Most Americans are deeply skeptical of expanding immigration, especially in the middle of an economic slump — but a bipartisan group of senators said Tuesday that high-skilled immigrants could provide just the kind of spark the economy needs to help pull it out of a prolonged rut.
The two Republicans and two Democrats said U.S. colleges, businesses and other institutions are training high-skilled foreigners who then leave the country because of a too-restrictive immigration system, taking their economy-boosting skills elsewhere.
They proposed offering 50,000 new visas a year to students who earn advanced science, technology or engineering degrees from American universities, and called for another 75,000 visas to go to immigrants who start new businesses in the U.S. that employ at least two workers.
“As new guys, we didn’t get the memo that you’re supposed to take election years off,” said Sen. Mark R. Warner, Virginia Democrat. “Clearly, China’s not taking this year off. India’s not taking this year off.”
Mr. Warner is working on the bill with Sen. Christopher A. Coons, Delaware Democrat, and two Republicans, Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
Billed the Startup Act 2.0, the senators said it was the logical follow-up to a small-business bill Congress passed with bipartisan support earlier this year, and which President Obama eagerly signed into law.
The legislation includes some new tax breaks for startup companies, and calls on the administration to evaluate federal policies to see how they affect new businesses.
But the bill also seeks to get beyond the partisan gridlock that has doomed nearly every immigration bill for the past six years.
It offers two new visas: a so-called STEM visa for students who earn master’s or doctorate degrees in science, technology, engineering or math, and an entrepreneur’s visa for those willing to start businesses.
And it would tweak the quota system to make more of the 140,000 permanent “green card” visas available to workers from large countries such as India and China. The current system currently allots each country no more than 7 percent of the visas, which means that workers from heavily populated countries have to wait much longer.
The House last year passed a bill to remove those in-country caps in a 389-15 vote that signaled a potential bipartisan breakthrough.
But that legislation has stalled in the Senate, where Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, blocked it, saying it didn’t do anything to better protect Americans.
Mr. Grassley’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment on his colleagues’ new bill Tuesday.
Opening the door to more legal immigration while lawmakers remain gridlocked over what to do with an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country is deeply unpopular among voters. Polls regularly show the vast majority of voters say immigration should be kept at the same level or reduced.
Mr. Moran, though, said the ideas in the new bill could win agreement by both parties in Congress, and he said tapping into overseas talent is key to reviving the U.S. economy and keeping it globally competitive.
He figured that 80 percent of his colleagues in the House and Senate would agree to the visa provisions, and said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, has expressed support for the plan.
“It would be surprising to me to find that either Gov. Romney or President Obama would find disagreeable the provisions in this bill,” Mr. Moran said.
Mr. Rubio’s support for the legislation also could help its chances. He is frequently mentioned as a potential running mate for Mr. Romney, and he has been seeking a way for the GOP to advance immigration legislation.
Congress’ last attempt at a major immigration bill collapsed in the 2010 lame-duck session when senators filibustered the Dream Act. That would have created a path for students and young adults in the country illegally to become citizens if they went to college or joined the military.
Mr. Obama has called for Congress to pass the legislation this year, while Mr. Romney has said he only supports a path to citizenship for those who join the military.
Mr. Rubio, who is working on his own version of the Dream Act, called it a “meritorious” issue, but said it’s time right now to focus on immigration reforms everyone can agree on.
“I don’t want to overstate that, but I do want to point out that I think it’s important for people to see even in an election year, even with the big issues that we disagree on, there are things we agree on,” he said. “And we are still able to do the things we agree on and not simply hold them captive to election-year politics.”
• Paige Winfield Cunningham can be reached at pcunningham@washingtontimes.com.
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