[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13626-13629]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  REAUTHORIZING CERTAIN VISA PROGRAMS

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the

[[Page 13627]]

bill (S. 3245) to extend by 3 years the authorization of the EB-5 
Regional Center Program, the E-Verify Program, the Special Immigrant 
Nonminister Religious Worker Program, and the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa 
Waiver Program.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3245

         Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
     of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REAUTHORIZATION OF EB-5 REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM.

         Section 610 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and 
     State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations 
     Act, 1993 (8 U.S.C. 1153 note) is amended--
         (1) by striking ``pilot'' each place such term appears; 
     and
         (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``September 30, 2012'' 
     and inserting ``September 30, 2015''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF E-VERIFY.

         Section 401(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
     Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is 
     amended by striking ``September 30, 2012'' and inserting 
     ``September 30, 2015''.

     SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF SPECIAL IMMIGRANT NONMINISTER 
                   RELIGIOUS WORKER PROGRAM.

         Section 101(a)(27)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(C)(ii)) is amended--
         (1) in subclause (II), by striking ``September 30, 2012'' 
     and inserting ``September 30, 2015''; and
         (2) in subclause (III), by striking ``September 30, 
     2012'' and inserting ``September 30, 2015''.

     SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF CONRAD STATE 30 J-1 VISA WAIVER 
                   PROGRAM.

         Section 220(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Technical Corrections Act of 1994 (8 U.S.C. 1182 note) is 
     amended by striking ``September 30, 2012'' and inserting 
     ``September 30, 2015''.

     SEC. 5. NO AUTHORITY FOR NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.

         Nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize the 
     planning, testing, piloting, or development of a national 
     identification card.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 3245, currently 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I'd like to thank the Senate Judiciary 
Committee chairman and ranking member for introducing this legislation 
and for working with me to help ensure that four key immigration-
related programs do not expire at the end of this month.
  This Congress must ensure there is a national business climate that 
fosters the ability of private enterprise to create jobs for Americans 
and legal workers.
  S. 3245, which extends for 3 years the E-Verify, EB-5 Regional Center 
Pilot, the Conrad 30 J-1 Visa Waiver, and the Special Immigrant 
Nonminister Religious Worker programs, helps achieve this goal in 
several ways.
  First, the E-Verify program allows employers to electronically verify 
that newly hired employees are authorized to work in the United States. 
The program is free, quick, and easy to use. Nearly 400,000 American 
employers use E-Verify, and over 1,000 new businesses sign up for it 
every week.
  The American public overwhelmingly supports E-Verify. Last year, a 
Rasmussen poll found that 82 percent of likely voters ``think 
businesses should be required to use the Federal Government's E-Verify 
system to determine if a potential employee is in the country 
legally.''
  E-Verify has also received bipartisan congressional support in the 
past. In 2008, the House passed a 5-year extension of E-Verify by a 
vote of 407-2. And in 2009, the Senate passed a permanent E-Verify 
extension by voice vote.
  Ensuring that businesses have access to E-Verify will help preserve 
jobs for the 23 million Americans who are currently unemployed or 
looking for full-time work.
  The investor visa program also helps create jobs for Americans. Under 
this program, 10,000 immigrants can receive permanent residence each 
year if they engage in a new commercial enterprise, invest between 
$500,000 and $1 million in the business, and see that it creates 10 
full-time jobs for American workers.
  The Regional Center Pilot Project, which is almost two decades old, 
has reinvigorated the investor visa program. Investment through a 
regional center is especially attractive to potential investors because 
they are relieved of the responsibility of running a new business. They 
can also count indirect job creation towards the job creation 
requirement. Most investor visa petitions now involve regional centers.
  It appears that investors may feel more confident about a regional 
center that is operated through a State or city government. In these 
hard economic times, many State and local governments have turned to 
regional centers as a method of generating economic growth.
  The Association to Invest in the United States of America has 
estimated the regional center program has created or saved over 65,000 
jobs in the U.S. and has led to the investment of over $3 billion in 
the U.S. economy.
  S. 3245 also extends for 3 years a program that has successfully 
brought needed doctors to medically underserved areas in the U.S. This 
program was designed by Senator Kent Conrad. It allows foreign doctors 
who have been in the U.S. on exchange programs to stay at the 
conclusion of their residencies if they agree to practice medicine for 
at least 3 years in health professional shortage areas. This is a 
valuable provision, and I support its reauthorization.

