to have nuclear weapons, but only because it
has assumed that Iran is years away from producing nuclear weapons. Many analysts believe that an attack on Iran
will turn into a World War because the Iranian government has a long-range strategy for "asymmetrical"
warfare that will disrupt the flow of oil and challenge American interests around the world. Certainly, if one is
facing an implacable enemy that is committed to "regime change" there is no reason to hold back on doing what is necessary to defeat that
adversary. However, the main reason for escalation of the conflict will be exactly the assumption on the part of the United States, Israel and
Britain that Iran cannot respond with nuclear weapons. At a time when nuclear material—including red mercury and different forms of Uranium
—were flowing in the streets of Pakistan, a high ranking Pakistani official, working in the Iranian consulate, told this writer that Iran is
obtaining smuggled nuclear material from its field commanders in Afghanistan. It was well before the
nuclear testing by India and Pakistan took place. Keeping this fact in mind, it is simply naïve to assume that
the United States or Israel will launch an un-provoked war of aggression on Iran, and Iran will remain a
sitting duck and not retaliate with what it must have refined and retooled since mid-nineties.[3] Even if we assume
that the Iranian government purchased nuclear material without any intention of putting it to use, it is highly unlikely that it will still let this
material gather dust while it is being openly and seriously threatened by the United States and Israel. If scientists in Germany and the United
States could work to develop nuclear weapons from scratch during the World War II, how long will it take a nation pushed against the wall and
with all the ingredients available to put something workable together and retaliate with a bang? So, the practical chances of Iran’s retaliation with
a nuclear weapon in the face of a war of aggression imposed on it are far more than the theoretical assumptions that Iranian Intelligence will plan
covert operations which will be carried out in the event of an unprovoked attack on their facilities. It is true that a nuclear response from Iran
would mean a definite suicide when looked in perspective of the nuclear power of the United States and Iran. But it also doesn’t make any sense
that the United States would keep bombing Iran, the way it has planned, into the Stone Age, yet despite being able to respond, Iran will simply
turn the other cheek. This chain of inevitable reactions will in fact lead a wider conflagration that the warlords in Washington and Tel Aviv have
not even imagined. Emboldened by their adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, and deluded by the IAEA conclusion that Iraq has no nuclear
weapons, the warlords are set to go into a war that will definitely lead to massive bloodshed in the Middle East and the downfall of the United
States as we see it. Despite Bush and company’s claims that the world is not the same after 9/11, the world remained more or less the same after
9/11. However, their world will surely turn upside down with their miscalculation of going into a third war of aggression in five years. The
Russian and Chinese stakes in this issue cannot be ignored altogether. Attacking Iran would prove too much for Russia and China. Russia has
snubbed Washington by announcing it would go ahead and honor a $700 million contract to arm Iran with surface-to-air missiles, slated to guard
Iran's nuclear facilities. And after being burned when the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority invalidated Hussein-era oil deals, China has
snapped up strategic energy contracts across the world, including in Latin America, Canada and Iran. It can be assumed that both China and
Russia will not sit idly by and watch Iran being annihilated by the United States. If Iran is attacked with lethal force, it will retaliate with the
utmost force available at its disposal; that much is certain. Remembering my discussion 9 year ago with a well informed source who was working
for the Iranian government, I am pretty sure that the utmost force in the hands of Iran definitely includes nuclear weapons. One of the signs for
that is the confidence with which the Iranian government responds to US threats. Iranian leaders have acted responsibly and reasonably so far. It
is always the mistake of extremists to misjudge the behavior of reasonable men. The Iranians tried to avoid purchasing nuclear material from the
Pakistani black market to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion. They kept their nuclear program limited to energy production. It is the United
States and its allies which are provoking it into reaction. As a result, it has been a mistake of reasonable men in Iran to mistake the behavior of
extremists in Washington and not getting out of NPT or testing a few nuclear devices to balance its power against its enemies. Many analysts are
predicting that attack on Iran will be provoked because a majority of Americans are not in favor of a new war. Although setting up a pre-text for
domestic support cannot be ruled out, one can say with certainty from the track record of Bush and company that they will hardly bother to
engineer another terrorist attack.[4] In the fits of madness, they have already made themselves believe that they have enough justification to wage
a war or aggression on Iran. The Washington Times has already started beating war drums and promoting "policy experts" who believe the US
must go alone if needed (Feb 6, 2006).[5] Irrespective of any pretext and going alone or in a coalition of barbarians, the signs tell us that the
warlords are not going to relinquish their totalitarian dreams. It is very unfortunate on their part that they are putting their hands in hornet nest
where they may get stung with nuclear weapons. Their retaliation, for sure, will lead to total disaster. A disaster, far
worse than what the title "World War 3" can convey.
