WASHINGTON – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global voice for the tech sector representing the world’s leading technology companies, issued the following statement from Senior Vice President Andy Halataei applauding the introduction of the bipartisan I-Squared Act of 2015 introduced by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT):

“The bipartisan I-Squared bill is really a plan to help supercharge American innovation and our economy, and we urge the Senate to pass this bill. Like it or not, the U.S. is on the wrong side of a brain drain in the heated race for highly-skilled minds to be competitive against other countries in the global economy.  If passed, this bill would help us to attract the best and brightest minds who want to bring their talents to our companies by using a market driven approach to match what our economy needs in terms of high skilled employees.     

The I-Squared bill also allows students pursuing masters and doctorate degrees an option to stay in the U.S. after they graduate to work.  Both political parties agree that it does not make sense to educate the leading minds at our best universities and then send them back to their home countries to found the next great startup to compete against us.  This bill would change that and drive new investment in homegrown innovation through the fees companies pay for these visas that go directly toward funding STEM education programs and worker retraining initiatives for Americans.”

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