                              {time}  1550

  Finally, S. 3245 extends the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious 
Worker Program. Under this program, 5,000 immigrant visas can be issued 
to nonminister individuals who have been members of the denomination 
and who have worked in the capacity for which they are applying for at 
least the 2 years immediately following the visa applications. 
Historically, the program has been plagued by fraud, but the Bush 
administration took steps to help prevent much of the fraud, and now 
many churches and religious organizations in the United States rely on 
these immigrant nonministers. I look forward to making statutory 
changes aimed at even more fraud prevention, and I support the 
program's extension.
  Again, I want to thank Senator Leahy and Senator Grassley for their 
leadership on this bill. All four of these programs are important, and 
I urge my colleagues to support S. 3245.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I do rise in strong support of this bill. Specifically, this bill 
extends until September 30, 2015, these four longstanding immigration 
programs that are set to expire otherwise at the end of this month. 
They are valuable programs, and they serve different purposes.
  The one, the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program, 
allows religious workers to enter the United States to do important 
work. There are 5,000 religious workers eligible for these visas each 
year when they are called to a vocation or are in a traditional 
religious occupation with a bona fide nonprofit religious organization. 
They are missionaries, counselors, instructors, and pastoral care 
providers. They really help our country.
  The second program, the Conrad ``J Waiver,'' helps medically 
underserved communities attract highly skilled physicians. This program 
literally provides a lifeline for communities that desperately need 
doctors who received their medical training in the United States. It is 
absolutely necessary that this program continues to exist so that 
States can attract medical talent and can keep the doors of small town 
clinics open.

[[Page 13628]]

  The third program, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, 
allocates 3,000--out of the EB-5 category's 10,000--visas each year for 
EB-5 investors who invest in these designated regional centers. This 
pilot program is important to our Nation's economy as it represents, 
actually, billions of dollars in aggregate immigrant investment, and it 
creates more than 20,000 new direct and indirect jobs each year.
  The final program that would be extended under the bill is E-Verify, 
the basic pilot program first authorized in 1996. Now, Chairman Smith 
and I disagree on how effective this bill is. I don't believe it's 
ready for mandatory nationwide use because of errors in the system and, 
more broadly, because of major dysfunctions in our immigration system, 
but that doesn't mean I disagree that this program should be extended. 
I do. This program is voluntary, and by extending the E-Verify program 
as it currently exists, it will provide Congress additional time to 
work toward improving the program and fixing our Nation's immigration 
laws so that they work for American families, businesses, and the 
economy as a whole.
  I should note that this bill received unanimous support in the 
Senate. Likewise, I hope that all of my colleagues in this Chamber will 
support this bipartisan legislation so that it can be quickly sent to 
the President's desk for his signature.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, we do have two Members 
who would like to address this briefly. I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen).
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 
3245, which would, in part, reauthorize the EB-5 visa program for 3 
years. This EB-5 program will create good American jobs.
  Last year, I worked with Senator Leahy to write H.R. 2972, the 
Creating American Jobs Through Foreign Capital Act. That legislation 
would have reauthorized EB-5 permanently. While the bill before us 
today extends the program for only 3 years, it is still an important 
job creator that we must pass. The program allows qualified foreign 
investors who invest in the U.S. and who create or save at least 10 
full-time American jobs to seek U.S. visas. This program brings 
overseas capital to the U.S. to create jobs for people in my district 
and across America.
  There are two projects in Everett, Washington, currently being 
financed through the EB-5 program. One is a college building. If this 
bill is not passed, our area will lose this building and the 
opportunities associated with it. The second investment is one for a 
building that houses a regional farmers' market, which is a project 
that has been in the works and is almost done. This project will help 
local farmers regionally and create jobs. If this bill is not passed, 
again, this project, which is set to be finished soon, will not be 
completed, and all finance and investments will be lost. In another 
part of my district, in Whatcom County, the local EB-5 center has 
leveraged more than $34 million from immigrant investors to create more 
than 800 good local jobs.
  The EB-5 program is a real threefer: It's a win for American workers, 
who benefit from thousands of new jobs; it's a win for the taxpayer 
because it doesn't add one penny to the national deficit; third, it 
helps the U.S. compete on a global scale. The U.S. EB-5 visa program is 
one of more than 20 similar programs run by other important, growing 
economies like Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore.
  Our economy cannot afford to do without these investments or these 
jobs. If we don't keep this road open for foreign investment into the 
U.S., that investment will choose another country's road. Congress must 
extend the EB-5 program so that we can continue to create new jobs at a 
time when we need them most.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to 
the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).
  Mr. WELCH. I thank the gentlewoman from California, and I thank the 
gentleman from Texas.
  This is terrific. The EB-5 program works. We're doing it together. 
We're working with the Senate, and we're getting something done. Let me 
tell you that the place we're getting something done includes the 
Sugarbush Valley and the Mad River Valley in Vermont, in the Northeast 
Kingdom, where we've had, among other jobs created, two ski areas that 
have been able to take advantage of the EB-5 program--to get investor 
money and to build the infrastructure that is so essential to the 
tourist economy that we have in Vermont. So this is a program that 
works, and it is delightful to me to be able to participate in 
reinstating this program so that it can continue to help create jobs 
and promote economic development in my State of Vermont.
  I thank the gentleman from Texas and the gentlewoman from California 
for their leadership on this and for the bipartisan team of Senator 
Leahy and Senator Grassley in the United States Senate.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. I have no additional speakers, and I 
would be happy to yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to thank the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) for her continued interest 
and leadership in the subject of immigration, and I especially 
appreciate her support of this bill today.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

         Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of 
           Representatives,
                               Washington, DC, September 10, 2012.
     Hon. Lamar Smith,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to confirm our mutual 
     understanding with respect to the consideration of S. 3245, a 
     bill that reauthorizes certain immigration provisions. Thank 
     you for consulting with the Committee on Education and the 
     Workforce with regard to S. 3245 on those matters within the 
     committee's jurisdiction.
       In the interest of expediting the House's consideration of 
     S. 3245, the Committee on Education and the Workforce will 
     forgo further consideration on this bill. However, I do so 
     only with the understanding that this procedural route will 
     not be construed to prejudice the committee's jurisdictional 
     interest and prerogatives on this bill or any other similar 
     legislation and will not be considered as precedent for 
     consideration of matters of jurisdictional interest to my 
     committee in the future.
       I respectfully request your support for the appointment of 
     outside conferees from the Committee on Education and the 
     Workforce should this bill or a similar bill be considered in 
     a conference with the Senate. I also request that you include 
     our exchange of letters on this matter in the Committee 
     Report on S. 3245 and in the Congressional Record during 
     consideration of this bill on the House floor. Thank you for 
     your attention to these matters.
           Sincerely,
                                                       John Kline,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                               Washington, DC, September 11, 2012.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Chairman, Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Kline, Thank you for your letter dated 
     September 10, 2012 regarding S. 3245, a bill that 
     reauthorizes certain immigration provisions. I am most 
     appreciative of your decision to forego consideration of the 
     bill so that it may move expeditiously to the House floor.
       I acknowledge that although you are waiving formal 
     consideration of the bill, the Committee on Education and the 
     Workforce is in no way waiving its jurisdiction over the 
     subject matter contained in the bill. In addition, if a 
     conference is necessary on this legislation, I will support 
     any request that your committee be represented therein.
       Finally, I shall be pleased to include your letter and this 
     reply letter memorializing our mutual understanding in the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of S. 3245.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Lamar Smith,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Chairman Lamar 
Smith and S. 3245 which reauthorizes the E-Verify program for an 
additional three years.
  First, I would like to thank Chairman Smith for his leadership and 
support of the E-Verify program. The Chairman has steadfastly supported 
E-Verify, helped expand the program and provided for several 
reauthorizations. I commend his leadership and value his hard work on 
E-Verify and immigration issues.

