Homeland Security Spending Bill
Updated Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 7:30 PM
In the fall of 2008, Pres. George W. Bush signed an executive order requiring all businesses contracting with the federal government to screen new hires using E-Verify. The workplace verification tool administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services verifies an employee's identity with federal data. Independent studies show E-Verify to confirm 96% of all cases.
Pres. Bush later delayed the mandatory usage of E-Verify while legal objections were getting resolved. It has been delayed two more times under Pres. Barack Obama.
Four workplace enforcement amendments are being proposed in the Homeland Security Spending Bill
· The Sessions amendment, which would permanently reauthorize E-Verify and mandate its use by all government contractors and subcontractors;
- The DeMint amendment, which would force DHS to complete the 700 miles of border fencing which has already been approved and funded;
- The Vitter amendment, which would force the Social Security Administration to continue their "No-Match" program (DHS Sec. Napolitano recently ended the program); and
- The Grassley amendment, which would allow all businesses that use E-Verify to run all of their current employees through the E-Verify system.
The battle to save these pro-enforcement, pro-American worker amendments will be fought in the Conference Committee for the Homeland Security spending bill. That committee will be responsible for reconciling the differences between the bills passed by the Senate and House.
While the House has not yet appointed members to the Conference Committee, the Senate has appointed Senators Robert Byrd (D-W.V.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D-Wa.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Jon Tester; Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Source: Numbers USA
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