Nat'l Immigration Reform Group Adds New Partners

NEW YORK - Partnership for a New American Economy Co-Chair Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has joined News Corporation Chairman, CEO and Founder Rupert Murdoch and Partnership for New York City President Kathryn Wylde to announce that dozens of business leaders from New York City’s premier companies have joined the Partnership for a New American Economy. The bipartisan group is made up of business leaders and mayors from across the country committed to making the economic case for sensible immigration reform. Members announced include CEOs from leading businesses in finance, fashion, manufacturing, publishing and insurance. The companies these new members run employ a combined one million people and help infuse over $75 billion dollars back into the economy via wages paid. The Mayor was also joined by the Partnership for New York City’s two incoming Chairs, American Express Chairman and CEO Kenneth I. Chenault, and Macy’s Chairman, President and CEO Terry J. Lundgren.

“I’ve always said immigration reform is neither a Republican issue, nor a Democratic issue – it’s an economic issue,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “New York is a city of immigrants and, in fact, our economy is one of the fastest growing in the country. New York City and American business leaders understand that our future prosperity depends on our ability to attract and keep the workers we need to compete in the increasingly competitive global economy.”

“American ingenuity is a product of the openness and diversity of this society,” said Rupert Murdoch. “Immigrants have made America great as the world leader in business, science, higher education and innovation. As an immigrant myself, I believe that this country can and must enact new immigration policies that fulfill our employment needs, provide a careful pathway to legal status for undocumented residents, and end illegal immigration.”

“The American economy has always relied on the contributions of immigrants,” said Ken Chenault, Chairman & CEO, American Express. “A thoughtful, effective immigration policy is essential if we are to promote the economic growth and job creation we need to compete successfully in the global marketplace.”

“New York’s status as a global business capital depends on the adoption of more rational, market-driven immigration and visa policies,” said Terry J. Lundgren, President & CEO, Macy’s, Inc. “The members of the partnership see comprehensive immigration reform as a top priority for the country's continued economic growth.”

Facts about the role of immigrants in the economy:
· 25% percent of America’s high-tech startups had an immigrant founder from 1995 – 2005, generating over 400,000 jobs in under a decade;
· 25% of America’s international patents were based on the work of immigrants;
· 33% of all PhDs and 57% of all post-doctorates in science and engineering from U.S. universities were rewarded to foreign-born students; and
· Visas for lower-skilled workers are used in all 50 states for labor-intensive and seasonal jobs, such as landscaping, services and hospitality, when companies can’t fill the jobs. One-third of companies that use the visas would reduce operations or close completely if they were not able to hire workers through temporary visas.

Facts about limits on visas for high-skilled workers:
· Only 85,000 temporary visas are granted annually for high-skill workers;
· Workers on these visas represent less than 0.1 percent of U.S. workforce;
· Workers on high-skilled temporary work visas create an average of five new jobs in the same company because of their work in R&D or exports; and
· The cap on high-skilled visas was filled by U.S. companies in 9 months in 2009, and in a matter of days in 2008 and 2007.

The new members of the Partnership for a New American Economy announced today are:

