Crossroads GPS supports smart, targeted reforms to our nation’s immigration laws to ensure that highly-educated, highly-skilled individuals are allowed to contribute to American society.
To that end, we support the bipartisan Startup Act recently introduced by Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Chris Coons, along with Republican Senators Jerry Moran and Marco Rubio. This legislation will encourage scientific innovation and lead to job creation through targeted immigration reforms that will attract and retain the best and brightest from throughout the world.
The United States has long been the destination of choice for top talent from throughout the world, but our immigration laws often shut out the very individuals who can most productively contribute to our nation’s economy. We should be encouraging the world’s best minds to seek educational opportunities in the United States and then apply their earned knowledge here, rather than return home and compete against American businesses. The Startup Act would create a new visa category to make this happen.
Our nation also should welcome foreign-born entrepreneurs who are starting dynamic new businesses and creating jobs in the U.S. Too often, foreign-born stars are forced to return to their home countries despite having concrete plans for new ventures here – ventures that could lead to economic growth and more jobs. The Startup Act would address this by creating a new visa category for entrepreneurs who are starting new businesses in the United States.
The Startup Act stands in stark contrast to President Obama’s recent immigration-related announcement. Rather than embrace this jobs-boosting proposal that makes permanent, much-needed changes to our immigration laws, he has instead handed out uncertain, temporary relief from regular enforcement of those laws.
The Startup Act also contains smart changes to tax and regulatory policies that are consistent with the economic approach urged by Crossroads GPS in the New Majority Agenda. Congress ought to put election-year politics aside and advance the Startup Act immediately. For more information, descriptions of the Startup Act are available here and here. Please contact Steven Duffield, Vice President for Policy, at [email protected], with any questions.