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Relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran need to be analysed and understood not only in terms
of their bilateral dynamics, but also in their strategic context. Broadly speaking, the Middle East today is deeply
divided between two camps – a reality that some commentators describe as a new regional ‘‘Cold
War’’.1 On one side of this divide are those states willing to work in various forms of strategic partnership with the United
States, with an implied acceptance of American hegemony over the region. This camp includes Israel, those Arab states that
have made peace with Israel (Egypt and Jordan), and other so-called moderate Arab states (for example, Saudi Arabia and
the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council). On the other side of this divide are those Middle Eastern states and non-
state actors that are unwilling to legitimise American (and, some in this camp would say, Israeli)
hegemony over the region. The Islamic Republic of Iran has emerged in recent years as the de facto leader of this
camp, which also includes Syria and prominent non-state actors such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Notwithstanding its close
security ties to the United States, Qatar has also aligned itself with the ‘‘resistance’’ camp on some issues in recent years. And, the rise of
the Justice and Development Party and declining military involvement in Turkish politics have prompted an intensification
of Turkey’s diplomatic engagement in the Middle East, in ways that give additional strategic options to various actors in
the ‘‘resistance’’ camp. Thus, the relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republic both
shapes and is shaped by the new Middle Eastern Cold War. As the new regional Cold War plays out, analysts suggest
different scenarios for how the ongoing strategic competition between the United States and Iran will evolve. Some, like former German
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, see this competition as a struggle for regional hegemony in the Middle East comparable to
that in late nineteenth century Europe following German unification; from this perspective, Fischer warns that, without
careful handling, tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic could ultimately erupt in
a large-scale military confrontation.2 Others, like Fareed Zakaria, believe that the United States and its regional and
international partners will move inexorably toward a posture of containing and deterring the Islamic Republic and its allies,
in a manner reminiscent of the West’s Cold War posture toward the Soviet Union.3 Against the backdrop of these scenarios, we
argue that the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran should transcend the prospects for hegemonial war or strategic
standoff and seek a fundamental realignment of their relations, in a manner similar to the realignment in relations between the
United States and the People’s Republic of China during Richard Nixon’s tenure in the White House. We further argue that such a
fundamental realignment of US–Iranian relations can only be achieved through a comprehensive rapprochement between
Washington and Tehran.
And, science diplomacy is key to solve – moves regional politics from zero-sum to
interdependency
Whitaker 10 (Joel, senior adviser to the Center of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding at the
United States Institute of Peace, “The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin: A Science Diplomacy Opportunity” April 22
2010. http://www.usip.org/files/resources/PB%2020%20Tigris-Euphrates_River_Basin.pdf) JM
Invest in Scientific Cooperation for Regional Water Management and Conflict Resolution To deal with the interrelated
political, economic, and ecological issues that arise for Iraq from poor water management in the Tigris-Euphrates
basin across various time horizons, we recommend an approach that has regional scientific cooperation as its
foundation. Scientific cooperation initiatives in river basins ranging from the Nile to the Mekong have
demonstrated that enhanced management of transboundary water resources provides a strong basis
for economic growth and political stability. Our fundamental assumption is that the scientific elements of such a
strategy make trust and cooperation possible since stakeholders have a common understanding of the
problem based on accepted scientific standards, thus bringing political rhetoric more in line with
reality. International scientific collaboration can break a diplomatic logjam. Furthermore, President Barack Obama’s recent
pledge to invest in scientific collaboration during his Cairo address to the Arab world has triggered the U.S.
government’s renewed interest in building domestic technical capacity in Iraq and in supporting
regional scientific collaboration initiatives. The time is ripe for such an approach. Specifically, we argue for a
two-pronged programmatic approach to water management in post-conflict Iraq: • Support for regional technical cooperation • Support
for regional policymaking and diplomatic initiatives 2. Support Regional Technical Cooperation Regional cooperation between
scientists, academics and technical experts on water management can help tackle various parts of the political challenges
outlined in earlier parts of this Peace Brief. Firstly, they serve to create more open forums for information and
technical data sharing. Most data about water usage, flow and quality have been guarded as a national security secret to conceal violations of
pledged water management practices, making it difficult to depoliticize the issue with trusted information . Regional cooperation breaks
collective action problems underlying the resistance to sharing sensitive data. It also enhances the development
of technical expertise, leveling the playing field between counterparts over time. Secondly, scientific cooperation serves to
realign states’ interests from a zero-sum perspective to a more comprehensive approach based on
interdependence. Turkey has resisted the establishment of a joint regulatory body, but the door is opening to technical
collaboration, which had been dormant since the 1991 Gulf War. A multidisciplinary, cooperative approach is
appropriate, given that the interconnected scientific and engineering problems of the basin go well
beyond legal wrangling over water rights. For example, outdated technology for agriculture (90 percent of Iraq’s water usage)
exacerbates water shortages in the entire region and has caused severe downstream salination. But the 2007-2010 Iraqi National Security Strategy states that
decreasing water flow “directly threatens environmental and nutritional security [and] stems from…large dams in Turkey and Syria…that do not take into
consideration the rights of Iraq.” Thus, the improvement of water management capacity in Iraq is in the interest of both Turkey and Syria, promoting
efficient water usage throughout the region and warding against possible conflicts.
