Press Release: Statement from Partnership for a New American Economy Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Passage of the STEM Jobs Act in the U.S. House of Representatives

Bill Provides Green Cards for Foreign-Born Graduates with Advanced STEM Degrees and Reunites Families by Providing Visas to Spouses and Children of Current Green Card Holders

Following today’s passage of the STEM Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 6429), the bill introduced by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) that provides 55,000 green cards for foreign-born graduates of U.S. universities with advanced degrees in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and reunites families by providing visas to spouses and children of current green card holders, the Partnership for a New American Economy released the below statement from Co-Chair Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City:

“It is a promising sign that one of the House of Representatives’ first major legislative actions post-election is to pass an immigration bill that focuses on attracting and retaining the talented workforce our economy needs to compete globally. This bill will hopefully begin a renewed focus on the need to overhaul an immigration system formed in the age of the typewriter and modernize it for a digital age.”

The Partnership was founded in 2010 to make the economic case that immigration reform will help grow the economy and create new American jobs. In the past two years, the Partnership has produced series of reports with research demonstrating the value of STEM immigration reform to the US economy. The Partnership’s research shows that:

• The US is facing a shortage of STEM workers: By 2018, there will be more than 230,000 advanced degree STEM jobs that will not be filled even if every single new American STEM grad finds a job. (Partnership for a New American Economy and Partnership for New York City, ”Not Coming to America,” May 2012)

• There are too few unemployed US STEM workers to fill this shortage: Unemployment for US workers with PhDs in STEM is just 3.15 percent and for those with master’s degrees in STEM it is just 3.4 percent. In many STEM fields, unemployment is virtually non-existent, such as for Petroleum Engineers, Computer Network Architects, and Nuclear Engineers, all of whom have unemployment of 0.5 percent or lower. (Information Technology Industry Council, Partnership for a New American Economy & US Chamber of Commerce, “Help Wanted: The Role of Foreign Workers in the Innovation Economy,” November 2012)

• Foreign STEM graduates create American jobs: Every foreign graduate with an advanced degree from a US university who stays and works in a STEM field creates on average 2.62 jobs for American workers. (American Enterprise Institute and the Partnership for a New American Economy, “Immigration and American Jobs,” December 2011)

• Foreign STEM grads drive US innovation: 76% of patents from the top 10 patent-producing US universities (MIT, Caltech, Stanford, etc.) in 2011 had a foreign born inventor. Over 165 university presidents and chancellors – coming from all 50 states – have written Washington’s leaders supporting immigration reform that would grant green cards to foreign graduates with advanced degrees at U.S. universities. (Partnership for a New American Economy, “Patent Pending,” June 2012 and University President Letter, September 2012)

• There is broad support for STEM visa reform among Democratic, Independent, and Republican voters: 76% of all voters support STEM visa reform, including 87% of D’s, 72% of R’s, 65% of I’s, 68% of Tea Party supporters, 90% of Hispanic voters, and 90% of voters under 35. (Public Opinion Strategies poll of 800 likely voters and 391 R oversample conducted May 17, 19-22, 2012)

• The U.S. is losing out to countries that use immigration laws to recruit STEM workers: Canada offers visas even to STEM workers even before they’ve earned their degrees and targets its recruitment efforts directly at foreign STEM workers in the US who are frustrated by obstacles to staying. UK and Australia offer ways for STEM grads to stay after graduation so they can find employment. (Partnership for a New American Economy, “Not Coming to America,” May 2012)

• More than 40 percent of the Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children: These include many of America’s greatest brands – Apple, Google, AT&T, Budweiser, Colgate, eBay, General Electric and McDonald’s just to name a few– and the newest leading companies are also more likely to have an immigrant founder. (Partnership for a New American Economy, “The New American Fortune 500,” June 2011)

About the Partnership:

The Partnership for a New American Economy brings together more than 500 Republican, Democratic, and Independent mayors and business leaders who support immigration reforms that will help create jobs for Americans today. The Partnership’s members include mayors of more than 35 million people nationwide and business leaders of companies that generate more than $1.5 trillion and employ more than 4 million people across all sectors of the economy, from Agriculture to Aerospace, Hospitality to High Tech, and Media to Manufacturing. Partnership members understand that immigration is essential to maintaining the productive, diverse, and flexible workforce that America needs to ensure prosperity over the coming generations. Learn more at: renewoureconomy.org.