On June 12, 2008, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law held a hearing on the need for green cards for highly skilled workers. The testimony focused on two major sectors: science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and nursing.

Most of the STEM testimony focused on three bills introduced by Rep. Lofgren (D-CA) that attempt to alleviate the shortage of STEM employees. H.R.5882 would attempt to recapture employment-based visas lost to bureaucratic and processing delays. The High Skilled Per Country Level Elimination Act (H.R.5921) would remove the country limits on employment-based admissions. H.R.6039 would exempt foreign students who have earned STEM graduate degrees in the United States from the cap on employment-based visas.

Edward Sweeney, Senior Vice President of the National Semiconductor Corporation, and Lee Colby, Past Chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Santa Clara Valley Section, both testified in support of all three proposals. The two industries have found common ground on this issue because of the lack of qualified STEM employees, due in part to the immigration system. STEM employees are crucial because they create jobs in other sectors, a point noted by Rep. Lofgren.

In support of H.R.6039, John Pearson, Director of Bechtel International Center at Stanford University, reported that the United States was losing in the global competition to attract STEM employees. Responding to questioning by Rep. Lofgren, Pearson stated that the United States should improve the education of Americans in addition to allowing more foreigners the opportunity to work in the United States. 

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of Center for Immigration Studies, expressed skepticism about the need for more high-skilled workers, proposing that only aliens of extraordinary ability and outstanding researchers and professors (employment-based categories 1 and 2) should receive visas. Rep. King (R-IA) agreed with Krikorian that unlimited immigration should not occur, but pointed out that the reason some foreign STEM workers get paid average wages is in part due to immigration restrictions made on them.

Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Smith (R-TX) and Rep. King all endorsed the idea of immigration reform to allow for more employees in certain sectors, although all three warned of the need for limitations on immigration. Rep. Gutierrez (D-IL), however, asserted that there must be a holistic approach to immigration reform, which should include both the STEM employee as well as the temporary farm worker.

Rep. Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Gutierrez and Rep. Lofgren emphasized that the need for nurses will only increase as the baby boom generation gets older. Jana Stonestreet, Chief Nursing Executive of Baptist Health System testified in favor of the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act (H.R.5924) which would provide additional visas for nurses. In response to questioning by Rep. Lofgren, Cheryl Peterson, Senior Policy Fellow of the American Nurses Association (ANA), stated that although the ANA would not oppose H.R.5924, it did not believe immigration will solve the 10-year nursing shortage. Both Rep. Lofgren and Rep. Jackson-Lee (D-TX) expressed their party’s desire to find solutions for both immigration reform and the nursing shortage.