[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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