Eastern Wisconsin’s representative in Congress has introduced a new bill he says will close a loophole that harms American workers.
The OPT Fair Tax Act, written by Congressman Glenn Grothman and Senator Tom Cotton of Arizona, aims to ensure foreign workers in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program are no longer exempt from paying Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.
The OPT program allows certain foreign students on F-1 visas to work in the United States after completing their studies.
Rep. Grothman says the current law “has created a financial incentive to hire foreign workers over Americans. As a result, too many young Americans graduating from our colleges and universities are forced to compete against a system that tilts the playing field against them.”
Jeremy Neufeld, Director of Immigration Policy at the Institute for Progress, also noted, “The OPT Fair Tax Act stands to raise $32 billion while bringing fairness to the OPT program.”
