Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, I rise asking my colleagues to table the pending amendment filed by my distinguished colleague from Alabama to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. [Page: S7229]
His amendment would both make E-Verify permanent and would immediately mandate all Federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify.
First, I have good news for my colleagues and good news for my colleague from Alabama. The Department of Homeland Security has just taken action--they were planning to do it before. It is coincidental but fortuitous that it occurs right now. It addresses a good part of the issue that my colleague from Alabama has raised.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security has issued a statement indicating ``the administration's support for a regulation that will award Federal contracts only to employers who use E-Verify to check employee work authorization.''
As we all know, E-Verify is a voluntary system, not a mandatory system. For Federal contractors, it will be mandatory, which is half and the most operative part of my colleagues' amendment.
The administration's Federal contractor rule extends use of the E-Verify system to covered Federal contractors and subcontractors, including those who receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The administration will push ahead with full implementation of the rule, which will apply to Federal solicitation and contract awards starting on September 8, 2009--within a couple months.
Accordingly, I believe Senator Sessions' amendment is moot so far as it applies to Federal contractors and doesn't need to be approved by us in order for E-Verify to apply in this context.
He has another part of the amendment, which is to make E-Verify permanent. I remind my colleagues that E-Verify is in effect for the next 3 years. Making it permanent will extend to the outyears, but as chair of the immigration subcommittee, and with the support of Chairman Leahy, I have been investigating this issue.
I say to my colleagues that I don't think we want to make E-Verify permanent because it is not tough enough or strong enough. There is a gaping loophole in E-Verify. It is the best we have now. We should use it for Federal contractors. I support that. But there is a big loophole.
Let's say an illegal immigrant wants to say they are John Jones from Syracuse, and they know John Jones's Social Security number. They can easily get a fake ID that has John Jones's address on it, and they can submit it into the system, and nothing in E-Verify will stop that illegal immigrant from getting a job. Once they are in the system, they are approved time after time.
What is more, nothing about E-Verify stops a citizen from loaning their identity to friends and family so they can get a job. We need a biometric system, with a picture and a biometric identifier. That is the only way we will stop illegal immigration. E-Verify doesn't do it.
I assure my colleagues on our subcommittee on immigration, under Chairman Leahy's leadership as chairman of the full committee, we are investigating a biometric system which will once and for all stop future illegal immigration. To make this system permanent, when there is a better system in the offing, is premature.
I urge that the amendment be tabled. The first part has been adopted, and the second part to make it permanent, when we already have it for 3 years, is wrong when we can do better 3 years from now.
