During the second
presidential debate last night in New York both President Obama and Gov. Romney
agreed on the need for immigration reform.
Romney said green cards
should be stapled to the diplomas of foreign students with advanced degrees in
science and math. Obama noted the role of immigrants in starting some of the
most prominent, innovative tech companies like Google and Intel.
While Romney tried to denounce
Obama for not getting Congress to propose an immigration reform bill yet, Obama
pointed out the real problem is that Republicans are blocking reforms on what
used to be a bipartisan issue – immigration.
Both also advocated for better
math and science education so American students will be able to get jobs with
the higher tech skills that employers need.
President Obama said some
low-skilled, low-wage manufacturing jobs are not going to come back from
overseas, and that’s why it was important to invest in advanced manufacturing
and to have the best research in the world. He said it wouldn’t make sense to
give tax breaks to the wealthy and “cut investments in research and science
that will create the next Apple, create the next new innovation that will sell
products around the world.”
Obama's answer came in response to a question from moderator Candy Crowley about why iPhones and iPads couldn't be manufactured in the U.S.
Unfortunately the patent wars over smartphones and the need for real patent reform was not part of the debate. CCIA supports immigration reform for highly skilled workers, better math and science education and government commitment to basic research.