[[Page 13629]]

  S. 3245 provides for a simple three year reauthorization of the 
popular E-Verify program. In 1996, when I first wrote the legislation 
that created the E-Verify pilot program, I had humble expectations. 
Now, 16 years after its inception it has 399,538 employers 
participating at 1.2 million employer sites. So far in FY 2012, there 
have been more than 19.6 million queries run through the system. 
Congress and the entire Federal Government is required to use the 
system and several states have made use of the program mandatory for 
their employers.
  E-Verify continues to defy expectations: it is 99.5 percent accurate, 
free to employers and easy to use. It continues to develop new ways to 
combat illegal employment such as Photo Tool, Self Lock, and Fraud 
Alert.
  The next step, which Chairman Smith, Subcommittee Chairman Gallegly 
and I have been working on, is to make E-Verify mandatory for all 
employers in the U.S. With unemployment stuck above 8 percent for the 
43rd consecutive month, it is time we ensure that American jobs are 
going to American workers and those legally authorized to work in the 
U.S. I am hopeful that the House will consider H.R. 2885 before the end 
of the year; the only way to truly gain control of our borders is to 
end the jobs magnet that brings people here illegally.
  In the meantime, it is necessary that we reauthorize E-Verify for an 
additional three years and again, I commend Chairman Smith and look 
forward to working with him on our efforts to make E-Verify mandatory.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3245, 
extending authorization of the EB-5 Regional Center program another 
three years to September 2015. The EB-5 program provides conditional 
permanent resident status to foreign investors in economic units known 
as Regional Centers. In doing so, the program promotes economic growth, 
improves regional productivity, and creates jobs in the geographic area 
where a Center is located. This is exactly the kind of incentive needed 
in my district, the Northern Mariana Islands, which has seen gross 
domestic product decline from $1.2 billion in 2002 to $600 million in 
2009. Already several proposals have come forward for the Northern 
Mariana Islands, predicated on the establishment EB-5 Regional Centers, 
that will inject foreign investment capital and create jobs. These 
Regional Centers do not just represent jobs and salary for their direct 
employees--they represent investments in our community. For every new 
job created, and for every additional dollar of salary paid, our 
workforce and pay scale are benefitted across the board. The extension 
of this program provided in S. 3245 will ensure that these 
opportunities can continue to benefit our economy. I commend Senator 
Leahy and Senator Grassley for introducing this bipartisan legislation 
and the bipartisan House leadership for bringing this bill to the floor 
for approval.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3245, 
which reauthorizes the E-Verify Program for three years. E-Verify is an 
important tool for employers who want to help ensure they are employing 
legal workers. I believe that there are a few changes that would make 
E-Verify even more effective and user friendly than it already is, that 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can make without 
being required to do so statutorily.
  Prevention of identity theft in E-Verify is important and USCIS has 
been taking steps aimed at doing so. For instance, they have created an 
E-Verify photo match tool for certain individuals so that an employer 
can match a DHS database photo to the employee standing in front of 
them. I applaud the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for taking 
this step and others, and also urge USCIS to fully explore other 
available identity authentication approaches through pilot programs.
  I also support DHS providing employers with a seamless integration of 
an official, electronic I-9 into E-Verify. The goal of an all-
electronic system, instead of a paper-based I-9, was included in E-
Verify legislation authored by Chairman Smith. Combining E-Verify and 
the I-9 together will be a strong inducement for employers to join E-
Verify.
  I have discussed these changes by DHS with the Chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith, who has expressed his support.
  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.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
strong support of S. 3245, which reauthorizes the EB-5 Regional Center 
Program. S. 3245 is the type of commonsense legislation we need to put 
Americans back to work and rebuild our Nation's fragile economy. The 
EB-5 program, which creates jobs at no cost to taxpayers, has already 
created more than 25,000 jobs, and is projected to create more than 
100,000 jobs per year once the program is fully implemented. With 
unemployment rates just above eight percent, we cannot afford to pass 
on this opportunity to innovate and invest in America.
  It takes a coordinated effort by both government and the private 
sector to create jobs and rein in high unemployment rates. I am proud 
to report that the City of Dallas serves as a shining example that the 
E-B program works. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Dallas Mayor 
Mike Rawlings and the Civitas Capital Group, the City of Dallas 
Regional Center has attracted more than $120 million in capital from 
foreign investors, which has funded projects such as affordable 
assisted-living facilities and building renovation initiatives.
  The Democratic Members of Congress have consistently demonstrated 
their commitment to creating job opportunities here at home. I am 
encouraged to see that my Republican colleagues have put partisan 
politics aside and have joined Democrats in our efforts to put 
Americans back to work. Reauthorization of the EB-5 program is just one 
step we can take to bolster our economy, and I hope to see increased 
bipartisan efforts to keep job-creating investments in the United 
States.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Chaffetz). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, S. 3245.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________