Letter in Support of Immigration Reform Including a STEM Education and Training Account

December 23, 2013

The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
Chairman
Committee on Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Kline
Chairman
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Conyers
Ranking Member
Committee on Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable George Miller
Ranking Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Goodlatte, Representative Conyers, Chairman Kline, and Representative Miller:

We write to you today to urge you to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation which includes a STEM Education and Training Account similar to the one laid out in Sec. 4104 of the Senate-passed bill, S. 744. One of the primary motivators for tackling immigration reform is the dire need to modernize our system to allow the United States to remain a magnet for global talent. The establishment of an account funded by employer green card fees and used to further science, technology, engineering, and math education here at home will help the United States not only become a magnet for top minds and talent from across the world but also ensure we are equipping our own students to excel at the best jobs the 21^st century economy has to offer.

America’s top colleges and universities already attract some of the brightest minds in the world to our country. Yet it is currently federal policy to send them home to create growth and opportunity elsewhere. Instead, our immigration policy should be focused on retaining those who come here to learn—particularly in the fields of STEM—while also preparing the next generation of Americans to be as qualified and innovative as the best students from anywhere in the world.

The inclusion of a STEM Education and Training Account will ensure that, moving forward, our children will be taught the high-tech skills necessary to compete in the global economy. In the 20th century, immigration was part of the success story that made America an economic powerhouse. But our immigration and economic needs are different from the days in which we required workers to fill factory floors. Now we need to attract and retain the best and the brightest—and in doing so, the companies that benefit from this reform can and should help fund the STEM education our students here at home so desperately need.

Sincerely,
Third Way