Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is at it again.
Grassley, who sent a letter to Microsoft (MSFT) last week saying the company has a "moral imperative" to lay off skilled immigrant workers before putting American citizens out of work, isn't done railing against the H-1B visa program yet.
His next tack: Grassley, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced an amendment to Obama's stimulus package requiring any institution receiving TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) money to not hire H-1B visa holders.
It remains to be seen whether the measure gets signed into law. Not everyone in Washington is onboard with Grassley's campaign against H-1B workers -- President Obama recently picked Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), a noted advocate of the H-1B program, as Commerce Secretary.
If the Grassley-Sanders amendment passes, the IT expenses of bailed out banks will rise appreciably -- even though the H-1B program is supposed to only be for positions where no Americans can be found.
The winners? American-born tech workers are likely to see their wages rise, especially in and around areas getting a lot of TARP money: New York, California, and North Carolina.
See Also:
Senator To Microsoft: What Was That You Said About Wanting More H-1B Workers?
Let's Have A Smarter, Not A Smaller, H-1B Program
Obama's Commerce Secretary Pick Loves The H-1B Program (Video)