· Lee S. Ainslie, III, Managing Partner, Maverick Capital
· Gerard J. Arpey, Chairman and CEO, American Airlines
· David Barger, President & CEO, JetBlue Airways Corporation
· Candace K. Beinecke, Chair, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
· Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Hearst Corporation
· Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner Inc.
· Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs & Co.
· Kathy Bloomgarden, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Ruder Finn, Inc.
· Glenn A. Britt, Chairman, President & CEO, Time Warner Cable Inc.
· Kevin Burke, Chairman, President & CEO, Con Edison
· Michael A. Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer, Ally Financial Inc.
· Russell L. Carson, Co-Founder and General Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
· Evan R. Chesler, Presiding Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
· H. Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
· Cristóbal I. Conde, President & CEO, SunGard
· Roger W. Crandall, President & CEO, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
· Stephen J. Dannhauser, Chairman, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
· Philippe P. Dauman, President and CEO, Viacom Inc.
· Todd C. DeGarmo, Chief Executive Officer, Studios Architecture
· Barry Diller, Chairman & Senior Executive, IAC
· James Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
· Douglas A. Donahue, Managing Partner, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
· Brian Duperreault, President & CEO, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
· Richard W. Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman
· Brad Feld, Managing Director, Foundry Group
· Laurence D. Fink, Chairman & CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
· Alan H. Fishman, Chairman, Ladder Capital Finance LLC
· Paul Fribourg, Chairman & CEO, Continental Grain Company
· Mark T. Gallogly, Managing Partner, Centerbridge Partners
· William F. Glavin Jr., Chief Executive Officer, OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
· Thomas Glocer, Chief Executive Officer, Thomson Reuters
· Barry M. Gosin, Chief Executive Officer, Newmark Knight Frank
· Robert Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
· Susan L. Hayes, President & CEO, Cauldwell Wingate Company
· H. Dale Hemmerdinger, President, Atco Properties & Management, Inc.
· C. Robert Henrikson, Chairman, President & CEO, MetLife, Inc.
· Glenn H. Hutchins, Co-CEO, Silver Lake
· Mel M. Immergut, Chairman, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
· Brad S. Karp, Chair, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
· Charles R. Kaye, Co-President, Warburg Pincus LLC
· Robert P. Kelly, Chairman & CEO, BNY Mellon
· David P. Kirchhoff, President & CEO, Weight Watchers International, Inc.
· Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman & CEO, Alcoa Inc.
· William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc.
· Paul A. Laudicina, Managing Officer & Chairman of the Board, A.T. Kearney, Inc.
· Rochelle B. Lazarus, Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
· Richard S. LeFrak, Chairman & CEO, The LeFrak Organization
· Don G. Lents, Chair, Bryan Cave LLP
· Martin Lipton, Senior Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
· Leonard Litwin, President, Glenwood Management Corp.
· Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman, President & CEO, Macy's, Inc.
· Peter L. Malkin, Senior Partner & Chairman, Malkin Holdings, LLC
· Donald B. Marron, Chairman & CEO, Lightyear Capital
· Theodore Mathas, Chairman, President & CEO, New York Life Insurance Company
· William L. McComb, Chief Executive Officer, Liz Claiborne Inc.
· Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Moody's Investors Service
· Harold McGraw, III, Chairman, President & CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies
· John F. Megrue Jr., Chief Executive Officer, U.S., Apax Partners, L.P.
· Edward J. Minskoff, President, Edward J. Minskoff Equities, Inc.
· Mitchell Modell, Chief Executive Officer, Modell's Sporting Goods
· Kenneth D. Moelis, Chief Executive Officer, Moelis & Company
· Surya N. Mohapatra, Chairman & CEO, Quest Diagnostics
· Thomas J. Moran, Chairman, President & CEO, Mutual of America Life Insurance Company
· Robert E. Moritz, Chairman & Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
· Duncan L. Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE Euronext
· Vikram S. Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Inc.
· Richard D. Parsons, Chairman, Citigroup and Senior Advisor, Providence Equity Partners
· Michael Patsalos-Fox, Chairman, The Americas, McKinsey & Company, Inc.
· John Paulson, President, Paulson & Co., Inc.
· James D. Robinson, III, Co-Founder & General Partner, RRE Ventures
· Stephen M. Ross, Chairman & CEO, The Related Companies, L.P.
· Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Chairman & CEO, WL Ross & Co. LLC
· Michael I. Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group
· Steven Roth, Chairman, Vornado Realty Trust
· William C. Rudin, CEO and Vice Chairman, Rudin Management Company, Inc.
· Kevin P. Ryan, Chairman & Founder, Gilt Groupe
· Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, The Blackstone Group
· Dominick M. Servedio, Chairman & CEO, STV Inc.
· Joseph C. Shenker, Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
· Peter Stringham, Chairman & CEO, Young & Rubicam
· James S. Tisch, President & CEO, Loews Corporation
· Edward D. Turen, Chairman and CEO, Control Equity Group
· John B. Veihmeyer, Chairman & CEO, KPMG LLP
· Rohan Weerasinghe, Senior Partner, Shearman & Sterling
· Charles Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer, EisnerAmper LLP
· Fred Wilson, Co-Founder, Union Square Ventures
· Tim Zagat, CEO & Co-Chair, Zagat Survey LLC
· Strauss Zelnick, Chief Executive Officer, ZelnickMedia Corporation

The Partnership for a New American Economy brings together business leaders and mayors to make the economic case for sensible immigration reform. The Partnership believes that that to compete in the 21st-century global economy, America needs an immigration system that secures our borders while welcoming immigrants who are essential for America’s economic growth – the ability to get the right talent to the right place at the right time is critical for continued American prosperity.

Co-Chairs include Steven A. Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corporation; Robert Iger, President and CEO, Walt Disney Co.; J.W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Marriott International, Inc.; Jim McNerney, Chairman, President and CEO of Boeing; Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, CEO and Founder of News Corporation; Mayor Julián Castro of San Antonio; Mayor Phil Gordon of Phoenix; Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia; and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.