Senate Passes Grassley/Sanders Amendment to Protect American Workers

The Senate adopted by voice vote an amendment to the economic stimulus bill sponsored by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).  The amendment prevents businesses who receive stimulus funds from hiring foreign H-1B workers for one year.

“Unfortunately, this measure won’t affect a very large part of the jobs at stake in our economy, but it at least is a wonderfully symbolic measure,” said Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA.
 
“The Senate passed this amendment unanimously because of an AP story about bankers continuing to hire foreign workers while they laid off masses of Americans. The passage of the Grassley/Sanders amendment is a warning to all other industries that they really can go too far in their callous discrimination in favor of foreign workers over Americans and could be slapped down later by Congress.
 
“And I am greatly encouraged because the Grassley/Sanders amendment deals directly with the subject of the elevator ad that several of us are running on cable TV right now. It is not about illegal foreign workers but about whether we continue to import legal foreign workers.”