How about re-purposing H1s issued to the sweatshop Indian firms ( which generally bring in the cheap labor) to tech companies and startups. That is probably tens of thousands of visas right there.
Needless to say, the Infosys and Tatas of the world do have a highly developed lobbying arm. As one example of a supportive research group: http://www.offshoreinsights.com/
Startups don't have anything like this, and the tech companies don't want to rock the boat with their outsourcing partners.
To learn more, look at the Hatch amendment to S744 (comprehensive immigration reform): http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/05/22/hatch_amendme...
Honestly, I've spent so long trying to keep startup visa out of the H-1B debate that I'm just not that familiar with it.
I don't disagree with you, but I don't have a sense of the political landscape to give you an answer that isn't a pure guess.