Not only H1-B Visa Rules, Two More Bills may Fetter Indian Tech Companies
The IT industry of India may have to brace up for something more than the H1-B visa Bill. United States Congress has introduced two more legislations in the past 2 weeks which can severely hit the prospects of the Indian IT sector.
The H1-B visa Bill seeks to double the minimum wage for the H1-B visa holders to $130,000 while ‘End Outsourcing Act’ asks for total ban on outsourcing by states. A 2007 Bill has been reintroduced by Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley, U.S. Senators, to revamp the H1-B visa programme.
Both the senators have announced that introduction of the legislation would take place that would prioritise workers in America and restore fairness. Grassley also stated that, these programmes were created by Congress to complement the high-skilled workforce of America and not replace it. According to him, different companies are exploiting the programmes and cutting American workers for cheap labour.
The ‘End Outsourcing Act’ was introduced on January 30 by senate democrats – Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Sherrod Brown and Joe Donnelly. According to the legislation, companies outsourcing jobs shouldn’t be subsidised by taxpayers in the U.S. and they will be disallowed to do business with U.S. government. In a statement Brown stated that, the focus should be on encouraging businesses to invest in the U.S. and ensure that tax-payer funded contracts are given to companies which employ American workers.
On the other hand, Vikas Swarup, MEA spokesperson said that executive orders have not been signed yet though 3 private bills have been introduced in the United States House of Representatives. He also added that, in the past also such bills have been introduced but these bills have to go through the full Congressional process.