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NATO war games prove – Iraq, Syria and Turkey will all go to war over water shortages
on the Tigris-Euphrates
Jongerden 10 (Joost, assistant prof of social sciences @ Wageningen University in the Netherlands. middle east
Policy, Vol. XVii, no. 1, Spring 2010. http://www.joostjongerden.info/dams%20and%20conflict.pdf) JM
According to a NATO conflict scenario, Syria and Iraq ex- ecute a joint invasion of Turkey in 2010. This
invasion occurs against the background of a severe three- year drought in Iraq and Syria, ascribed to
Turkey’s water policies, and an unstable political situation in the region.1 According to an Uppsala Model UN
scenario, mean- while, Turkey and Iraq come to the brink of war after a failed attempt by an illegal organization from Iraq to explode
one of Turkey’s dams. Iraq condemns the assault but accuses Turkey of denying the country access to the water. Turkey blames the Iraqi
government for the attack, demands the arrest of those responsible and threat- ens to cut water supplies completely if Iraq does not
comply with its demands. Forces are mobilized and war looms.2 These scenarios are based on the po- tential for
armed conflict over water in this part of the Middle East, born of past expe- rience. Clearly, there is an
inherent risk of hostilities, with the Tigris and Euphrates rising in Turkish territory (in the Anti- Taurus mountain region) before
descending southwards through Syria and Iraq (to the Persian Gulf).3 This gives Turkey effec- tive control over the water resources of
its southern neighbors, with whom political relations have long been problematic in an area of varied and ongoing tensions. A conflict
did suddenly become a very real possibility in 1990, when Iraq and Syria thought Turkey had
deliberately cut off their water supplies, as they simultaneously faced a serious decrease in water flow (the brewing
conflict, however, was offset by another: Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait). Today, the situation is heating up again.
Iraq is suffering from serious water-supply short- ages and locked in the deadly embrace of several armed organizations vying for
power. If this were not enough, Turkey commenced another round of dam con- struction in the area this year.
Primarily conceived as part of its counter insurgency strategy against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) (to which the project contrib-
utes in various ways, outlined below), this involves turning dams into military means, and thus into potential
objects of conten- tion. The politicization of dam construction is well-known. The World Bank and IMF have supported such
large-budget projects, which are criticized as relatively low-return and environmentally destructive. However, the targeted usage of such
schemes for overtly political purposes, resulting in their objectification as instruments in a politi- cal struggle, represents a rather
different and less common spatial intervention. This article will discuss dams as contentious constructions with the potential to catalyze
violent conflict in the region.
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US-Sino cooperation in science is key to sustained relations and solves all impacts
Suttmeier 10 (Richard P., IR prof @ U of O. Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China. Vol 1 No. 1
2010. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1758-
552X&volume=1&issue=1&articleid=1846301&show=html&PHPSESSID=6rl7emml1gklt5katfmnmsehf4) JM
Few would have imagined what the Agreement would have wrought 30 years later. The web of relationships that has been created in
S&T is now characterized by multiple institutional strands, with multiple stakeholders having multiple objectives. Although the
reforms and investments China has made in research institutes and universities over the past-30 years have not
entirely erased the asymmetries of the past, they have certainly made China an especially important
partner in research and innovation for many constituencies in the USA. In a number of fields of research and on
a number of pressing global problems, the S&T partnership between the USA and China will play a critical role
in determining the twenty-first century future. Revolutions in science-based technologies hold the
potential for significant enhancements in national wealth and power in both countries, while shared interests in the management
of such collective good and bad as climate change, pollution, water and energy availability, food supplies, and
a broad range of issues involving risk and safety, are forcing increased attention to knowledge-based approaches to these
challenges. The scope of the relationship can be seen in three realms – government programs, industrial cooperation, and academic
science[1]. The existence of these different channels represents significant institutional resources for the
kinds of strategic partnering on twenty-first century scientific and technological development and
global problems alluded to above. Since these challenges have basic research, commercial, and public goods components they
require a repertoire of organizational approaches, many of which now exist.
