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[co-author: Eveline Liu]

In February 2022, the House passed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science (COMPETES) Act, a legislative package that invests in research, innovation and American manufacturing. The Senate had passed a similar bill, the US Innovation & Competition Act (USICA), in June 2021.

Beginning in May 2022, the Conference Committee on bipartisan innovation and competition legislation has been working to reconcile the COMPETES Act and USICA.

In February 2022, the House passed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science (COMPETES) Act, a legislative package that invests in research, innovation and American manufacturing. The Senate had passed a similar bill, the US Innovation & Competition Act (USICA), in June 2021.

Beginning in May 2022, the Conference Committee on bipartisan innovation and competition legislation has been working to reconcile the COMPETES Act and USICA.

In February 2022, the House passed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science (COMPETES) Act, a legislative package that invests in research, innovation and American manufacturing. The Senate had passed a similar bill, the US Innovation & Competition Act (USICA), in June 2021.

Beginning in May 2022, the Conference Committee on bipartisan innovation and competition legislation has been working to reconcile the COMPETES Act and USICA.

In February 2022, the House passed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science (COMPETES) Act, a legislative package that invests in research, innovation and American manufacturing. The Senate had passed a similar bill, the US Innovation & Competition Act (USICA), in June 2021.

Beginning in May 2022, the Conference Committee on bipartisan innovation and competition legislation has been working to reconcile the COMPETES Act and USICA. While both bills seek to accelerate U.S. production of critical semiconductor chips and strengthening the domestic supply chain, the COMPETES Act alone features immigration reform provisions:

The America COMPETES Act would establish a new, nonimmigrant W visa status for foreign entrepreneurs. Applicants would be required to hold at least a 10 percent ownership interest in the startup and play a central and active role in managing the company. The startup owner must also receive at least $250,000 in investments from U.S. citizens or organizations or at least $100,000 in government awards or grants. The visa is for startup owners, their essential employees and their dependent spouses and children.

W visas would be issued in three-year increments with the possibility of extension based on the startups growth, and visa-holders could apply for legal permanent residence after one year, if they meet conditions around funding, revenue, job creation and ongoing ownership stake. Specifically, the company must receive $1.25 million in qualifying investments or qualifying government grants or awards or generated at least $1 million in annual revenue in the prior two years. Then, the company must have created at least 10 qualified jobs.

The Department of Homeland Security estimated that 2,940 entrepreneurs would be eligible for the W visa annually. A New American Economy study estimated that, over the course of ten years, these entrepreneurs could create 429,000 jobs and generate $18 billion for the gross domestic product.

The bill would also provide an alternative to per-country, green card limits for foreign, STEM PhD and certain masters degree holders. These graduates would circumvent the green card backlog that the per-country caps have created and obtain permanent residence in the U.S. much faster.

The provision could benefit an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 STEM doctorates who apply for permanent residence in the U.S. annually. In the 2019-20 academic year, international students made up 42 percent of all STEM PhD students at U.S. universities, according to data from the Department of Education. Currently, the wait for a green card for STEM PhDs with job offers in the U.S. can be five to ten years.

This exemption would benefit applicants who might not yet qualify for the first-preference EB-1 visa but who are still engaging in valuable research that contributes to Americas status as a global leader in science.

Another provision would grant Temporary Protected Status to Hong Kong residents currently in the U.S., protecting them from deportation and providing them work authorization for 18 months. Certain Hong Kong residents facing persecution from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are eligible for refugee and asylum status, without counting toward the annual refugee or immigration ceilings.

Hong Kong residents would also have preferential immigration status and be considered separately from Chinese applicants. Finally, the bill would create a Special Immigration Status for up to 5,000 Hong Kong college graduates to emigrate to the U.S. for five years following the bills passage.

