IFPTE Applauds Senator Durbin, Senator Rounds, Representative Foster, and Representative Lawler for Introducing the Keep STEM Talent Act of 2025
Legislation provides International Students graduating with U.S. STEM advanced degrees a pathway to permanence, protects wages, and ensures American work
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 working people in high-skilled occupations across several industries and sectors, applaud the reintroduction of the Keep STEM Talent Act, sponsored by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) in the Senate and sponsored by Representative Bill Foster (D-IL) and Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY). Senator Angus King (I-ME) is an original cosponsor of the Senate bill and Representative, and Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) are original cosponsors of the House bill.
IFPTE President Matthew Biggs:
“IFPTE is proud to endorse the Keep STEM Talent Act and we applaud Senators Durbin and Rounds and Representatives Foster and Lawler for offering a high-road approach to building our nation’s STEM workforce, giving international STEM students with U.S. advanced degrees an opportunity to work in the U.S. with full labor mobility and the same labor rights afforded to all Americans. This bill provides a clear and sensible alternative to low-road guest worker visas that have undermined domestic recruitment, paid below-market wages, caused the displacement of workers in the U.S., and taken advantage of indentured foreign workers. The Keep STEM Talent Act puts forward a solution that protects STEM workers and good-paying STEM jobs.”
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:
“We thank Senator Durbin, Senator Rounds, Representative Foster, and Representative Lawler for working together and offering an improved Keep STEM Talent Act of 2025. Instead of proposing to lift the cap on high-skill work visas that have caused great harm to American workers, offshored jobs, and taken advantage of foreign workers, the Keep STEM Talent Act provides a solution that gives international students graduating with U.S. advanced degrees an opportunity to work in the U.S. without subjecting them to substandard wages and captive labor conditions. If we are serious about supporting STEM jobs and attracting talent to STEM industries, we need policies that build on our strong labor standards, good job quality, and competitive wages for these in-demand workers.”
Across the United States and Canada, IFPTE represents 90,000 highly skilled workers in the federal, public, and private sectors. IFPTE is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO and the CLC. More information can be found at www.IFPTE.org.
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