Washington Post
By David Nakamura
February 25, 2014
The
U.S. Chamber of Commerce is renewing its push for immigration reform,
making the economic case for an overhaul of border control laws to
pressure House Republicans
to act on legislation this year.
Chamber
President Thomas J. Donohue posted a blog on the organization's Web
site Monday, and 636 business organizations signed onto a letter from
the chamber to House
Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday. The businesses included
Facebook, Caterpillar, Halliburton and Hewlett-Packard.
"Failure
to act is not an option," the letter stated. "We cannot afford to be
content and watch a dysfunctional immigration system work against our
overall national interest.
In short, immigration reform is an essential element of a jobs agenda
and economic growth. It will add talent, innovation, investment,
products, businesses, jobs, and dynamism to our economy."
The
Chamber played an instrumental role in the development of a
comprehensive immigration bill approved by the Senate last June. After
intensive negotiations between the
Chamber and the AFL-CIO over expanded visa programs for high- and
low-skilled workers, both sides supported the final legislation, which
Senate negotiators considered a crucial compact to help win bipartisan
support. In the end, 68 senators, including 14 Republicans,
voted in favor of that bill.
But
with immigration stalled in the House, the Chamber is again seeking use
its influence with the usually business-friendly GOP to move forward on
immigration principles
laid out by Boehner last month at the caucus retreat. The speaker has
since said the House is unlikely to act this year.
In
his blog post, Donohue said businesses are in need of more foreign
workers and a new electronic verification system that would help weed
out undocumented workers. And
he made an oblique reference to GOP concerns about tackling a difficult
vote on immigration ahead of the midterm elections this fall.
"The
political landscape isn’t going to be any more conducive to reform in
two years or four years," Donohue wrote. "For too long, the can has been
kicked down the road.
And while we’ve failed to act, the problem has only grown worse."
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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