by Lee Fang at Lee Fang Substack
Earlier this month, we explored how outsourcing giants covertly shaped the first Trump administration, using paid media appearances and think tank reports to demand the importation of more H-1B visa workers.
That report scratched the surface. Turning the clock back a bit more, many of the same tactics were used during the Obama years. Indian IT firms quietly paid prominent Democrats to make many of the same arguments, and the lobbying was often done secretly.
This has never been reported before, and it’s worth just setting the record straight, especially as these visas’ roles again take center stage.
William Cohen, who served as a U.S. Senator and later as the Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, is one prominent example.
Cohen, in televised appearances and in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, pressured Democrats against stoking “anti-outsourcing sentiment.” He sharply opposed efforts by the party to reign in the H-1B program and penalize corporations for moving jobs overseas.
Cohen said he was citing sensible economic policy and scorned Obama…
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