Taxpayers need to accrue the benefits of their taxes, which does not include giving jobs to foreign workers on their dime.

As the entire banking system was experiencing a meltdown of epic proportions last year, major U.S. banks sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers into the country for high-paying jobs.

The dozen American banks that are now receiving rescue packages totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers for positions including senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists during the last six years. These foreign workers received an average salary of $90,721, which is nearly twice the median income for American households.

In the midst of the economic collapse, as massive numbers of bank employees were being laid off, the number of visas sought by the dozen banks increased nearly one-third from 3,258 in the 2007 budget year to 4,163 in 2008.

Our government has made it more attractive to hire foreign workers than it is to hire their American counterparts though the implementation of H-1B visas. The H-1B visa allows companies to hire foreign workers with lower salary demands and higher levels of education or advanced degrees for jobs that American workers would be considered overqualified.

While companies are required to pay prevailing wages based on the job’s description, they can use the lower end of government wage scales for H-1B visas. The H-1B law does not require employers to seek local talent before recruiting abroad for U.S. job openings. The Department of Labor’s strategic plan for Fiscal Years 2006-2011 states that “H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of a foreign worker.”

American companies are able to exploit their workforce at the detriment of both foreign and American workers. American wages are driven down as foreign workers are paid less and the job pool swells with the addition of H-1B visas.

Banks that accepted federal bailout money also enlisted in uncounted foreign workers through intermediary companies known as “body shops.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Richard Durbin are pushing for legislation to make employers recruit American workers first, along with additional changes to the visa program.

As the government continues to inject billions of dollars into the economy on top of the $700 billion already approved to ailing banks, Americans are being forced to aid in their own demise. Taxpayers need to accrue the benefits of their taxes, which does not include giving jobs to foreign workers on their dime. The U.S. needs to reform its H-1B law, making it necessary for U.S. companies to scour the American work pool first. As unemployment numbers skyrocket and layoffs grace the headlines daily, we cannot afford to lose more American jobs.

“In this time of very, very high unemployment … and considering the help these banks are getting from the taxpayers, they’re playing the American taxpayer for a sucker,” Sen. Chuck Grassley said.

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