The bill would give certain persecuted Uyghurs a P-2 designation, granting them access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, again without counting toward the annual refugee ceiling. Furthermore, the America COMPETES Act requires the U.S. to prioritize diplomatic efforts with countries hosting Uyghur refugees who face pressure from the CCP to return Uyghurs to the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

The final immigration-related provision is the Adoptee Citizenship Act, which provides U.S. citizenship to individuals born abroad but adopted as children by American parents. This provision addresses a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which did not apply to foreign-born adoptees over 18 when the law went into effect. The bill would protect around 35,000 adoptees who were legally adopted but remained subject to deportation.

The 107-member Conference Committee began reconciling the Senates USICA and the Houses America COMPETES Act on May 12, 2022. Although the COMPETES Act passed the House in a partisan vote of 222 to 210, the immigration provisions could potentially garner support from some Senate Republicans.

Several Democrats support the bills provisions to increase visa availability, but Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) insisted a separate immigration policy legislation consider such provisions.

While Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) remains open to the House-passed immigration provisions, he warned against adding provisions that would frustrate the bills passage. Other Republicans voiced receptiveness to the immigration proposals.

If theres broad support for the provisions, then Im absolutely open to including it, said Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), who sponsored the Senate USICA bill. More broadly in terms of skills-based immigration reform, I think its essential to maintaining our national competitiveness.

I dont know what the exact proposal would be and what that would actually look like, said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). But for me, we want to encourage the best and the brightest from all over the world to be able to come here legally and to be able to go through the legal process.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) recognized that, when it comes to anything associated with STEM, weve got to get better at it because weve got 11 million jobs out there but six million unemployed.

I think merit-based immigration is an appropriate response to what we see happening right now, said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Obviously, if theyve got an advanced degree in a STEM program, that would meet some needs we have. But Id like to look at the legislation more.

Despite these expressions of support, it is very uncertain if the immigration provisions will survive the conference negotiations.

See the rest here:
Will Immigration Provisions in the COMPETES Act Survive Conference Negotiations? - JD Supra

Sen. Schumer took Mr. Jassys call and told him that he supports Sen. Klobuchars bill, a Schumer spokesperson said. An Amazon spokesperson said, Andy meets with policymakers on both sides of the aisle regarding policy issues that could affect our customers.

And Jassy isnt the only tech executive working to wield his star power against the bill as the tech companies pull out all the stops to crush the legislation, which could go to a vote in the Senate as soon as next month.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is planning to meet in person with senators on Capitol Hill next week to discuss the antitrust bill (among other things), said one Capitol Hill aide familiar with the discussions. The meetings follow calls Pichai made to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of the bills markup in January. A Google spokesperson did not comment directly on the meetings.

We regularly engage with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on a range of issues including economic growth, small business support, immigration reform and cybersecurity, said Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels.

The ban on so-called self-preferencing would also bar Google from giving its own services, such as Google Maps and reviews, greatest priority at the top of its search results page. And it would prevent Apple from preloading its own apps onto iPhones.

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with senators last week, including several Democrats and a group of Republicans, to discuss Apples opposition to the antitrust bills (again, among other things). A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the Kentucky Republican did not meet with Cook, and declined to comment when asked if he spoke with Jassy.

And its not just CEOs Kent Walker, Googles chief legal officer, has also spoken directly with multiple members of the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Klobuchar and Grassleys bill.

Jassys outreach is also a sign that he is approaching Washington differently than his predecessor, Jeff Bezos who rarely directly interacted with members of Congress during his time at Amazons helm. When Jassy took over last July, he quickly made the rounds on Capitol Hill.

Tech lobbying has been crude and over the top, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said. The senator said she hasnt received a call from Jassy or other top tech executives, but has been tracking their extensive efforts to block the antitrust bills. Thats the way giant corporations with unlimited money and, they believe, unlimited power seem to act, she said.

Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.

A version of this story first appeared in Morning Tech, POLITICO Pros subscriber-only tech policy newsletter. You can subscribe to POLITICO Pro here.

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Amazon's Jassy blitzes Congress over antitrust bill - POLITICO

TX-23 congressional candidate John Lira said he is running to continue his passion for public service. He faces Republican incumbent Congressman Tony Gonzalez, who currently ranks 92 percent favorability with the National Rifle Association.

