[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 24 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S650-S651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1484. Mr. TUBERVILLE submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 1388 submitted by Mrs. Murray (for herself and
Mr. Schumer) and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 815, to amend
title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements relating to
the eligibility of veterans to receive reimbursement for emergency
treatment furnished through the Veterans Community Care program, and
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM.
Section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1324a(d)) is amended to read as follows:
``(d) Employment Eligibility Verification System.--
``(1) In general.--Patterned on the employment eligibility
confirmation system established under section 404 of the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall establish and administer a verification system
through which the Secretary (or a designee of the Secretary,
which may be a nongovernmental entity)--
``(A) responds to inquiries made by persons at any time
through a toll-free electronic media concerning an
individual's identity and whether the individual is
authorized to be employed; and
``(B) maintains records of the inquiries that were made, of
verifications provided (or not provided), and of the codes
provided to inquirers as evidence of their compliance with
their obligations under this section.
``(2) Initial response.--The verification system shall
provide confirmation or a tentative nonconfirmation of an
individual's identity and employment eligibility within 3
working days of the initial inquiry. If providing
confirmation or tentative nonconfirmation, the verification
system shall provide an appropriate code indicating such
confirmation or such nonconfirmation.
``(3) Secondary confirmation process in case of tentative
nonconfirmation.--In cases of tentative nonconfirmation, the
Secretary shall specify, in consultation with the
Commissioner of Social Security, an available secondary
verification process to confirm the validity of information
provided and to provide a final confirmation or
nonconfirmation not later than 10 working days after the date
on which the notice of the tentative nonconfirmation is
received by the employee. The Secretary, in consultation with
the Commissioner, may extend this deadline once on a case-by-
case basis for a period of 10 working days, and if the time
is extended, shall document such extension
[[Page S651]]
within the verification system. The Secretary, in
consultation with the Commissioner, shall notify the employee
and employer of such extension. The Secretary, in
consultation with the Commissioner, shall create a standard
process of such extension and notification and shall make a
description of such process available to the public. When
final confirmation or nonconfirmation is provided, the
verification system shall provide an appropriate code
indicating such confirmation or nonconfirmation.
``(4) Design and operation of system.--The verification
system shall be designed and operated--
``(A) to maximize its reliability and ease of use by
persons and other entities consistent with insulating and
protecting the privacy and security of the underlying
information;
``(B) to respond to all inquiries made by such persons and
entities on whether individuals are authorized to be employed
and to register all times when such inquiries are not
received;
``(C) with appropriate administrative, technical, and
physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized disclosure of
personal information;
``(D) to have reasonable safeguards against the system's
resulting in unlawful discriminatory practices based on
national origin or citizenship status, including--
``(i) the selective or unauthorized use of the system to
verify eligibility; or
``(ii) the exclusion of certain individuals from
consideration for employment as a result of a perceived
likelihood that additional verification will be required,
beyond what is required for most job applicants;
``(E) to maximize the prevention of identity theft use in
the system; and
``(F) to limit the subjects of verification to the
following individuals:
``(i) Individuals hired, referred, or recruited, in
accordance with paragraph (1) or (4) of subsection (b).
``(ii) Employees and prospective employees, in accordance
with paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b).
``(iii) Individuals seeking to confirm their own employment
eligibility on a voluntary basis.
``(5) Responsibilities of commissioner of social
security.--As part of the verification system, the
Commissioner of Social Security, in consultation with the
Secretary of Homeland Security (and any designee of the
Secretary selected to establish and administer the
verification system), shall establish a reliable, secure
method, which, within the time periods specified under
paragraphs (2) and (3), compares the name and social security
account number provided in an inquiry against such
information maintained by the Commissioner in order to
validate (or not validate) the information provided regarding
an individual whose identity and employment eligibility must
be confirmed, the correspondence of the name and number, and
whether the individual has presented a social security
account number that is not valid for employment. The
Commissioner shall not disclose or release social security
information (other than such confirmation or nonconfirmation)
under the verification system except as provided for in this
section or section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security Act.
``(6) Responsibilities of secretary of homeland security.--
As part of the verification system, the Secretary of Homeland
Security (in consultation with any designee of the Secretary
selected to establish and administer the verification
system), shall establish a reliable, secure method, which,
within the time periods specified under paragraphs (2) and
(3), compares the name and alien identification or
authorization number (or any other information as determined
relevant by the Secretary) which are provided in an inquiry
against such information maintained or accessed by the
Secretary in order to validate (or not validate) the
information provided, the correspondence of the name and
number, whether the alien is authorized to be employed in the
United States, or to the extent that the Secretary determines
to be feasible and appropriate, whether the records available
to the Secretary verify the identity or status of a national
of the United States.
``(7) Updating information.--The Commissioner of Social
Security and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall update
their information in a manner that promotes the maximum
accuracy and shall provide a process for the prompt
correction of erroneous information, including instances in
which it is brought to their attention in the secondary
verification process described in paragraph (3).
``(8) Limitation on use of the verification system and any
related systems.--
``(A) No national identification card.--Nothing in this
section shall be construed to authorize, directly or
indirectly, the issuance or use of national identification
cards or the establishment of a national identification card.
``(B) Critical infrastructure.--The Secretary may authorize
or direct any person or entity responsible for granting
access to, protecting, securing, operating, administering, or
regulating part of the critical infrastructure (as defined in
section 1016(e) of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act
of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))) to use the verification system
to the extent the Secretary determines that such use will
assist in the protection of the critical infrastructure.
``(9) Remedies.--If an individual alleges that the
individual would not have been dismissed from a job or would
have been hired for a job but for an error of the
verification mechanism, the individual may seek compensation
only through the mechanism of the Federal Tort Claims Act,
and injunctive relief to correct such error. No class action
may be brought under this paragraph.''.
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