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***HEGEMONY***
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The excessive tightening of US visa policies post September 11th are making more
difficult for foreign scientists to enter the country
Paarlberg 4 (“Knowledge as Power: Science, Military Dominance, and U. S. Security”
Robert L., International Security, Vol. 29, No. 1, Summer 2004 Pg 150)
More science will be good for security, but an overzealous pursuit of homeland security now risks a
weakening of U.S. science. An excessive tightening of U.S. visa policies post-September 11 is reducing the
vital flow of foreign scientists into the United States. Between FY 2001 and FY 2003, successful U.S.
visa ap-plications in all categories fell from 10 million down to 6.5 million. The number of temporary
worker visas issued specifically for jobs in science and technol ogy in the United States dropped more
sharply, falling by 55 percent in 2002 alone.75T he weaker post-September 11 U.S. economy can be blamed
for some of this decline, but not all. Tightened visa procedures are making entry into the United States by
foreign scientists significantly more difficult.
Scientists say that the biggest hurdle to great scientific achievement is the lack of funding
and difficulties with H-1B visas
Kolakowski 9 (Nicholas, “US Scientists See H1B Visas as Major Issue Against Progress, Says Survey” 7-12-09
www.ewee.com)
A new survey by the Pew Research Center has found that, while the American public holds a high
opinion of scientists, a minority feel that U.S. scientific achievements are best in the world. At the same
time, scientists felt the biggest impediments to their research were lack of funding and difficulties in
the H1-B visa process for foreign scientists and students. The nation's scientists see H1-B visa issues as
a major barrier to scientific achievement, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. Some
56 percent surveyed felt that issues with the visa process for foreign students and scientists represented
a massive impediment, second only to the 87 percent who saw lack of funding as a “very serious” or
“serious” problem.
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Lack of domestic high skilled workers ensures we have to offshore for advanced tech- this
hurts military readiness
Industrial College of Armed Forces 8 [“Final Report Electronics Industry”
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?
AD=ADA487610&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf ]ADS
There are several strategic security considerations associated with the offshore manufacturing of
semiconductors. Businesses will naturally seek to maximize profits and take advantage of overseas
environments with lower production costs, more lax environmental regulations, fewer employee benefits and
lower salaries for skilled foreign workers.59 On the national level, outsourcing can create fewer U.S. professional
and technical opportunities and fewer tax revenues to support essential government services. In the long term, the
U.S. risks losing high-end research and design talent and semiconductor specialty design jobs,
because higher-skilled workers tend to locate with the semiconductor industry value chain
as it moves to Asia.60 As fabs move to advanced levels of technology, the ability of the U.S. to recreate its
semiconductor manufacturing capability becomes exponentially more costly. Strategically for policy makers,
this means an increased dependence on other nations to supply critical manufactured defense parts and
equipment. U.S. national leadership of semiconductor technology appears to be threatened by
offshore fabrication trends that can pose long-term national security vulnerabilities. This
dramatic change is not in the best interests of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland
Security. Semiconductors are the standard building blocks for the global information grid to support
computers, communications and military information and data exchange. The semiconductor industry
provides much of the technology for U.S. military communications that are critical for command and control
and effective leadership. Research notes that military and intelligence reliance on semiconductor ICs built
offshore are not an acceptable national security option.61 The massive shift from U.S. to foreign IC
manufacturers endangers the security of sensitive and classified IP information embedded in chip design. It greatly
expands the possibility that harmful software code, embedded Trojan horse attacks, or other unauthorized design
inclusions could appear in unclassified integrated circuits used in military and security applications. If offshore IC
fabrication migration continues, the DoD and U.S. Intelligence Community potentially could be
denied access to ICs and the security-assured functionality of advanced semiconductors, via
foreign export restrictions, when these components are essential for U.S. national defense
advantage.
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When job creators hire talented individuals it increases growth and innovation
National Foundation for American Policy 10’(non-partisan public policy research organization,
March 2010, http://www.nfap.com/pdf/1003h1b.pdf) AJR
The findings were consistent with information from tech companies on the dynamic process of job
creation and the results held up in estimates with different controls and subsets of firms. One reason
the study has been widely cited is it reflects the real world experiences of tech companies in hiring
highly skilled foreign-born professionals and international graduate students from U.S. universities. In
addition to citing the research, Bill Gates noted Microsoft’s own internal findings that H-1Bs lead to
increased complementary employment: “Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we
add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities.”14 That is similar to
the finding in the National Foundation for American Policy research. Discussions with executives at
eBay and other tech companies revealed the same experiences. It’s common sense to job creators that
hiring talented individuals leads to growth and innovation.