Notably, Uvalde, Texas, falls in the 23rd district with a 69 percent Hispanic population. And more eyes are on the congressional race than before, in light of the Uvalde shooting marked as the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history.

Republicans across the state and the country blamed the rise in violence on mental health, video games, drag queens, rap music and more to deflect from consistently bowing down to NRA leaders and gun manufacturers.

Lira said Gonzalezs nay vote against the most recent congressional gun safety legislation puts him on the wrong side of history.

Still, Lira said he would have voted to support the Protecting Our Kids Act but wished it included provisions on school safety and mental health.

Im not ready to say that I support an all-out assault weapons ban necessarily, Lira told the Signal. But I want it to be severely restricted to those who have proven capable, mature enough, and have some sort of level of need for this weapon. But if there were an assault weapons ban in a session that I could look at, I would strongly consider it.

In reality, the emphasis on legislation and implementation of red flag laws, universal background checks, banning high capacity magazines, and more lose the essence of the conversation on why these weapons are necessary to the average law-abiding citizen in the first place.

According to Lira, he understands firsthand the sense of power behind a powerful firearm as a former Marine but doesnt understand the need for semi-automatic weapons besides marksmanship and sport.

The folks that say its for hunting are the same folks that might argue they need dynamite to fish, Lira said. I dont buy it. These are strictly for sport and kind of prestige in [many] ways. Its part of the gun iconology thats deeply rooted here in Texas. They are essentially pieces to have versus functional pieces to use.

Even with his experience as a former marine handling semi-automatic firearms, Lira said the nuisance of gun culture and Americas normalization of violence led him to question his own gun ownership away from the battlefield.

Now, with so many states allowing for the unfettered carry of a firearm anywhere in public, people are all on edge, Lira said. I never used to want to have a need for a firearm. Now I feel like I dont want to be the only fool without one if anything ever happens. I almost feel compelled to carry one.

Shortly after conflicting reports from the police showed officers waited outside for 78 minutes while the gunman barricaded himself in the 4th-grade classroom, the Uvalde Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety have been hesitant to release certain documents, according to reports by ProPublica.

Lira said that more rural communities like Uvalde are also vulnerable across the 23rd congressional district and called the Uvalde police response disappointing.

I never like to bad mouth the police, but in this case, I think they failed to live up to those expectations, he said. There are even more vulnerable and less equipped and less trained police forces spread all across my district, and what about them. Its really scary.

Grieving Uvalde families are still trying to piece together their new reality. But the lack of transparency from Texas law enforcement agencies and hesitation to release information in the ongoing investigation most likely pours salt into an already open wound.

Nevertheless, Lira said the Texas government owes the Uvalde family some compensation.

I think their [Uvalde police] actions and delayed actions or inactions directly led to increased carnage for some of these families, he said.

In addition to speaking out on gun reform, the congressional candidate who describes himself as a moderate Democrat and devout Catholic said he also defines himself politically as pro-choice.

Im proudly a pro-choice candidate, and this stems from me being a father and I have four nieces, Lira said. I want every healthcare option to be accessible and available to them as far as incorporating it in a healthy and balanced medical service that is part of a slate of services offered through the Affordable Care Act. Absolutely. These are important to women.

According to his campaign website, Lira is also campaigning on decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana, liveable wages, labor unions, veterans, immigration reform, and more.

I think in a lot of ways being a moderate, especially here in Texas, can be very valuable, he said. I think in this district specifically, a moderate is what theyre looking for. Im not bending toward the district in a lot of ways. This is who I am.

Election day for this race is Nov. 8, 2022.

Here is the original post:
John Lira on His Run for Congress in TX-23 - The Texas Signal

The stubborn problem of labor shortages has Colorado businesses looking at older workers who retired or lost their jobs during the pandemic and want back in the workforce and at changes in immigration policies that could help fill positions.

