Partnership for a New American Economy

Washington Post
February 25, 2013

The lobbying campaign to ease immigration restrictions for highly educated foreigners is expanding and evolving, with advocates shifting attention toward a comprehensive deal rather than continuing their attempts to drive through smaller, targeted legislation.

A collection of entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders are launching the latest assault on Monday, building what they hope will grow into a large, online army of immigration lobbyists to take part later this spring in a “virtual march” on Washington. Using various portals on the Internet, their goal is to round up and educate as many people as possible about the economic appeal of attracting high-skilled immigrants, and then launch a social media blitz to appeal to Congress some time in April.

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“There is no doubt the ground has shifted since the election, and voices who weren’t talking about comprehensive reform are now talking about comprehensive reform,” John Feinblatt, chief policy advisor for Mayor Bloomberg, said in an interview. “People can count heads and count votes, and reality has struck that the most likely solution is to make high-skilled immigration reform part of a comprehensive bill.”

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Bangor Daily News
February 19, 2013

Two Republican lawmakers, a Democratic former House speaker, a union member and business representatives joined in an effort Tuesday to pressure Maine’s U.S. senators, independent Angus King and Republican Susan Collins, to take leadership roles in crafting a bipartisan immigration reform package in Congress.

At a State House news conference, the group asked Collins and King to sign onto the immigration reform principles favored by the Partnership for a New American Economy, a national group chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and a handful of other business leaders and big-city mayors.

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Fox Business
January 31, 2013

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The U.S. could keep graduate students here to create new jobs, new companies and, in some cases, new industries, said John Feinblatt, chairman of the Partnership for a New American Economy.

"We've got to face the fact that other countries are rolling out the red carpet for workers and we're not," Feinblatt said. Laws limiting the number of skilled employees allowed to work in the U.S. hamper the ability of some companies to grow, particularly in technology, and the nation misses out on a considerable ripple effect in wealth, according to Mr. Feinblatt.

The Partnership for a New American Economy is a bipartisan group of mayors and business leaders from all sectors of the economy. The organization, whose members include Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Chief Executive Steven Ballmer, Boeing Co. (BA) Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney and News Corp. (NWSA) Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, has studied the issue together with the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

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Huffington Post
January 30, 2013

President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to create a special visa category that allows foreign-born entrepreneurs who launch successful startups to remain in the country.

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Obama's speech was praised by supporters of a startup visa.

His speech "shows that there is broad support to modernize our immigration system in a way that helps grow our economy and attract the world’s most talented and hardest-working," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is co-chair of the Partnership For A New American Economy, a coalition of mayors and business leaders who support immigration reform.
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