State Department holds; Grassley addresses criticism from Senate minority leader
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following statement in reaction to criticism from the Senate minority leader over Grassley's hold on 22 State Department nominees over the State Department's failure to respond thoroughly or at all to numerous inquiries beginning in 2013.
"My hold is on 22 nominees, not 600. I disclosed the reasons for my holds, as I always do, and in keeping with the disclosure policy on holds that I helped to enact. My staff has been working with the State Department to try to get the information I requested, including complete answers to inquiries from June 2013. Ironically, if the State Department had answered my questions then, we probably wouldn't be here today. The purpose of my questions then and now is the same: Is the State Department using personnel rules appropriately, is it appropriately policing potential conflicts of interest among special government employees, and are taxpayers well-served by how the State Department operates? Looking out for the public interest isn't a waste of time, and I'll keep at it regardless of misguided attacks on my motivations or mischaracterizations of my work."
The Senate Executive Calendar with details of Grassley's 22 State Department holds is available here. The holds are on p. 18.
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Fifth Circuit Temporarily Halts Obama's Deferred Action Plan
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley made the following statement regarding the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold an injunction that temporarily stops the Obama administration's implementation of its deferred action plan.
"Thanks to the Fifth Circuit, the injunction on the President's unlawful maneuvering to implement his own policies, without regard for Congress, the law or American workers remains in place. The Obama administration does not have unfettered authority to execute whatever it wants. The President simply can't singly rewrite the country's immigration laws. This is a win for the checks and balances established by the Constitution."
Grassley Seeks Records on Task Force Overseeing $43 Million Gas Station in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is drilling down on the Defense Department task force that led to the construction of an excessively expensive $43 million natural gas filling station in Afghanistan. The now-defunct Task Force for Stability and Business Operations (TFBSO) cost $800 million in its mission to facilitate economic development in Afghanistan. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) faced impeded access to task force documents in reviewing the gas station cost over-run.
"I believe that, given DoD's decision to impede SIGAR's access to Task Force documents, a full review of all TFBSO activities in Afghanistan is necessary," Grassley wrote to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. "State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development officials said they wouldn't consider continuing TFBSO programs because they were 'liabilities due to safety concerns, lack of sustainability, and other problems.' This raises serious questions about TFBSO's use of taxpayer dollars."
Grassley asked the Defense Department to give him all records related to task force activities pertaining to Afghanistan, from January 1, 2009, through March 31, 2015; and all records concerning the task force from April 1, 2015, to the date of his request, including all records pertaining to SIGAR's requests for information regarding the task force, and all records discussing SIGAR reports, letters, or statements about the task force.
Grassley plans to seek a Department of Defense inspector general audit of the $800 million task force expenditures and will ask fellow senators to join the request.
Grassley's latest letter to the defense secretary is available here.
Last week, Grassley pressed the Defense Department to cooperate with SIGAR by releasing all documents, names of staff involved and reasons for placing severe restrictions on information behind the construction of the natural gas filling station.
Grassley's letter last week to the defense secretary is available here. Grassley's comment on the SIGAR report is available here. The SIGAR report is available here.
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Protecting America's High-Skilled Workers, H-1B reform bill introduced
Grassley, Durbin Push for H-1B and L-1 Visa Reforms
WASHINGTON - Senators Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin, Assistant Democratic Leader, today are introducing bipartisan legislation that would reform the H-1B visa program, consistent with Congress's original intent, by ensuring that qualified American workers are given the first opportunity at high-skilled job opportunities. The legislation makes reforms to increase enforcement, modify wage requirements and ensure protection for American workers as well as visa holders. Grassley and Durbin first introduced this legislation in 2007 and have been long-time proponents of H-1B reform.
"The H-1B visa program was never meant to replace qualified American workers, but it was instead intended as a means to fill gaps in highly specialized areas of employment that cannot be filled by Americans. The abuse of the system is real, and media reports are validating what we have argued against for years, including the fact that Americans are training their replacements," Grassley said. "There's a sense of urgency here for Americans who are losing their jobs to lesser skilled workers who are coming in at lower wages on a visa program that has gotten away from its original intent. Reform of the H-1B visa program must be a priority."
"Reforming the H-1B and L-1 visa programs is a critical component of fixing our broken immigration system and must be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation," said Durbin. "For years, foreign outsourcing companies have used loopholes in the laws to displace qualified American workers and facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs. The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act would end these abuses and protect American and foreign workers from exploitation. I thank Senator Grassley for partnering with me on this important bipartisan legislation."
Grassley and Durbin's efforts have long focused on making qualified American workers the first priority for employers. The bill, as in previous years, requires all employers who seek to hire H-1B visa holders to first make a good faith effort to recruit American workers.
The bill would also prohibit companies from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people and more than 50 percent of their employees are H-1B and L-1 visa holders. This provision would crack down on outsourcing companies that import large numbers of H-1B and L-1 workers for short training periods and then send these workers back to their home country to do the work of Americans.
The bill also gives the Department of Labor enhanced authority to review, investigate, and audit employer compliance with program requirements, as well as to penalize fraudulent or abusive conduct. It requires the production of extensive statistical data about the H-1B and L-1 programs, including wage data, worker education levels, place of employment and gender.
The bill clarifies that working conditions of similarly employed American workers may not be adversely affected by the hiring of the H-1B worker, including H-1B workers who have been placed by another employer at the American worker's worksite. In addition, it explicitly prohibits the replacement of American workers by H-1B or L-1 visa holders. These provisions address the types of abuses that have been well-documented in recent press reports.
The Grassley-Durbin reform bill will for the first time prioritize the annual allocation of H-1B visas. The new system would ensure that the best and brightest students being educated in the United States receive preference for an H-1B visa. The preference system also gives a leg up to advanced degree holders, those being paid a high wage, and those with valuable skills.
In addition, the bill includes several reforms of the L-1 visa program. These include establishment of a wage floor for L-1 workers; authority for the Department of Homeland Security to investigate, audit and enforce compliance with L-1 program requirements; assurance that intra-company transfers occur between legitimate branches of a company and don't involve "shell" facilities; and a change to the definition of "specialized knowledge" to ensure that L-1 visas are reserved only for truly key personnel.
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