Large numbers of people voluntarily leaving their jobs as the pandemic wore on last year spurred national discussions of the so-called Great Resignation. Its also been called the Great Renegotiation or Great Reshuffling as people quit jobs for higher wages and better working conditions.

The labor shortage issue is still persistent and real, said Brian Lewandowski, executive director of the Business Research Division in the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

For every unemployed person, there are nearly two job openings nationwide. At the end of April, the number of open jobs fell slightly to 11.4 million from 11.5 million, which was the highest rate since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the number in 2000.

The number of people who voluntarily left their jobs in April stayed about the same at 4.4 million nationwide for a quit rate of 2.9%. The latest data available shows 3.5% of workers in Colorado quit their jobs in March while 3.0% did nationally.

Workforce shortages, talent shortages were a pretty big issue before COVID-19, so the issue of talent shortages is a crisis now, said Debbie Brown, president of the Colorado Business Roundtable.

The roundtable, which represents CEOs and executives of Colorado businesses, had a recent panel discussion focusing on changes in immigration policy as one avenue for filling job openings.

Janine Vanderburg sees the tight labor market as a potential boost for her work on dealing with ageism and advancing opportunities for older Americans. Vanderburg, director of Colorado-based Changing the Narrative, said many older workers didnt just decide to retire when the pandemic hit, but were laid off or encouraged to quit when companies scaled back during the recession.

Theres this myth going around that theres been this Great Retirement and all of us who are boomers age decided to quit and were off on cruises, living off 401(k)s, Vanderburg said.

A large portion of the retirements since March 2020 happened after periods of unemployment, indicating people didnt voluntarily retire, according to a report by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School.

Employers have asked Vanderburg to talk at workshops about finding older workers. I really feel like weve got this incredible opportunity to change the way employers view older workers, she said.

Business people who advocate common sense changes to the countrys immigration policies hope the need for workers will prompt movement on the divisive issue that gets a lot of back and forth but little action.

Weve had a multi-year grant for looking at immigration through a business and workforce lens, Brown said. What Ive seen the last couple of years is much more of a willingness to talk about practical solutions that can help meet workforce challenges, not just in agriculture and seasonal jobs but also in high-skill jobs and in long-term solutions for immigration.

Dane Linn, a senior vice president with the national Business Roundtable, said during the recent panel discussion that business leaders want to see comprehensive immigration reform. For now, they are talking to members of Congress and the administration about smaller measures that might gain bipartisan support.

The roundtable has concentrated on finding a permanent solution for the Dreamers, immigrants brought to the U.S. as children whose status has been subject to court challenges and changes as administrations have changed. The organization also backs protecting refugees and removing barriers for foreign students and immigrants in high-skill fields.

There is a real problem with the talent supply, Linn said. Why wouldnt we want to keep that talent here?

Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post

Lloyd Lewis, president and CEO of Arc Thrift Stores said hell leave the details of the policy changes to others. His position is simple, he said.

We have 11 million open jobs and millions of people who want to work for us. It seems like we could come up with a reasonable way to make that happen, Lewis said.

ARC Thrift Stores, in business since 1968, employs more than 1,600 people, has 31 stores across Colorado and plans to add more. Like other places, the stores have job openings.

Were not exactly having the Great Resignation, but its just been tougher, Lewis said.

ARC prides itself on the diversity of its workforce, he added. Its net funding supports 15 advocacy programs that help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The business employs about 400 people with disabilities as well as immigrants and refugees from Afghanistan and other countries.

Lewis said about 10% of the employees are older than 65.

If you dont come up with reasonable immigration reform and reasonable policies, youre denying the talent pool that can help your company and help your community, Lewis said. And it just brings a real strength to the company to have different age groups, different ethnicities, different backgrounds.

Even as Colorado businesses are having a tough time filling jobs, the number of jobs and the number of people participating in the workforce are growing. In April, Colorado had the third-highest labor force participation in the nation at 69.1%, Lewandowski said.

The rate is calculated using the number of people employed or looking for a job divided by the working-age population.

