Today the House passed the STEM Jobs Act of 2012. House Resolution 6429, introduced by Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) after first failing to pass the House under suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote.
HR 6429 outlines a path to permanent residency for foreign students graduating with Masters or Doctorate degrees in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Currently 38 percent of STEM graduates are not residents of the United States. House Republicans claim this bill provides a solution to keep top talent in the United States, spurs innovation and will help meet the demand for science jobs providing educated employees to grow our economy.
The STEM Jobs Act is widely supported by the high-tech industry as they struggle to find qualified applicants to fill positions. The bill creates 55,000 STEM visas for graduates of Carnegie Foundation rated (very high or high level) research universities with advanced degrees in STEM fields.
For Washington State University this bill provides a greater opportunity for many of our graduates in STEM fields to compete for competitive wage technical jobs all while meeting the growing demands of the nations top industries.
With a majority of Republican support, the bill easily passed in the House. However, Senate Democrats and the Administration oppose language in the bill that eliminates the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. We do not expect the Senate to consider similar legislation in the lame-duck session of Congress but anticipate this will be part of the larger debate in the 113th Congress when comprehensive immigration reform will likely be a topic of debate.