Sen. Grassley of Iowa formally puts a statement in The Congressional Record agreeing to lift his hold on the Fairness bill after reaching an agreement with Senator Schumer, the senior Senator from New York, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. He introduced some crucial amendments, including provisions that give greater authority to program overseers to investigate visa fraud and abuse. Specifically, language authorizing the Department of Labor to better review labor condition applications and investigate fraud and misrepresentation by employers. There was also agreement to include a provision allowing the federal government to do annual compliance audits of employers who bring in foreign workers through the H-1B visa program.
Senator Grassley’s hold was replaced by Senator Sessions of Alabama putting a hold on the bill.
Update: Senator Sessions eventually killed the bill in 2012 and was overheard telling his colleagues that he would not have an issue “if it helped Europeans” but he did not like a bill that helped “browned-skinned Indians.” Despite passing the House with a bipartisan majority (389 Yes Votes), the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act eventually stalled in the Senate and did not pass the 112th Congress.
