WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today pressed the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to retain his E-Verify amendment that was approved unanimously in the Senate version of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The differences between the House and Senate versions of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill are currently being worked out.
"Employers want to abide by the rule of law and hire people who are legally in this country. E-Verify is an effective tool to allow employers to check the work status of their employees," Grassley said.
Grassley's amendment allows for voluntary checks of existing employees through E-Verify, and provides protections for workers during this process.
Specifically, Grassley's amendment requires an employer who elects to check all workers to notify the Secretary of Homeland Security that they plan to verify their existing workforce. The employer would then have ten days to check all workers. This short time period prevents employers from targeting certain workers by claiming that they are "still working on" verifying the remainder of their workforce. If an employer wishes to check existing workers, then they must check them all.
Here is a copy of the text of Grassley's letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
September 22, 2009
The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriation
United States Senate United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairman Inouye and Ranking Member Cochran:
As you work to finalize the Fiscal Year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill with the House of Representatives, I respectfully request your support for my amendment (S.A.1415) that was included during Senate debate.
My amendment would give businesses a tool to ensure that they have a legal workforce by allowing them to check the status of all workers, not just new hires. The amendment allows for voluntary checks of existing employees through E-Verify, and provides protections for workers during this process.
The amendment requires an employer who elects to check all workers to notify the Secretary of Homeland Security that they plan to verify their existing workforce. The employer would then have ten days to check all workers. This short time period prevents employers from targeting certain workers by claiming that they are "still working on" verifying the remainder of their workforce. My amendment also doesn't allow employers to discriminate. If an employer wishes to check existing workers, then they must check them all. My amendment is also voluntary. Employers don't have to check their existing workforce unless they want to.
The amendment was approved unanimously and should be included in the final version of the appropriations bill because it makes sense to provide employers with the tools already in place to check the status of workers.
E-Verify has a proven track record for success. Over 96% of job applicants are cleared automatically, and growth continues at over 1,000 new users/participants each week. In fact, over 130,000 businesses have already voluntarily signed up to use the program.
E-Verify is supported by your committee. It's also strongly supported by the Senate, evidenced by the fact that we voted overwhelmingly to permanently reauthorize the program. The system has been in place for over a decade, allowing businesses – both large and small – to check the status of their new hires. My amendment, if enacted into law, would take the program to the next level by allowing registered employers to voluntarily check their existing workforce and make sure their workers are legally in this country to work. Several organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and Associated Builders and Contractors, support the amendment and believe that re-verification should be allowed.
E-Verify also has the support of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano. She provided this answer to the Judiciary Committee when asked about E-Verify:
"The E-Verify program has been extremely successful over the past few years; employer participation has expanded to over 126,000 nationwide, and an average of 1,000 new employers enroll each week. The Department will support E-Verify and will reach out to and register as many employers as possible. The E-Verify program also has substantially increased its accuracy and efficiency, with over 97 percent of all queries now verified automatically as "Employment Authorized." The majority of remaining queries that are not automatically verified indicate that the program is doing what it is intended to do: detect unauthorizedworkers trying to work unlawfully. TheDepartment strongly believes E-Verify to be an essential tool for enforcing the immigration laws of the United States by preventing and deterring the hiring of persons who are not authorized to work in the United States, thereby protecting employment opportunities for the Nation's lawful workforce."
Employers want to abide by the law and hire people who are legally in this country. Right now, E-Verify only allows them to check prospective employees. Congress should be allowing employers to access this free, online database system to check all their workers and take steps to be in compliance with our immigration laws. Support of this amendment is support for American workers, too.
I ask that you retain my amendment as the bill goes to conference with the House. I appreciate your consideration of my views.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senate