Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, one of the most influential leaders in Washington, testifying in front of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, argued that substantial immigration must be part of the solution to the crisis the country faces as its population ages. Greenspan told the Senators that "an aging US population presents "daunting challenges" for the future that potentially imperil the country's Social Security safety net." He also said "there would be "significant effects" from a rapidly aging population on government finances... In particular, it makes our Social Security and Medicare programs unsustainable in the long run, short of a major increase in immigration rates, a dramatic acceleration in productivity growth well beyond historical experience, a significant increase in the age of eligibility for benefits or the use of general revenue to fund benefits... "As the influx of foreign workers in response the tight labor markets of the 1990s showed, immigration does respond to labor shortages and immigration offers some offset to an aging population."

***

Several bills were introduced in Congress over the last month. Among them are the following:

• H.R. 605, sponsored by Rep. Major Owens (D-NY), would grant deferred enforced departure status to parents of children under age 18 who were born in the US
• H.R 539, sponsored by Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) would allow spouses of lawful permanent residents to be treated as immediate relatives so they can process for green cards like spouses of US citizens
• H.R. 775, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) would abolish the green card lottery program
• H.R. 832, sponsored by Rep. Gerald Nadler (D-NY) would create a mechanism for US citizens and permanent residents to sponsor domestic partners for permanent residency

To see what other immigration-related legislation is pending in Congress, visit our legislative chart at www.visalaw.com/advocacy.html.