Nominee for Commerce secretary supports expanding H-1B visas

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., nominated by President Obama to be the next Commerce Secretary, is a strong proponent of expanding the cap on H-IB visas. Although the issue has not yet surfaced as a possible point of tension at his confirmation hearing, just last April he pointed to comments by Bill Gates claiming that for every H-1B worker who comes to the United States, five jobs are created.

"It's not like...we are taking jobs from Americans, which is what you hear from labor unions. We're actually creating jobs by bringing bright people into this country," Gregg said in a video on the Cato Institute's website where he gave a talk to the Libertarian group.

In his talk, Gregg recognized that there has been some abuse in the H-1B program, "especially involving Indian-related companies and their basic flooding of the market in this area and then having people return to India with knowledge that they gained here." But, he said, that's an issue "that can be corrected fairly easily with minor adjustments in the program."

Despite this controversy, tech industry groups praised Gregg's appointment in statements. TechNet, a bipartisan political network of tech-centric CEOs, said Gregg "will no doubt be a strong ambassador for America's workers, businesses and our dynamic economy."

For more on Gregg and H-1B visas:
- Check out this Computerworld.com article

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