Microsoft
General Counsel Brad Smith told a live Brookings Institution and streamed video
audience that the company proposed immigration reforms that would fund STEM
education. The proposal is detailed in Microsoft's White Paper that was
released on September 27, 2012, contemporaneously with the Brookings' event.
The two
part proposal features:
1.Invest
more in STEM education by focusing on better teachers and higher standards in
K-12 education, increasing the number of computer science courses in high schools
and colleges, and focusing on the “college completion crisis” where half of
American students drop-out before getting their degree. Smith called on
Congress to put $500 million per year behind the effort, sending that money to
the states based upon a competitive process.
2.Raising
federal revenue to pay for the $500 million per year effort by insourcing
skilled labor to fill those unfilled jobs today -- adding 20,000 new visas for
workers with STEM skills at a cost of $10,000 each and 20,000 new green cards
for workers with STEM skills at a cost of $15,000 each.
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