[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 173 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BASIC PILOT EXTENSION ACT OF 2001

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                               speech of

                            HON. TOM OSBORNE

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 11, 2001

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be a cosponsor of H.R. 
3030, the Basic Pilot Extension Act of 2001, which passed the House by 
voice vote on December 11, 2001. The Basic Pilot is a joint pilot 
conducted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the 
Social Security Administration (SSA) in my home state of Nebraska, 
among others. This pilot, which started in November 1997, involves 
verification checks of the SSA and the INS databases of all newly hired 
employees regardless of citizenship. Unfortunately, the Basic Pilot 
program was scheduled to terminate on November 30 of this year.
  The agricultural economy of Nebraska's Third District relies heavily 
on immigrant labor. For the most part, I believe that employers across 
my district want to comply with the Immigration Reform and Control Act 
of 1986, which made it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or 
employ aliens not eligible to work, and required employers to verify 
documents of new workers. However, a simple visual check of these 
documents by employers will not tell them if these are in fact 
counterfeit documents, and that this potential new hire is in fact an 
illegal alien.
  I have heard from many business people in the Third District about 
their need for the Basic Pilot program. Employers need the appropriate 
tools to ensure that they are indeed hiring eligible workers. By 
checking the new hire's documents against the INS and SSA databases, 
the Basic Pilot program allows employers to feel more confident about 
their new hire.
  H.R. 3030 will extend the Basic Pilot program for employers in 
Nebraska for two years. I thank my colleague, Representative Latham, 
for introducing this much needed extension, and I am pleased it passed 
the House on December 11, 2001.

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