[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          REPORT OF THE U.S. COMMISSION ON IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, last week the U.S. Commission on 
Immigration Reform, chaired by Barbara Jordan, submitted its first 
report to the Congress.
  We created the Commission in the 1990 Immigration Act. Its bipartisan 
membership was selected by the congressional leadership, with the 
chairperson appointed by the President.
  This first report from the Commission dealt principally with illegal 
immigration which continues to be a major problem for the Government 
and a growing concern to the American public.
  Fifteen years ago I served on a similar Commission whose final report 
dealt with illegal immigration and made certain recommendations to 
address the problem. However, that Commission, and I was one of the 
commissioners, ``passed'' on the question of a secure worker 
verification system.
  Similarly, when I drafted legislation, which later became law, to 
carry out the recommendations of that first Commission, we again ducked 
on the issue of a secure verification system. Opposition from civil 
libertarians on the right and on the left, joined by the Hispanic 
caucus and the various Hispanic organizations, and especially their 
``executive director'' designees forced us to deal with illegal 
immigration without an adequate means of identifying those authorized 
to work in the United States.
  The results of this omission are well known: We continue to have a 
very serious illegal immigration problem; and perhaps even more 
dramatic, we now have a serious problem of the widespread manufacture, 
trafficking, and use of counterfeit documents in the United States.
  The Jordan Commission, to its good and great credit, not only 
recommended the ``development and implementation of a simpler, more 
fraud-resistant system for verifying work authorization,'' but it also 
proposed a system which would avoid discrimination, meet civil 
liberties and privacy standards, and reduce the time and paperwork 
burden on employers. The Commission did not propose a national identity 
card--shades of George Orwell--as some have suggested, nor did they 
propose a system which would lead us down any of those sinister 
``slippery slopes.''
  What the Commission did recommend is a ``computerized registry using 
data provided by the Social Security Administration and the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service.'' The key to the system is the 
Social Security account number which the employer will check through 
the computerized registry--one call to the registry and a confirmation 
number back to the employer. Just as we do for credit cards.

  I was totally appalled and amazed at the reaction from the 
administration as it burbled and backpedaled and tried to put distance 
between the White House and the recommendations of the Commission.
  Both the White House and the Justice Department have acknowledged, 
publicly, that illegal immigration is one of the most serious problems 
this country is facing, yet this fine concise, reasonable report 
received nothing more than a cursory mention by this administration. No 
wonder the public believes the White House is totally--and perhaps 
terminally--out of touch with America.
  This proud, vivacious, brilliant, civil libertarian, Barbara Jordan, 
the chairperson of the Commission, deserves our deepest gratitude and 
sincere congratulations, and the eight highly respected members of the 
Commission: Larry Fuchs, Michael Teitelbaum, Richard Estrada, Harold 
Ezell, Bob Hill, Warren Leiden, Nelson Merced, and Bruce Morrison 
deserve our highest praise. This diverse and bipartisan Commission, and 
its excellent and courteous staff, has presented a series of unanimous, 
repeat--unanimous--recommendations to the Congress on dealing with 
unlawful immigration.
  That is no mean task. Can any of my colleagues imagine obtaining a 
unanimous series of recommendations on an issue as controversial as 
immigration out of a bipartisan Commission made up of Members of this 
body?
  Many of the Commission's recommendations were already part of the 
comprehensive reform bill which I introduced earlier in this Congress. 
I will introduce, early in the next Congress, a comprehensive 
immigration reform bill following closely the recommendations contained 
in this most excellent report.
  Some of the naysayers have criticized the proposed worker 
verification program as being too expensive. We heard the same old 
plaint from the critics in the early eighties when we explored the use 
of the Social Security number card as constituting a possible worker 
authorization document.
  The Social Security Administration then said it would cost ``billions 
of dollars'' to change their card. Today we are hearing again that 
there will be a cost ``in the billions,'' if we implement this 
Commission's recommendations. Those making these dramatic claims have 
not read the report.

  The Commission did not recommend the reissuance of the Social 
Security card which is probably where most of the critics are getting 
their ``multi-billion dollar program'' idea. Rather, the Commission 
recommends setting up a registry, using existing data in the Social 
Security Administration database, that employers could call to confirm 
the Social Security number of new hires.
  The cost estimate for setting up this system and operating it over a 
5-year period is $300 million. About $60 million a year. The registry 
itself would require only $4 million to set up. The bulk of the cost is 
in checking the Social Security numbers against the registry and 
correcting any errors that are there. And there are errors there, and 
it is so important that those errors be corrected.
  Thus, the Commission's proposal has not only the virtue of cleaning 
up the Social Security database and the Immigration Service database, 
but it will also provide a simple, nondiscriminatory method of 
verifying the work authorization of all new hires. No national ID card, 
no billion dollar cost, no loss of our liberties and privacy. No horror 
stories.
  Further, the Commission very prudently has proposed pilot programs in 
the most impacted States to first test this use of the combined 
databases. To avoid any loss of privacy or liberties, the Commission 
also proposed that institutions and individuals with expertise in 
privacy matters be involved in the development and assessment of the 
pilot programs.
  The Commission has made what I believe is a thoughtful and splendid 
recommendation to address our grave national problem with worker 
verification. Now I intend to work diligently with my colleagues--on 
both sides of the aisle--in the subcommittee and in the Senate to 
authorize and appropriate the funding necessary to carry out the 
recommendations.
  Once again Mr. President, I want to say that Chairman Barbara Jordan 
and the full Commission on Immigration Reform deserve our highest 
national praise, and I know I also speak clearly on that part for my 
colleagues on the Immigration Subcommittee who were present at our 
hearing last month when the Commission reported to the committee on its 
recommendations.
  They have presented us an enviable work product. Its a true shame 
that apparently no one at the White House has the slightest concept of 
the impact of this issue on our national consciousness. So sad and 
disappointing.

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