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H-1B visa holders key to bolster semiconductor industry- major companies have used them
in the past
Industrial College of Armed Forces 8
[“Final Report Electronics Industry” http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?
AD=ADA487610&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf ]ADS
Let us look at how these H-1B visa applications compare to company employment. In 2005, Intel employed
approximately 99,900 people worldwide, with more than 50% locate in the U.S., and Motorola employed
69,000 employees (number of domestic employees not given)22. This indicates that approximately 2.6% of
Intel’s workers were newly-hired H-1B visa holders. If H-1B visa holders work for Intel for at least five
years, then approximately 5.4% of their domestic workers were H-1B visa holders, which translate to a
larger percentage of their engineers. H-1B visa holders were probably an even larger proportion of the
workforce at Motorola, since they accounted for 3.7% of all employees worldwide. The percentage
of domestic engineers that are H-1B visa holders could easily be twice that. These data
indicate that semiconductor companies use H-1B visas strategically in hiring and
managing their engineering talent. Below we see that part of the reason for the importance of H-1B
visas is that major U.S. universities are providing graduate training to many foreign students, and upon
graduation these students are in great demand by U.S. companies.
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H-1B visa holders key to bolster semiconductor industry- major companies have used them
in the past
Industrial College of Armed Forces 8
[“Final Report Electronics Industry” http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?
AD=ADA487610&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf ]ADS
Let us look at how these H-1B visa applications compare to company employment. In 2005, Intel employed
approximately 99,900 people worldwide, with more than 50% locate in the U.S., and Motorola employed
69,000 employees (number of domestic employees not given)22. This indicates that approximately 2.6% of
Intel’s workers were newly-hired H-1B visa holders. If H-1B visa holders work for Intel for at least five
years, then approximately 5.4% of their domestic workers were H-1B visa holders, which translate to a
larger percentage of their engineers. H-1B visa holders were probably an even larger proportion of the
workforce at Motorola, since they accounted for 3.7% of all employees worldwide. The percentage
of domestic engineers that are H-1B visa holders could easily be twice that. These data
indicate that semiconductor companies use H-1B visas strategically in hiring and
managing their engineering talent. Below we see that part of the reason for the importance of H-1B
visas is that major U.S. universities are providing graduate training to many foreign students, and upon
graduation these students are in great demand by U.S. companies.
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Outsourcing has increased China’s power now they have infrastructure to accept the
outsourcing of high skill jobs
Garrett 6
(Banning; Dir. of the Asia Program at the Atlantic Council; Journal of Contemporary China, Volume 15, Issue 48 August 2006 , pages 389 – 415) BHB
'Rising China'—which has been the result of and contributed to globalization—has become perhaps the single most
important factor shaping the rapidly-changing geopolitical landscape of the twenty-first century.22
China has become the largest 'delta' or change factor in the world economy. Higher world energy and commodity prices are attributed
largely to China's rapidly increasing demand, spurred in turn by China's seemingly perpetual economic growth of around 8-9% per year.
China's emergence as the world's manufacturing platform is compelling a restructuring of global manufacturing networks and even
national economies. China is now a magnet for low-skill jobs 'outsourced' by the US and other advanced
countries; it is also increasingly 'moving up the food chain', producing highly-educated workers to
entice multinational companies to set up research and development centers in China, thus raising a
new round of fears about outsourcing innovation and high-paying jobs from the United States. China is
also the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world, with more than $60 billion received in 2004 and nearly $570
billion received since 1982. China has become the world's third largest trading country behind the US and Germany and ahead of Japan,
with $1.15 trillion in trade in 2004. Inexpensive goods from China have maintained downward pressure on prices of manufactured
consumer goods in the United States and throughout the world, helping to stave off inflation and benefiting consumers but also
extracting a 'China price' for other manufacturers globally to compete with China's low-cost goods. Critically, China holds $200 billion
in US treasury bonds and over $600 billion in foreign exchange, helping to finance the US trade and budget deficits as well as US
imports of Chinese goods. In short, China has a huge impact on the world economy, on the US economy, and on
US global, regional and bilateral economic interests.
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Taiwan conflicts causes a US blockade of China killing key US industries this collapses the
economy
Lei 7
(David; Assoc Prof SMU; Winter 07 Orbis; Outsourcing and China’s Rising Economic Power; p. 38-39) BHB
Perhaps the most important quandary regarding any potential China-Taiwan conflict is the extreme overextension
of many U.S. industries’ supply chains from factories located in China. The number of U.S. industrial sectors that
rely on China as a low-cost manufacturing platform has mushroomed over the last decade, with many high-technology products now
coming from Chinese factories. Ironically, a China-Taiwan conflict may force the U.S. to deploy the Seventh
Fleet to blockade the Chinese coast—a strategic move that would sever the lifeline for many U.S.
industries that now depend on lean production and just-in-time inventory management systems. A
supply breach of such magnitude would disrupt the entire U.S. economy, with inflationary pressures
and resource scarcity across many sectors.
