Washington: A professional US body of engineers has asked the Senators to reject any move to increase the number of H-1B visas, popular among Indian professionals, arguing that it has a damaging effect on American economy. In a statement issued on Monday, IEEE-USA - the largest American body of professional engineers asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill that would increase H-1B temporary visa numbers, weaken safeguards for US and foreign workers and facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs.
"Outsourcing is damaging to US workers and the American economy. We need laws that promote US job growth, not encourage it to leave our shores," IEEE-USA president Marc Apter said. "We encourage the Senate to maintain the high-tech provisions as written," said Apter.
"Efforts to destroy the balanced compromise that went into crafting the legislation will make it more difficult to enact into law," he added. The committee is expected to begin debating amendments to the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernisation Act" (S.744).
Senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Cruz have introduced amendments to increase the annual H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to between 300,000 and 325,000. "When exemptions are included, this would equal roughly 10 percent of the total US engineering workforce. This is troubling in light of recent reports that the top 10 companies using H-1B visas specialise in shipping American jobs offshore," IEEE-USA said....
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02:54 PM, May 14, 2013
Washington: US immigration authorities would give preference to better-educated and trained visa-seekers who can contribute to the American economy under a less-noticed provision of the immigration bill in the US Congress. The bi-partisan bill in the US Senate would rewrite the half-century-old standards that control legal immigration to favor skills over family ties. The winners of this proposed "merit-based" system, experts say, would be primarily from Asia, particularly from India,...
01:07 PM, May 05, 2013
Washington: The US Senate cleared the way on Thursday for debate on proposals to curb gun violence, rejecting an effort by conservative Republicans to block consideration of gun-control legislation prompted by the Newtown school massacre. The Senate voted 68-31 to open what will likely be weeks of emotional debate on President Barack Obama's proposals to expand background checks for gun buyers, tighten restrictions on gun trafficking and increase funding for...
03:07 AM, Apr 12, 2013
A bipartisan group of senators is closer to a deal on immigration reform to resolve the problem of 11 million illegal immigrants, including some 260,000 Indians, according to a media report. The "Gang of Eight", as the group of four Democratic and four Republican senators negotiating the deal is called, had moved closer to an agreement on a visa programme for future low-skilled workers, Politico, an influential news site focusing...
11:40 AM, Mar 30, 2013
The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama's new secretary of defense, ending an unusually acrimonious confirmation fight. ...
05:05 AM, Feb 27, 2013
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, will run for a Senate seat in Australia this year and his mother feels he would offer a good break from the 'US lackeys' in politics. ...
10:43 AM, Jan 31, 2013
Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations and a close confidante of President Barack Obama, withdrew her name from consideration as secretary of state on Thursday in the face of what promised to be a difficult Senate confirmation battle. ...
08:34 AM, Dec 14, 2012
Global retail giant Walmart - waiting for years to open its supermarkets in India - has been lobbying with the US lawmakers since 2008 to facilitate its entry into the highly lucrative Indian market. ...
10:50 AM, Dec 09, 2012
Washington: Democrats in the US Senate increased their voting edge to 10 with a newly elected independent saying on Wednesday he will align with them. Senator-elect Angus King says he has decided to caucus with Democrats, ending months of speculation about which party he would vote with. The former Maine governor was elected last week to replace retiring Republican Sen Olympia Snowe, a prominent centrist. Republican and conservative groups spent...
10:42 PM, Nov 14, 2012
New Albany: Top Republicans were slow to embrace tea party-backed Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock after he ousted a longtime GOP senator from office. Though he eventually won their support - and money - Mourdock could see both fade after telling a live television audience that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape, "that's something god intended". Mourdock, who's been locked in one of the country's most expensive and...
07:14 PM, Oct 24, 2012
Colourful turbans crowded around California Governor Jerry Brown as he signed two historic bills designed to battle workplace discrimination against Sikhs and Muslims in the state. Brown signed the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, Assembly Bill 1964 which ensures that employees receive equal protection under law, protecting workers who wear turbans, hijabs and yarmulkes, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported. In California, employers faced over 500 cases of religious discrimination in 2011,...
01:58 PM, Sep 10, 2012
New Delhi: Todd Akin, a congressman since six years and the 2012 Republican Primary who will be contesting for the US senate, made an obnoxious remark to support his anti-abortion stance in a TV talk show. He said, "From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare, if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down." First of all, how can a rape...
01:53 PM, Aug 31, 2012
Washington: US Representative Todd Akin, under fire for controversial remarks on abortion and rape, insisted on Tuesday he would not leave the Missouri Senate race, despite pressure from fellow Republicans and talk of who might replace him on the November 6 ballot. Akin - a staunch abortion opponent - vowed to stay in the contest against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, indicating he represents a conservative movement that must be heard....
08:08 AM, Aug 22, 2012
New Delhi: IIT-Delhi on Friday accepted the common entrance test for admission to the undergraduate programme for 2013 based on percentile ranking and retain the existing eligibility condition for students who passed their board examination in 2012. IIT-Delhi senate, which met in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the IIT council decision of June 27, adopted the format but with some modification, recommending that a student has to satisfy either...
08:28 PM, Aug 03, 2012
Washington: The head of compliance at Europe's largest bank resigned from his position and apologised on Tuesday after a Senate investigation found HSBC had lax controls that allowed Mexican drug cartels to launder billions of dollars through its US division. David Bagley told the Senate investigations panel that he will remain at the London-based bank in a new role. Other HSBC executives also apologised at the hearing, which focused on...
10:00 AM, Jul 18, 2012
New Delhi: Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday called a special meeting of IIT Council on June 27 to discuss the impasse over the new entrance exam format. In a press release, Sibal said, "The uncertainty faced by the student community, consequent to the resolutions of the Senates of IIT Kanpur and IIT Delhi, requires to be addressed. Consequently, a special meeting of the IIT Council is...
02:36 PM, Jun 22, 2012
IIT Delhi Senate member Prof Sanjiv Sanghi said on Wednesday they they can move the court against the new common entrance test format after Thursday's meeting. Sanghi said the new test format is a big blow to their autonomy. ...
02:36 PM, Jun 20, 2012
New Delhi: Senate members of the seven IITs will on Friday meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in connection with the JEE proposed by the HRD Ministry for admission in IITs and other centrally-funded engineering institutes. The IITs have maintained that the 'one-nation, one-test' proposal compromises with their autonomy and will affect standards maintained at the institutions. Their representatives had met senior PMO officials on Thursday with regards to the matter....
07:59 AM, Jun 15, 2012
Washington: Sounding a fresh warning to Pakistan, a key Senate panel has voted to slash American assistance to Islamabad by more than half, approving only USD 1 billion in aid for fiscal 2013 and warned of further cuts unless it reopens NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, which passes the budget for the State Department, yesterday approved only USD 1 billion in assistance to...
01:15 PM, May 23, 2012
Canberra: A seat in Australia's Parliament for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would do nothing to protect him from his legal battles in Britain and Sweden, or any potential legal fight over leaked US diplomatic cables, an expert on Parliament said on Tuesday. Assange wants to run for the Upper House Senate in Australia, and told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Tuesday that he would use the protection of Parliament...
01:50 PM, Mar 27, 2012
