Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., joined Newsmax on Monday to wade into the debate of the H-1B visa program, saying he supports use of work visas "conditionally" but agreed that transparency in the program is a must.
To that end, Burchett told Greta Van Susteren, host of "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," that he will introduce legislation in her name to erase the anonymity behind the "unelected bureaucrats" who operate in the background of deciding who gets one of the 65,000 work visas each year and who doesn't.
"I will file legislation to do that, Greta, and I'll call it the 'Greta Van Susteren Amendment,'" Burchett said. "I promise you I'll start working on that right now. And that's a great idea, thank you."
The H-1B issue has been buzzsaw of late, pitting supporters of President-elect Donald Trump in opposite corners. While incoming Trump administration members Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have come out as huge proponents of the nonimmigrant work visa, calling them invaluable in the tech industry, others like Steve Bannon have called the program a scam run by "big tech oligarchs."
Trump came out in favor of H-1Bs over the weekend, saying they're highly utilized at his properties.
"I support it conditionally. I think you got to be real careful, though," Burchett said.
"We've said all along … we don't need the trades anymore. We need to do away with them." Burchett said. "And it's the same with the technology. … We've allowed it to go overseas and we've discounted it. And now we're behind the eight ball. … But I'm a big believer in [putting] the best people we can at the table. Let's not discount any Americans, though, and cut them out, and let's not bargain shop overseas."
Burchett added, "But eventually, though, we're going to have to get people that are going to be loyal Americans that want to stay here and not just leave."
To the issue of transparency, Burchett said it's "unelected bureaucrats" who are behind doling out the work visas, which get capped every fiscal year.
"And that's where the danger lies is any of these things, they get corrupted and they get compromised just like any other government issue," he said. "It has to be when you put it up in the beginning, and then you have to go back and reevaluate it and redo it."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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