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One of the main issues facing the space sector is an aging workforce, and attracting the young people
that will build, launch and operate the rockets, satellites and communications networks of the future has
proven difficult. The sector has lost the appeal it once had and now faces increased competition in convincing
future engineers that space is more relevant than ever. Concerns over the aging workforce is the number two
issue for members of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), whose members includes U.S. manufacturers and
suppliers of aircraft, space systems, equipment, services and information technology, says Daphne Dador, AIA's
manager, workforce. "A lot of our leaders and companies are really focused on developing a qualified workforce for
the future. As it stands now, there are certainly challenges for our workforce." Among them is that 38 percent of the
U.S. aerospace workforce is 50 or older, with 20 percent of the workforce forecasted to reach retirement age
in the next three to five years. "When it comes to pending retirements and the supply side, getting young
people to work in this industry is a concern," she says. Before the House Science and Technology
Subcommittee on Research and Science Education in February, Rick Stephens, senior vice president of human
resources and administration at Boeing and chair of the AIA Workforce Steering Committee, said the United
States is "falling further behind" in science and engineering education. "These are becoming difficult jobs to
fill, not because there is a labor shortage but because there is a skills shortage. Our industry needs more
innovative young scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians to replace baby
boomers as they retire.
US space power is low due to a lack of domestic workers- intelligence programs prove
Launchspace Staff 9 [January 20, “The Ongoing Erosion Of The US Space Industrial Base,”
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/The_Ongoing_Erosion_Of_The_US_Space_Industrial_Base_999.html]ADS
The preeminent space power has severely declined. Performance has eroded, support is lacking and
expectations have diminished. Why? The success of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other U.S.
technological innovations highlighted the strategic importance of Space as an enabler for communications,
navigation and remote sensing, thus attracting the attention of the international defense and intelligence
communities. Twenty years ago only the U.S., the former Soviet Union and Europe were aware of the importance of
Space applications. Today, every developing nation is a customer for Space applications. The world now
recognizes that the marketplace for Space-related goods and services has greatly expanded. More providers
have entered the competition and are winning customers away from the U.S. Furthermore, the licensing processes
under U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) have restricted the ability of U.S. Space contractors to
compete in foreign markets. Some European manufacturers even advertise "ITAR-free" spacecraft products. The
actual impact of ITAR is exactly the opposite of its original intent, i.e., to slow the development of certain
technologies outside the U.S. In today's environment, it is simply arrogant and immature to think other
countries lack the intellectual capital and will to create technologies for strategic applications. International
competition, disarray in U.S. leadership and a shortage of native Space technologists have crippled
the country's capability to compete. Economics' driven industry consolidations and an aging
workforce of older space professionals further weaken the Space industry's capacity to
deliver cutting-edge systems. Evidence supporting this analysis is clearly on display with the
most recent military and intelligence spacecraft programs. U.S. Space leaders have been fully
informed of this dire situation, but little has been done. Strong leadership across the government, in industry and in
academia is mandatory to reverse this trend in U.S. Space decline. ITAR restrictions and licensing processes need
urgent reform to allow Space contractors to market and compete more effectively. Presidential leadership is
mandatory to reorganize the government Space enterprise and to create a centralized Space Architecture.
Universities need improved incentives to produce more qualified scientists and engineers who can contribute to U.S.
Space capabilities. If action isn't taken immediately, the U.S. will become a follower, instead of a leader. And
National Security will be almost irreparably damaged-in Space and therefore on the ground.
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Another crucial relationship NASA has with the aerospace workforce is its ability to attract and educate future
workers. In fact, the demographics of our industry reflect an influx of young workers who entered our industry
during exciting times in our space program. Developing the aerospace workforce of the future is a top issue for
our industry. As the leader of the largest U.S. aerospace trade association, the most significant concerns
and trends facing the U.S. aerospace workforce and industrial base at the present time
include the impending retirements within the next decade. Today, 13 percent of our workforce is
eligible to retire. By 2013, retirement eligibility for some job functions like RandD and program managers will
be around 20 percent. n6 The state of education for our young people is also in peril, including poor preparation
for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, also known as STEM fields; low graduation rates of
students in those fields, especially when compared to other nations, and a lack of interest in STEM fields overall.
