Zuckerberg, Schmidt, other CEOs ask senators to pass Gang of Eight bill.
By Dileep Thekkethil
As the U.S. Senate gets ready to vote on the immigration reform bill, the technology industry has ratcheted up the pressure on wavering members of the chamber. On Thursday, more than a hundred tech executives urged the Senate to pass the bill.
In a letter to senators, they requested senators to support the so-called Gang of Eight bill—the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013—terming it as a “critically important legislation would help ensure that America continues to be the location of the world’s most innovative and fastest growing industries.”
The signatories include Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, among others.
“We strongly believe the many reforms in [the bill] that impact high skilled immigration—including key improvements in the availability of both green cards and H-1B visas—will help address the national talent shortage in the near-term, while also creating a long-term pipeline of American workers through establishing a much-needed new fund for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, including computer science education,” they wrote.
The technology industry has been one of the most vociferous advocates of the immigration reform bill. Increasing the annual H-1B visa cap—which is roughly 85,000 at the moment—has been one of its long-standing demands. The current bill more than doubles the cap.
The industry floated a nonprofit advocacy group, FWD.US, earlier this year, to work toward its goals, which include passing a bill that “allows for the hiring of the best and brightest.”
Zuckerberg and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates are among the founders of the group, while Schmidt, Ballmer and Mayer are major supporters.