636 Business Owners & Leaders Sign National Joint Letter to Speaker Boehner Calling on House to Pass Immigration Reform This Year | The Letter Was Released by the Partnership for a New American Economy and U.S. Chamber of Commerce

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today 636 business leaders from across the country signed onto a joint letter to House Speaker John Boehner calling for immigration reform this year. "Failure to act is not an option," it states. "We cannot afford to be content and watch a dysfunctional immigration system work against our overall national interest. In short, immigration reform is an essential element of a jobs agenda and economic growth. It will add talent, innovation, investment, products, businesses, jobs, and dynamism to our economy." The joint letter was released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Partnership for a New American Economy.

"Immigration reform is important for businesses and to keep the economy growing," said Jonathan Johnson, Executive Vice Chairman, Overstock.com. "Many businesses need immigration reform in order to meet workforce demands, including Overstock.com. There will never be a perfect time for reform. The political landscape won't get any more conducive to reform in two years or four years. For too long, Congress has kicked the can down the road. And while Congress has failed to act, the problem has only grown worse. It is in our national interest to get it done now."

"Washington politicians will use any excuse to avoid fixing our broken system but Utah businesses cannot wait for an imagined perfect moment to act. The time for comprehensive immigration reform is now," said Jason Mathis, Executive Vice President – Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.

The letter's release comes one month after Speaker Boehner and the House Republican Conference released their immigration reform standards. The letter encourages Congress and the President to act on these standards and pass legislation this year. The letter can be accessed online here: https://www.uschamber.com/letter/multi-industry-letter-immigration-reform. 

Signers from the state of Utah include:

• Allegiance Software
• Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce
• ChamberWest
• Davis County Chamber of Commerce
• East Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Intel
• Ivory Homes
• Layton Construction Company
• Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce
• Overstock.com
• Park City Chamber Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce
• Ski Utah
• Utah Farm Bureau Federation
• Utah Manufacturers Association
• Utah Nursery & Landscape Association
• Utah Restaurant Association
• Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Utah Wool Growers Association
• Zions Bank

About the Partnership for a New American Economy

The Partnership for a New American Economy brings together more than 500 Republican, Democratic, and Independent mayors and business leaders who support sensible immigration reforms that will help create jobs for Americans today. The Partnership's members include mayors of more than 35 million people nationwide and business leaders of companies that generate more than $1.5 trillion and employ more than 4 million people across all sectors of the economy, from Agriculture to Aerospace, Hospitality to High Tech, and Media to Manufacturing. Partnership members understand that immigration is essential to maintaining the productive, diverse, and flexible workforce that America needs to ensure prosperity over the coming generations. Learn more at www.RenewOurEconomy.org.

SOURCE Partnership for a New American Economy