Currently, the U.S. annually graduates just 74,000 engineers - covering all fields in the discipline. Further, many
of these students are foreign nationals who return home shortly after graduating - which lowers the number of new
domestically employable engineers under 60,000. n7 By comparison, India and China respectively graduate six
and ten times more engineering students each year. n8 If this continues, the U.S. runs a real risk of losing
its skilled engineering edge over other nations. The latest national test scores show that, in math, fourth
graders are 62 percent below proficient and eighth graders are 69 percent below proficient. In science, fourth graders
are 68 percent below proficient, while eighth graders are 73 percent below proficient. n9 In a study done by
Raytheon, most middle school students said they would rather do one of the following instead of their math
homework: clean their room, eat their vegetables, go to the dentist or take out the garbage. This lack of interest seeps
into interest in aerospace. For example, in a recent survey 60 percent of students majoring in STEM found the
aerospace and defense industry an unattractive place to work. n10
NASA is on the verge of a mass high skilled worker shortage- it will gut key operation
Axtman 3 [Kris, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, Staff writer of The
Christian Science Monitor February 18, “NASA faces looming engineer shortage,”
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0218/p17s02-lehl.html]ADS
Theis is now a software engineer in the private sector, and his departure from NASA represents a looming
crisis for the space agency. A General Accounting Office report last year found that NASA has three times
as many engineers aged 60 and over as it has 30 and under - and a quarter of its nearly 19,000
employees will be eligible for retirement in five years. Last month, the GAO again reported
the agency is having difficulty hiring people with the science, engineering, and
information-technology skills that are critical to its operations. Experts warn that when
retirees walk out the door, decades of knowledge and experience will walk out with
them - slowing NASA's progress and raising additional safety concerns. "It's one of the
most serious problems at NASA right now," says Wei Shyy, chairman of the mechanical and
aerospace engineering department at the University of Florida. "They need to beef up their efforts to recruit
young people and increase their pay. Then they need to find a way to retain the experience of those who are
leaving," he says.
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Insourcing Jobs. Increasing the cap on H-1B visas creates new jobs for American workers, not just H-1B
immigrants. Employees do not compete for a fixed number of jobs so that when more H-1B workers come to
the United States, an equal number of Americans lose their jobs. Instead, businesses create jobs when they
grow and shed jobs. Currently, the economy has a severe shortage of workers for many high-skilled positions.
The unemployment rate in computer and mathematical occupations, like computer programming, was 2.1 percent in
2007—essentially full employment after accounting for workers between jobs.2 There are not enough high-tech
workers in America to fill the jobs that employers want them to do. By increasing the H-1B cap,
Congress would allow companies to fill vital positions and enable them to expand within the
United States, which avoids the problem of companies outsourcing work or moving overseas. Take the example
of an engineering software company that hires an engineer and a software developer on H-1B visas. Without those
key workers, the company could not expand. Because it hired those key workers, however, the company
grows and creates many new domestic jobs: software programmers, software salesmen, and technical support
staff. A study by the National Foundation for American Policy found that the average S&P 500
company creates five new domestic jobs for each highly skilled H-1B visa employee it hires.3
By raising the H-1B cap, Congress “insources” jobs, allowing companies to fill vital positions and expand
their operations in America instead of moving overseas. This benefits both American workers and the U.S.
economy.
Washington, November 2:: A leading Republican Presidential hopeful has thrown his weight behind the H1B
visa programme stressing that bringing high skilled workers on a permanent basis to the US will be beneficial
to the economy. Former Massachusetts Gover Mitt Romney has said that while he is for increasing the quota for
H1B visa, a majority of whose aspirants are Indians, the exact figures would depend on a number of things including
the strength of the US economy and the implications for the local workforce. "I like H1B visas. I like the idea of
the best and brightest in the world coming here. I'd rather have them come here permanently rather than
come and go, but I believe our visa programme is designed to help us solve gaps in our employment pool," he
said in an interview to TechCrunch,a weblog dedicated to profiling and reviewing new internet products and
companies. "Where there are individuals who have skills that we do not have in abundance here, I'd like to
bring them here and contribute to our economy," he added.
