A US lawmaker praised the Indian-American community, which forms just about one per cent of the country’s population, for paying six per cent of its taxes.

Congressman Rich McCormick said the process for immigration should be streamlined for those who go to the United States to “obey the law and pay their taxes”.

“Although they make up about one per cent of American society, they pay about six per cent of the taxes. They’re amongst the top producers, and they do not cause problems. They follow the laws,” the lawmaker from Georgia said in his first speech on the floor of the US House of Representatives.

McCormic, a Republican, represents the 6th Congressional District of Georgia, which mainly constitutes the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

He said people who have immigrated directly from India make up a large portion of his constituency.

“One out of every five doctors in my community are from India. They represent some of the best citizens we have in America, we should make sure that we streamline the immigration process for those who come here to obey the law and pay their taxes and be the most creative and productive in society,” McCormick, 54, said.

Indian Americans are the second-largest immigrant group in the United States, with their population estimated to be around four million.

On Wednesday, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India discussed with the US the issue of delays in business visas to the people from India.

India, Goyal said, has made the request to the US to speed up the issuance of regular business visas when people come in for short trips to pursue their trade and business interests.

Top American lawmaker Rich McCormick, while addressing the US House of Representatives, recently said that the Indian-Americans constitute about one per cent of the US population and pay about six per cent of the taxes.

What’s more interesting to know is the fact that Indians are the highest earning ethnic group in the US — ahead of people from countries like Pakistan, China and Japan.

According to US Census Bureau, 2013-15 American Community Survey, Indian-Americans (USD 100,500) have the highest median household income in the Joe Biden-led country. They are ahead of people from countries like Sri Lanka, Japan, China and Pakistan.

The data also highlights that 70 per cent of the Indian-American population in America holds a Bachelor’s degree, while the national average is just 28 per cent.

While this data is from an old survey, a more recent numbers also indicate the same thing.

According to an August 2021 report of Press Trust of India, Indians in the US, with an average household earning of USD 123,700 and 79 per cent of college graduates, have surpassed the overall American population in terms of wealth and college education.

As per the latest census data in the US, the number of people who identify as Asian in the United States nearly tripled in the past three decades, and Asians are now the fastest-growing of the nation’s four largest racial and ethnic groups, the PTI report stated.

Why Indians have highest median household income in the US?

Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises, took to Twitter to share a chart that shows Indian Americans having the highest median household income in the US. He asserted that Indians shine in the US because “we value good education and are the most educated ethnic group.”

“We work very hard along with being frugal in our habits… We are smart… We are in IT, engineering and medicine- the highest paying jobs,” he added.

How Median Household Income is calculated?

Household income usually refers to the combined gross income of all members of a household above a specified age, according to Investopedia.

The median is the middle number in a group. For example, if there are three incomes in one household of Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000, in this case median income is Rs 15,000.

Domination of Indian-Americans in the US

In his first speech in the US House of Representatives, Rich McCormick urged for a streamlined immigration process. “I rise to this occasion to just appreciate my constituents, especially those who have immigrated from India. We have a very large portion of my community that’s made up of almost 100,000 People who have immigrated directly from India. One out of every five doctors in my community is from India. They represent some of the best citizens we have in America, we should make sure that we streamline the immigration process for those who come here to obey the law and pay their taxes.”

He added, “Although they make up about 1 per cent of American society, they pay about 6 per cent of the taxes. They are amongst the top producers, and they do not cause problems. They follow laws. They don’t have the problems that we see other people have when they come to the emergency room for overdoses and depression anxiety because they’re the most productive, most family oriented and the best of what represents American citizens. God bless my Indian constituents”.

Indian-American doctor Nirav D. Shah, who played a pivotal role during Covid-19 pandemic, has been appointed Principal Deputy Director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC).

Shah, 45, who serves as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), will report to US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in his new role starting March.

“In my new role, I will be honored to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here. As I prepare for this next step, I thank the people of Maine for taking care of me, as I’ve always asked them to take care of each other,” he said in a statement.

Shah was appointed to Maine CDC in 2019 with the mission of rebuilding the agency and the State’s public health infrastructure.

“Dr Shah has been a trusted advisor to me and an extraordinary leader of the Maine CDC. But even more than that, he was a trusted advisor and a leader to the people of Maine during one of the greatest public health crises of our time,” Maine Governor Janet Mills wrote in a tweet.

She added in her statement that Shah spoke calmly and directly to the people of Maine, many of whom were scared and uncertain, and answered their questions with “compassion, empathy, humor, and a clarity”.

Shah’s appointment as Principal Deputy Director comes as part of a planned, broader overhaul of that agency announced by the US CDC Director in August of last year.

Born to Indian immigrants, Shah grew up in Wisconsin, and attended the University of Louisville where he majored in psychology and biology.

He studied economics at Oxford University and enrolled in medical school at the University of Chicago in 2000. Shah completed his Juris Doctor in 2007 and his Doctor of Medicine in 2008 — both from the University of Chicago and was a recipient of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans.