REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION,
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
& VETERANS RELATIONS
The Honorable,
The Board of Commissioners of
ATTENDANCE
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Present: |
Chairman Suffredin, Vice Chairman Silvestri, Commissioners
Beavers, Butler, Claypool, Collins, Daley, Gorman, Goslin, Maldonado, Moreno,
Murphy, Peraica, Quigley, Schneider, Sims and Steele (17) |
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Absent: |
None (0) |
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Also
Present: |
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Ladies and
Gentlemen:
Your Committee
on Legislation, Intergovernmental & Veterans Relations of the Board of
Commissioners of Cook County met pursuant to notice on
Your Committee
has considered the following item and upon adoption of this report, the
recommendations are as follows:
Chairman Suffredin relinquished the
Chair to Vice Chairman Silvestri.
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287601 |
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE H-1B AND L-1B VISA FRAUD AND
ABUSE PREVENTION ACT OF 2007 (PROPOSED RESOLUTION). Submitting a Proposed Resolution sponsored
by Larry Suffredin and Roberto Maldonado, PROPOSED RESOLUTION RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE H-1B AND L-1B VISA FRAUD AND ABUSE PREVENTION ACT OF 2007 WHEREAS, the federal H-1B program was
created to provide companies and universities access to foreign workers in
areas determined to be a “specialty occupation” by the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, but, instead, has become abused by employers as a
de-facto outsourcing program; and WHEREAS, through the H-1B program,
employers are not required to seek local talent, thus blocking local white
collar workers, including administrative and professional positions, from
competing for these job openings; and WHEREAS, thousands of American white
collar workers have been laid off and their jobs offered to H-1B visa
holders, many in the technology sector, the backbone of the new information
economy; and WHEREAS, the Information Technology (“IT”)
sector has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs since the recession of 2001 and
not only has failed to replace those jobs, but also continues to severely
under-represent women and minorities; and WHEREAS, more than half of the IT jobs
filled under the FY 2005 H-1B program were designated as entry-level white
collar positions; and WHEREAS, the H-1B program further
accelerates the race to the bottom for white collar workers by allowing
employers to offer lower wages and impose other unfair labor practices by
making the H-1B visa holder beholden to their employer and holding the threat
of deportation over his or her head; and WHEREAS, in Cook County, between 2001 and
2005 over 180,000 white collar jobs were put at risk, because of the H-1B
program; and WHEREAS, Senators Dick Durbin and Charles
Grassley have introduced S. 1035, the H-1B and L-1B Visa Fraud and Abuse
Prevention Act of 2007 to reform the H-1B hiring program by requiring
employers to recruit from the U.S. workforce first, attest that the H-1B visa
holder will not displace an American worker and require that companies
advertise job openings for 30 days on the Department of Labor website before
resorting to the H-1B program. NOW, THEREFORE, BE
IT RESOLVED, that
the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby support S. 1035 and urges
the United States Congress to pass the measure and President Bush to sign it;
and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that
suitable copies of this Resolution be delivered to the President of the
United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Majority Leader
of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and all
members of Congress representing Cook County. * Referred
to the Committee on Legislation, Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations on * No
action was taken at the Legislation, Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations
Committee Meeting of |
Commissioner
Maldonado, seconded by Commissioner Suffredin, moved the approval of
Communication Number 287601.
Commissioner Suffredin introduced the resolution, and
requested that Senator Dick Durbin’s statement dated
Vice Chairman Silvestri asked the Secretary to the Board to
call upon the registered public speakers, in accordance with Cook County Code,
Sec. 2-108(dd):
1. Mike Rothschild Co-Director – Bright Future Jobs
2. Jessica Vaughn Senior Policy Analyst - Center for Immigration Studies
(See
Attachment #2)
3. David Huber Concerned
Citizen
4. Mike Amanti Concerned
Citizen
5. Donna Conroy Director – Bright Future Jobs (See
Attachment #3)
Commissioner Peraica moved
to amend the Communication Number 287601, to add an additional “Resolved”
clause urging Congress to appropriate adequate funds to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service in order for them to do the job Congress has asked them
to do. The motion failed due to lack of
a second.
Commissioner
Suffredin, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved the previous question.
A vote was taken on the main motion made by Commissioner Maldonado, seconded by Commissioner Suffredin, to approve Communication
Number 287601. On a voice vote, the motion carried. Commissioners Gorman and Schneider voted
Present on Communication Number 287601.
Commissioner Daley,
seconded by Commissioner Suffredin, moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried and the meeting was
adjourned.
YOUR COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
THE FOLLOWING ACTION
WITH REGARD TO THE
MATTERS NAMED HEREIN:
Communication Number 287601 Approved
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Respectfully
submitted, Committee
on Legislation, Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Peter N.
Silvestri, Vice Chairman |
Attest:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Matthew B. DeLeon, Secretary
** The audio recording for this meeting is available from
the Office of the Secretary to the Board,