Briggs Public Testimonies

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A collection of testimonies by Professor Vernon M. Briggs Jr., a member of the faculty of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, who specializes in human resource economics and public policy.

Please Note: The primary document for each record is the unpublished manuscript. Where possible, we have included the published testimony from the U.S. Government Printing Office as a related document.

Professor Briggs has deposited his papers at the Kheel Center. The material available through this site is a portion of a larger collection in paper format, information on which may be obtained by contacting the Kheel Center.

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    Testimony on the Proposed Removal of Bans on Industrial Homework in the Apparel Industry
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1989-03-30)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given at a public hearing of the U.S. Department of Labor, New York, NY, on March 30, 1989.
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    Testimony Before the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1995-02-23)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, February 23, 1995.
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    Employment Implications of U.S. Immigration Policy
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1987-07-21)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, July 21, 1987.
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    Real Immigration Reform: The Path To Credibility
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr (2007-05-03)
    [Excerpt] For over 40 years, efforts have been made to respond to the unexpected consequences of the accidental revival of mass immigration that has followed the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965. Immigrants had been declining as a percentage of the population since 1914 and in absolute numbers since 1930. In 1965 only 4.4 percent of the population was foreign born and they totaled only 8.5 million people. There was absolutely no intention by policy makers of that era to increase the level of immigration. The post-World War II "baby boom" began pouring a tidal wave of new labor force entrants in the labor market that year and would continue to do so for the next 16 years. Moreover, the "War on Poverty" had been launched in 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Both emphasized the need to focus on the employment needs of unskilled, poor and minority workers. Also, the infamous "bracero program" that had allowed the entry of temporary foreign workers from Mexico to do farm work had finally been terminated on December 31, 1964 because it had taken the agricultural labor market out of competition with the non-agricultural labor market.
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    The Reform of the Legal Immigration System of the United States
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1987-12-11)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, December 11, 1987.
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    Testimony on H.R. 1915
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1995-06-29)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, June 29, 1995.
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    The Rural Labor Force: Unemployment and Underemployment Issues
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1985-06-13)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Agriculture and Transportation of the Joint Economic Committee, Ninety-ninth Congress, June 13, 1985.
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    Labor Market Transformation: The Role of U.S. Immigration Policy
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1990-03-01)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, March 1, 1990
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    Labor Market Implications of Prevailing Immigration Policies and Practices
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1978-04-05)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Select Committee on Population, U.S. Congress on April 5, 1978.
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    Immigration Reform and the U.S. Labor Force
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1995-09-13)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Immigration of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, September 13, 1995.
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    Immigration Policy and the Labor Force of New York
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1991-10-01)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the New York State Legislative Commission, October 1, 1991.
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    Immigration Policy and the Plight of Unskilled Workers
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1999-03-11)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, March 11, 1999.
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    Immigration Policy and Low Wage Workers: The Influence of American Unionism
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (2003-10-30)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given at the Hearing before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, October 30, 2003.
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    Immigration Reform and the U.S. Labor Force: The Questionable "Wisdom" of S.2611
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (2006-08-29)
    [Excerpt] Immigration reform is the domestic policy imperative of our time. The revival of the phenomenon of mass immigration from out of the nation's distant past was the accidental by-product of the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965.1Immigration had been declining as a percentage of the population since 1914 and in absolute numbers since 1930. In 1965, only 4.4 percent of the population was foreign born --the lowest percentage in all of U.S. history and totaled 8.5 million people (the lowest absolute number since 1880). There was absolutely no intention in 1965 to increase the level of immigration. The post-World War "baby boom" was on the verge of pouring a tidal wave of new labor force entrants into the labor market in1965 and would continue to do so for the next 16 years. Instead, the stated goal of the 1965 legislation was to rid the immigration system of the overtly discriminatory admission system that had been in effect since 1924. But as subsequent events were to reveal, this legislation let the "Genie out of the jug." Without any warning to the people of the nation, the societal changing force of mass immigration was released on an unsuspecting American economy and its labor force. By 2005, the foreign-born population had soared to 35.5 million persons (or 12.1 percent of the population) and there were over 22 million workers in the labor force (or 14.7 percent of the labor force).
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    Guestworker Programs for Low-Skilled Workers: Lessons from the Past and Warnings for the Future
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (2004-02-12)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, February 12, 2004.
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    Illegal Immigration and the U.S. Labor Market of the 1990s
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1995-04-05)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, April 5, 1995.
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    Guestworker Programs Lessons from the Past and Warnings for the Future
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (2004-03-01)
    Immigration policy is a minefield of controversial issues, and among the most explosive are those programs that permit low-skilled foreign nationals to work in the same labor market as U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens. Because such endeavors have been undertaken in the past, they have a track record and have been the subject of extensive research. There is no need to speculate about what might happen if any new such venture — such as that proposed by the Bush Administration on January 7, 2004 — were to be enacted. The outcome is easily predicted.
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    Employer Sanctions and Immigration Reform
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1981-09-30)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy, September 30, 1981.
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    Foreign Policy Implications of Illegal Immigration from Mexico
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1978-05-24)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Committee on International Relations, U.S. House of Representatives, May 24, 1978.
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    Contract Compliance and Equal Employment Opportunity in the Construction Industry
    Briggs, Vernon M. Jr. (1970-12-01)
    Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given before the Massachusetts State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Contract Compliance and Equal Employment Opportunity in the Construction Industry during an open meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts, June 25-26, 1969.