Colorado has come back stronger and faster than I believed it would, Lewandowski said.

In fact, Colorado is just one of 14 states to exceed its pre-recession job levels. The state lost 375,200 jobs from February to April 2020, but added 389,400 jobs from May 2020 through March of this year. The labor force was 3.2 million in April.

At the same time, Colorado is 11th in the country for the number of people voluntarily quitting their jobs. The states unemployment rate was 3.6% in April.

Were doing better in terms of labor force growth and labor force participation than many other states, Lewandowski said. But these businesses are still telling us that they need more. I think that goes to the demand side of business.

Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post

Lisa Jensen has a ready response when employers say they have openings they cant fill.

What I tell them is that the workers they are looking for are in their inbox. The workers are knocking on their doors, said Jensen, program manager at the Workforce Boulder County center.

One of the hurdles older job-seekers face is the screening processes companies use that Jensen said key into certain phrases and words.

If the words dont match, the resume basically goes into the trash can. Older workers are not really tuned into this, Jensen said. We think the employer wants to know everything about our work history and all the different kinds of work weve done.

Jensen works with people on writing and resumes and with employers on writing job notices that dont inadvertently screen out older workers. She collaborated with Vanderburg of Changing the Narrative on a recent workshop for older job-seekers. More than 200 people signed up.

Jensen knows a little about the travails of being an older person trying to find a job. She worked for several years at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. She was working on a pilot program that helped people in the community find jobs at Anschutz when COVID-19 hit and she was laid off.

I became one of those older workers trying to navigate the new world of job seeking, Jensen said.

It took a year and two months and more than 70 applications to land her current position.

After years in human resources, Cindy Hamilton opened her own firm, Denver Staffing Services, to help small businesses recruit workers with a focus on construction and the trades. Lately, she has been getting requests for older job applicants.

And the reason for that is dependability and life experience, Hamilton said.

One of the companies was looking for an office manager who could handle a lot of different tasks. Some of these roles are not just the same thing every day. If youre working in a small office and youre the only administrative assistant, youre going to be handling everything, Hamilton said.

Hamilton sees flexibility in hours and other requirements as key to attracting older workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic and recession or retired and are returning to work out of financial necessity. When it comes to the workplace, Hamilton echoed others in saying that its still a sellers market.

What I find is theres a lot of need for labor. I get very few applications, she said. Ive seen many cycles, but this is one of the worst cycles as far as being able to find applicants.

Continued here:
Colorado businesses have a hiring problem. Leaders are turning to older workers, immigrants as solutions - The Denver Post

LOS ANGELES (Border Report) Immigration advocates have taken to the streets outside the Summit of the Americas demanding immigration reform.

On Wednesday and Thursday, they walked along Figueroa Street in front of the Los Angeles Convention Center where the event is taking place this week.

They chanted, Biden escucha, estamos en la lucha. It doesnt rhyme in English but it means, Biden listen, were in this struggle.

Biden made that promise to all the people thats why he is there, he is in the capital, we need to do something, said Juan Hernandez, one of the demonstrators.

Hernandez emphasized he and other demonstrators were seeking immigration reform for those who are migrating to the United States in the future and for migrants already here.

Many people dont understand, its a lot of people that are already here that dont have papers, dont have immigration status, DACA and all that, said Hernandez. Its not just people coming, its people that are already here that want a better life.

Hernandez told Border Report the time to create immigration reform is now, at the summit, because President Biden and most leaders from throughout the Western Hemisphere are at the event.

Thats why were here telling Biden we need immigration reform, he said.

The White House has indicated that Biden will make a declaration, with support from other countries, on immigration this Friday during the last day of the summit.

Critics of the president say an agreement is highly unlikely since the leaders of Mexico and the Northern Triangle, which includes El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua arent attending the summit.

The four countries have sent representatives to the event. In Mexicos case, it sent Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.

Originally posted here:
Protesters demand immigration reform at Summit of the Americas - Border Report