Federal Reserve Chai
rm
an Alan Greenspan, one of the most influential
lea
ders in
Washington
, testifying in front of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, argued that su
b
stantial immigration must
b
e 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
b
e "significant effects" from a rapidly aging population on government
f
ina
nces... In particular, it m
ak
es our Social Security and Medicare prog
ram
s unsusta
ina
b
le in the long run, short of a major increase in immigration rates, a d
ram
a
tic acceleration in productivity growth well
b
eyond historical experience, a significant increase in the age of eligi
b
ility for
b
enefits or the use of
gene
ral revenue to fund
b
enefits... "As the influx of foreign workers in response the tight la
b
or markets of the 1990s showed, immigration does respond to la
b
or 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
b
y Rep.
Major Owens (D-NY), would grant deferred enforced departure status to
parents of children under age 18 who were
b
orn in
the
US
- H.R
539, sponsored
b
y Rep.
Ro
b
ert
Andrews (D-NJ) would allow spouses of lawful pe
rm
anent
residents to
b
e
treated as immediate relatives so they can process for green cards like
spouses of US citizens
- H.R.
775, sponsored
b
y Rep.
Bo
b
Goodlatte (R-VA) would a
b
olish
the green card lottery prog
ram
- H.R.
832, sponsored
b
y Rep.
Gerald Nadler (D-NY) would create a mechanism for US citizens and pe
rm
anent
residents to sponsor domestic partners for pe
rm
anent
residency
To
see what other immigration-related legislation is pending in Congress, visit our
legislative chart at www.visalaw.com/advocacy.html.
