Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio’s latest billionaire backer, Larry Ellison, is the CEO of Oracle, a software giant demanding Congress dramatically increase the flow of foreign workers into the United States.
Oracle lobbied heavily for the failed 2013 immigration overhaul sponsored by Rubio, which would have significantly increased the number of immigrants and foreign workers allowed into the country, and provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
The initial bill would have tripled the number of temporary guest workers U.S. companies could bring in, but Oracle successfully lobbied for an even greater expansion of the H-1B program. (RELATED: Rubio Doubles Down On Gang Of Eight)
Ellison, who has a net worth near $54 billion, will host a fundraiser for Rubio at his California mansion in June, reported Politico. The event will include A VIP reception and photo opportunity with Rubio for $2,700 a person, and a special dinner for couples who have raised $27,000.
Oracle is now lobbying for a bill cosponsored by Rubio and Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and Jeff Flake, and three Democrats, that would triple the number of H-1B visas and allow for a virtually unlimited number of university-based green cards. (RELATED: Cruz Stands By 2013 Immigration Push, Drawing Contrast With Walker)
Hatch recently hosted a meeting with the Business Software Alliance, which includes Oracle and other high-tech companies such as IBM and Apple, to talk about H-1Bs and comprehensive immigration reform.
Those companies claim there is a shortage of qualified U.S. workers for science, technology, engineering and mathematics jobs, although nearly 75 percent of Americans with STEM degrees are not working in STEM Fields, according to Census data, and only 3.8 million Americans with STEM degrees actually hold STEM jobs.
Despite reports that companies are abusing the H-1B program to replace qualified American workers with cheaper foreign replacements, the Obama administration recently declined a request to investigate from a bipartisan group of senators.
Since 1970, the foreign-born population of the U.S. increased 325 percent, the Congressional Research Service found, while wages for the bottom 90 percent of earners decreased by 8 percent and their share of income by 16 percent. (RELATED: Wages Declined As Immigration Surged)
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