[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 123 (Thursday, September 13, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REAUTHORIZING CERTAIN VISA PROGRAMS

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                               speech of

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 11, 2012

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, S. 3245 extends for three years the 
authorization of the E-Verify program, the EB-5 Regional Center 
Program, the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program and 
the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program. While these are all 
important programs, I want to speak specifically about E-Verify.
  There are currently 23 million Americans who are unemployed or are 
looking for work. This lack of jobs is causing almost unimaginable 
hardship for millions of Americans and their families. And each month 
more people become discouraged and give up even trying to find a job.
  Making sure that Americans have every opportunity to find work is 
more important than ever. One important way to achieve this goal is to 
reduce the number of jobs that go to illegal immigrants. The E-Verify 
program helps do just that.
  E-Verify allows employers to check the work eligibility of new hires 
by running the employee's Social Security number or alien 
identification number against Department of Homeland Security and 
Social Security Administration records.
  In 1995, I chaired the Congressional Task Force on Immigration 
Reform. We published a 200-plus page report with more than 80 specific 
recommendations. One of those was for an electronic employment 
eligibility verification system, which was included in Chairman Smith's 
1996 immigration reform bill. That system is now known as E-Verify.
  The program is currently voluntary for most of the almost 400,000 
employers who use it. It is free, Internet-based and easy to use. And 
the employers who use it agree.
  E-Verify has proven to be such an effective tool in preventing the 
employment of those who are illegally in our country that it should be 
used by all employers to check the employment eligibility of their new 
hires. It is the easiest way to help make sure U.S. jobs go to 
Americans and legal immigrants.
  Short of requiring all employers to use E-Verify, at the very least 
we must ensure that the program remains in place for the 400,000 
employers who depend on it. S. 3245 does just that by providing for a 
3-year extension. So I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

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