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Governors Lobby Congress Over H-1Bs
by Michael Martinez
Governors from more than a dozen states this week pressed congressional leaders to increase the amount of visas available to skilled foreign workers.
In a letter to party leaders in both chambers of Congress, governors from Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming said the current system for issuing H1-B visas is inadequate. They said their states will not be able to maintain innovative and competitive economies without more skilled professionals in mathematics and science.
"If states like ours are to remain world leaders in innovation and intend to continue to see the job growth that is so vital to our economies," the governors wrote, "we must keep our employers in our states and ensure there is a skilled workforce in this country to fill their immediate needs."
The letter was endorsed by the Compete America Coalition, an alliance that includes Google, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Oracle and several other technology firms. The group has been actively lobbying Congress to increase the number of H-1B visas above the current cap of 65,000. The application window for H-1B visas available for fiscal 2008 lasted only two days this spring.
Federal immigration legislation that would have boosted the H-1B cap stalled in the Senate this summer. Some lawmakers have hinted at plans for a stand-alone H-1B bill later this year.
The governors said that even though the chances for comprehensive immigration reform are slim in the 110th Congress, something needs to be done immediately to address the shortage of skilled workers in the United States. "We must recognize that foreign talent has a role to play in our ability to keep companies located in our state and country," they said.
Critics, including some engineering groups and unions, claim that some companies use H-1B visas to hire skilled foreigners at lower wages while bypassing qualified but higher-paid U.S. workers.
Data Breach Prompts Changes In Connecticut
Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell moved Tuesday to upgrade her state's data security policies after a breach that may have exposed sensitive information on hundreds of thousands of taxpayers.
The state's Revenue Services Department late last month reported that a laptop computer stolen from the car of one of its employees contained data on 106,000 residents in the Nutmeg State. According to a recent story in The Journal-Inquirer of Manchester, more than two dozen state laptops have gone missing during the past year.
Rell, a Republican, announced a new statewide policy that will require agencies to evaluate and purge all sensitive information from laptops and other mobile devices if there is no compelling reason for storing such data. The rules, which were developed by the state's Information Technology Department, also impose new encryption requirements and mandate that agency executives conduct regular risk assessments.
"The loss of the [Revenue Services] information is an accident that never should have happened," Rell said in a statement. "The public entrusts considerable information to state agencies and it is up to us to keep that trust."
State lawmakers are pushing to learn more about the August data breach. House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan, a Democrat, was among those whose personal information was stored on the stolen computer. He has called on the department to create a hotline so that potential victims can access streamlined information on how to protect themselves.
Rell already has offered free identity-theft coverage to those affected by the breach. The department began contacting affected taxpayers in late August. Potential victims will have access to the coverage for a year.
The state's top law enforcer, however, has said the department's response is woefully inadequate. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Monday that the state needs to offer taxpayers two years of Identity theft coverage, as well as the ability to freeze their credit reports.
In a letter to Revenue Services Commissioner Pam Law, Blumenthal suggested that the state also reconsider its contract with Debix, the ID-theft network it has enlisted. He noted the absence of any provision in the contact prohibiting Debix from selling and retaining taxpayer data.
Revenue Services "is offering taxpayers a security blanket when they need financial body armor," Blumenthal said. "The [department's] proposal fails to provide real protection on three counts: It's not long enough, it's not strong enough, and it's not secure or sure enough."
The Connecticut breach is similar to one reported earlier this year in Ohio. In that incident, a computer tape with sensitive information was stolen from a state intern who had been sent home with it. According to a report released Monday by the research firm Interhack, data on about 1.3 million Ohioans has been exposed. Interhack, which was paid by the state to investigate the breach, discovered an additional 66,000 names on the tape that were not previously reported.
'Digital Divide' Group Fights Michigan Phone Tax
An advocacy group promoting high-speed Internet accessibility is fighting a proposal to alter the funding of emergency 911 services in Michigan.
The Chicago-based Ministerial Alliance Against the Digital Divide on Wednesday called on lawmakers in the Wolverine State to reject a bill that would impose a tax on traditional, wireless and Internet-based telephones capable of connecting to the state's 911 system. The new fee, which would take affect in January 2009, would replace the 29-cent 911 tax the state already imposes on wireless subscribers.
The state House Appropriations Committee, which is controlled by Democrats, approved the bill, S.B. 411, on a party-line vote Wednesday. The state Senate passed a version earlier this year.
According to the alliance, the House bill would result in a regressive tax structure that would unfairly affect low-income consumers. Co-Director James Demus said in a statement that the Senate's plan is a better one because it would help reduce phone bills on all consumers.
"Instead of imposing more financial hardship on the most vulnerable Michigan consumers, Michigan House members should support the Senate's bipartisan plan that will reduce phone bills for millions of consumers while protecting the integrity of 911 services," Demus said. "Unlike the House plan, the Senate version will actually provide financial relief to many families that struggle to make ends meet."
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