Software and Information Industries Urge Passage of Bipartisan Immigration Reform Legislation

The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association of the software and online content industries, today called on congressional leaders to support H.R. 5882, bipartisan immigration reform legislation sponsored by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
"The software and information industries are a major driver of the U.S. economy, yet these industries are facing a workforce skills shortage that has risen to crisis level," said David LeDuc, SIIA Director of Public Policy. "The bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Lofgren and Sensenbrenner would provide critical workforce relief to American businesses by allowing foreign-born highly skilled workers to continue to working in the United States."
H.R. 5882 would help reduce the U.S. workforce shortage by making available to highly skilled foreign-born workers those employment-based green cards from previous years that have gone unused because of government processing delays.
As part of its effort to support immigration reform, SIIA sent a letter to the House of Representatives today, in which SIIA President Ken Wasch says:
"On behalf of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and its more than 550 member companies, I urge your support for H.R. 5882, bipartisan legislation that would provide critical workforce relief for U.S. businesses. H.R. 5882 would help to alleviate the current U.S. skills shortage by enabling much-needed, highly-skilled foreign workers to contribute to our innovation-based economy...
"The software and information industries are a major engine of growth for the U.S. economy, and are among the fastest growing and highest paying industries in the country...Yet, the software and information industries face a workforce skills shortage that is rising to crisis proportions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that demand for computer software engineers alone will increase by almost 450,000 jobs by the year 2016, to a total of nearly 1.2 million.
"In the Information Age, intellect and innovation give the United States its competitive edge in the global marketplace and make a highly educated and skilled workforce essential. If H.R. 5882 is not enacted this year, thousands of the talented professionals that currently work for American employers -- many of whom were educated at U.S. colleges and universities -- will be forced to leave to take jobs with competitors abroad."
For the full text of SIIA President Ken Wasch's letter to Members of Congress, please visit:
http://www.siia.net/govt/docs/pub/SIIA_HR5882-King_073008.pdf

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