Tuesday
May062008
Committee compares employee verification systems
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 11:47AM
Today the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing to discuss various employee verification systems that determine worker eligibility for jobs throughout the United States.
The various measures included Rep. Heath Shuler’s (D-NC) Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, which would expand the use of E-Verify, a searchable online database of citizen identities and official documentation numbers. Another proposal was Rep. Sam Johnson’s (R-TX) New Employee Verification Act (NEVA), which cosponsor Rep. Gabrielle Gifford (D-AZ) said was the more “realistic” approach that rejects the use of E-Verify. Gifford said that since E-Verify was mandated in Arizona in 2007, it has been found “complicated, unreliable, and burdensome” and “mandating E-Verify nationwide for all employees would be disastrous.” She also pointed out that not all employers have the Internet access that E-Verify requires to screen applicants.
Shuler said that E-Verify has resulted in a match for 93 percent of new employees, and of the 7 percent who were not matched, less than one percent “bothered to contest the results.” He called the system “easy to use” and said it is “currently being updated and expanded” to meet increased demand.
The various measures included Rep. Heath Shuler’s (D-NC) Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, which would expand the use of E-Verify, a searchable online database of citizen identities and official documentation numbers. Another proposal was Rep. Sam Johnson’s (R-TX) New Employee Verification Act (NEVA), which cosponsor Rep. Gabrielle Gifford (D-AZ) said was the more “realistic” approach that rejects the use of E-Verify. Gifford said that since E-Verify was mandated in Arizona in 2007, it has been found “complicated, unreliable, and burdensome” and “mandating E-Verify nationwide for all employees would be disastrous.” She also pointed out that not all employers have the Internet access that E-Verify requires to screen applicants.
Shuler said that E-Verify has resulted in a match for 93 percent of new employees, and of the 7 percent who were not matched, less than one percent “bothered to contest the results.” He called the system “easy to use” and said it is “currently being updated and expanded” to meet increased demand.
Reader Comments (2)
Leading Democrats have bee trying to undermine the pending Federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) because they have obviously been corrupted by big business. Why should the corporate would endorse this bill, when they are parasites and live off the taxpayers supporting the illegal alien workforce?
i am for thesave act hr4088 e-verify