Letter to my congressman

[DKSuddeth]

Mr. Sessions, I wanted to inform you that you have lost my vote for this coming election and the reasons why. If you choose to read through this you'll see, and perhaps understand why, I feel that you severely misrepresented me, as well as the rest of your constituents.

The current trend of offshoring has decimated the lives of millions of people in the IT field. I happen to be one of those people. My family has lost everything because of it. My job, and any future job that I could have obtained, will no longer pay the salary or benefits that my family needs to survive. Now, my ill wife has no medical insurance, we have no home (we've been lucky to have a friend that has let us move in with her) and our future is looking bleak.

When I was discharged from the marine corps in 1990 I started teaching myself the field of computing. I didn't have any way of going to college or trade school so I taught myself what I needed to know. For those 13 years I learned how to build a computer, work an operating system, troubleshoot applications, and network systems. All of this was self taught and as I proceeded from job to job I was able to earn more pay for the knowledge I had obtained and the work that I did. I started to finally break into an area of the IT field where very good money was going to come my families way and things were looking very good until you and your fellow congressman and senators wrote legislation allowing the flood of offshoring and outsourcing to commence. By this I mean the H1B and L1 visa programs. Whether you openly believed the ITAA (Information Technology Association of America) reports about the serious lack of tech jobs going unfilled from year to year or there was some other purpose is irrelevant now. Its purpose has obviously been fulfilled and now corporate america has a world wide pool of cheap labor to pick from instead of dealing with a fair market of supply and demand as used to exist in this country.

The last letter you sent me indicated that congress had lowered the H1B cap to 60,000+ this year. I ask you sir, what good does that do us now? The IT jobs that have left this country are not coming back. Very FEW jobs in the IT field are being created. The reports that the increase in IT employment will be picking up in the next few years are bogus, in my opinion, just like the ITAA reports were in the late 90s. This baby boomer retiring vacuum that is supposed to open up jobs will not be filled by americans. They will get filled by more foreign workers in developing nations.

More and more people are going to be looking to see what it is the government is going to do about the economy. Yes, the GDP is up but so is the trade deficit. Yes, initial unemployment claims are down but where are those jobs coming from? We've lost manufacturing in this country, we're losing the higher paying service sector, and now R&D and engineering is leaving. Medical will be on its way out as you should already be able to see. Whats the next big step for our country? Pardon my sarcasm but will we end up a bigger north korea with everyone having to serve as a military member just to survive? Or is there something we will have to be patient for?

I look forward to your response, as always.

Yours,

Duane Suddeth

 

[troup1998]

Because I never quit. He wrote me stating he won't be my representative anymore.

http://www.outsourcecongress.org/mica/Rep_Mica_20030319.html

 

[eric]

This is one issue where you will find no disagreement from me. I am currently in a battle royal with the board of directors of my company, as they want to offload much of our programming to India and Pakistan, thereby sharply increasing ROI.

It is a difficult problem to tackle and unfortunately lacks a simple solution because it is a symptom not a root cause. You could most likely fill an entire forum with this issue alone and it will be interesting to see where this thread goes.

 

[DKSuddeth]

I wonder why I shouldn't be surprised by this. I used to get bi-weekly newsletters from Congressman Sessions office stating all the current business going on in washington and how Sessions feels we need to support Pres Bush 100% to lead the country to better times. Since I've sent him the previously posted letter I have yet to receive any correspondence from him or his office.

I also sent this letter to both my senators (Hutchison and Cornyn) saying essentially the same thing and haven't heard from either of them. Now, I know they are pretty busy and all but I usually received a handwritten letter within 3 weeks of sending my concerns to them.

 

[bamthin]

You should look into getting a job with a defense contractor in the IT field. Did you have a security clearance in the USMC? They can't really outsource those IT positions overseas because of security concerns.

-Bam

 

[DKSuddeth]

I used to have a SC in the corps, the problem with clearances is they expire. They cost lots of money to reinstate which is why employers look to hire those that already have them.

 

[bobhard2001]

Dear Senator Kennedy.....As our President presents "the State of the Union Adress" I would appreciate you demonstrating the respect deserved. You continue to demonstrate your unworthness to hold the position you occupy. Only in America could You be in the same club with OJ and still occupy the office you hold. Do not lose sight of the fact that every american is aware!!