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NASA tech is key to climate observation- they contribute more data than anyone else
Dale No date given [Shana, NASA Deputy Administrator, “NASA Technology Contributes to Sustainability of
the Earth,” http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ipp/products/product_innovation_15_1_text.html]ADS
Perhaps NASA's biggest contribution to sustainability is the development and operation of Earth-observing
satellites. With today's constellation of NASA satellites covering the spectrum of Earth science measurements of
our land, sea, air, and space, NASA supplies more global climate-change data than any other
organization in the world, and it is the largest contributor to the federal government's interagency
Climate Change Science Program, providing the most research grant funding of any organization. A new
satellite was added recently to this constellation with the launch of the Ocean Surface Topography Mission, or
Jason-2, on June 20 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Like most NASA missions, Jason-2 is a
partnership with other countries of the world, because NASA recognizes that the forces at work affecting global
climate change know no boundaries. Built by the engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.,
Jason-2 will join a comprehensive suite of missions and instruments such as ICES at and GRACE in orbit today to
monitor how sea level is rising around the world, mostly due to expansion from ocean heat absorbed from the
atmosphere and melting mountain glaciers and ice sheets (e.g., Greenland, Antarctica). In September 2007, NASA
scientists observed the smallest Arctic sea ice coverage ever recorded. The sea ice coverage in September 2007 was
smaller than in September 2006 by an area that exceeded the combined geographical areas of California and Texas.
After decades of monitoring our Earth from NASA satellites, this was the largest ice-free area of the Arctic that our
NASA researchers have witnessed since monitoring started.
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NASA tech will inform climate related decisions- key to global change
Thompson 10 [Andrea, Livescience staff writer, 2/2, “The ‘new’ NASA will look back at Earth Plans allow
agency to re-fly carbon observatory that crashed last year,” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35206524
NASA's new proposed budget will in part shift the space agency's focus from landing people on the moon
back to Earth, with more money slated to go to projects that will help us understand our planet's climate and
even plans to re-launch the carbon observatory that failed to launch last year. The 2011 proposed budget for
NASA, announced on Monday, cancels the Constellation program to build new rockets and spacecraft
optimized for the moon, but increases NASA's overall budget by $6 billion over the next five years. Of that
$6 billion, about $2 billion will be funneled into new and existing science missions, particularly those
aimed at investigating the Earth sciences, particularly climate. "That's about 27 percent of the overall
budget over the next five years of the agency [that] will be dedicated to science," said Edward Weiler,
head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Earth
and climate science division will get the bulk of the money allocated to science, and
that money will bolster Earth science missions that are either already in the works or
proposed, "NASA will be able to turn its considerable expertise to advancing climate-change
research and observations," Weiler said today in a press briefing. In particular, NASA's budget will allow
the agency to re-fly the Orbiting Carbon Observatory(OCO), whichcrashed into the oceannear
Antarctica just after launch almost a year ago. NASA has decided to give the mission a second chance,
because it "is critical to our understanding of the Earth's carbon cycle and its effect on climate change,"
Weiler said. OCO was the first satellite built exclusively to map carbon dioxidelevels on Earth and help
scientists understand how humanity's contribution of the greenhouse gas is affecting global climate change.
Climate scientist Ken Caldeira of Stanford University welcomed the news. "The Orbiting Carbon
Observatory is a key piece [of] the monitoring system that we need to keep track of our changing
Earth, so that we might better understand the complex interplay of Earth's climate system and carbon
cycle, and therefore help to better inform the difficult climate-related decisions that we will
need to make over the coming years and decades," he said.
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What can drive more engineering-minded students into the discipline of aerospace and aeronautics? I believe the
opportunity to expand human spaceflight is the ideal type of project. An industry that can inspire them must remain
vibrant and active. Over decades, our space programs and workforce have helped fuel our economy
and advance our technologies. The United States has enjoyed preeminence in aerospace in great part
due to our space program. That leadership is now in danger. The primary threat comes not from
competitors' actions but from our own aging demographics and potential failure to act, both of which could be
detrimental to our future aerospace and space programs. The generation of aerospace talent that won the Moon
Race and the Cold War is reaching retirement age, while our Shuttle workforce is also aging. Unfortunately,
America is not producing the volume and quality of engineers, designers and technicians
needed to even begin replacing those who have served so well for so long. While Congress
considers the future of NASA's funding and direction we must also continue as the world leader in space exploration
by investing in our young people and providing cutting-edge programs for them work on. The vitality of our nation
depends on a vital workforce.
Fraud claims are false- violations are far and few between AND almost none are intentional
Masters AND Ruthizer [Suzette Brooks, oversees immigration grantmaking at the J. M. Kaplan Fund, Ted, past
president and general counsel of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, March 3, “The H-1B Straitjacket
Why Congress Should Repeal the Cap on Foreign-Born Highly Skilled Workers,” http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbp/tbp-
007.pdf]ADS
Reports of systematic underpayment and fraud in the program are false. From 1991 through
September 1999, only 134 violations were found by the U.S. Department of Labor, and only 7, or fewer than
1 per year, were found to be intentional. The lack of widespread violations confirms that the vast
majority of H-1B workers is being paid the legally required prevailing wage or more,
undercutting charges that they are driving down wages for native workers. Wages are rising fastest and
unemployment rates are lowest in industries in which H-1B workers are most prevalent.