Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) role in verifying employment eligibility.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 14, 2011, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire immigrants who were not authorized to work in the United States, requiring employers to examine documentation from each newly hired employee to prove his or her identity and eligibility to work. IRCA led to a process based on the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, requiring employees to attest to their work eligibility and employers to certify that the documents presented reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the individual.  The Social Security card is one of a number of documents the employee may use to demonstrate employment eligibility.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 required the then Immigration and Naturalization Service, which became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003, to conduct three pilot programs, including the Basic Pilot, to determine the best method of verifying an employee's employment eligibility.

Although initially a temporary program, the Basic Pilot’s authorization was extended and ultimately expanded to be available to employers nationwide.  In the 2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (Public Law 111-83), the Basic Pilot was renamed “E‑Verify” and the program was extended until September 30, 2012.

E-Verify is an internet-based system administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within DHS in partnership with the SSA.  The employer enters information into the E-Verify system from the Form I-9.  Verification requests are first transmitted to the SSA, which checks whether the worker’s information matches the SSA’s records; those involving non-citizens are then routed to DHS.  If a worker’s information does not match these government databases, a tentative “non-confirmation” notice is sent and the worker then must contact either SSA or DHS to present needed documentation in order to keep their job.   

While E-Verify is free, and participation is mostly voluntary, some companies may be required to use E-Verify by State law (including Arizona and Mississippi) or Federal regulation.  All Federal agencies are required to use E-Verify for their new hires and certain Federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use E-Verify for new hires and existing employees working directly under the contract. 

Since fiscal year 2005, the number of E-Verify requests each year has grown from 980,000 to about 16.5 million in fiscal year 2010.  Currently, about 254,000 employers (approximately 4 percent of all employers) are registered to use E-Verify at approximately 867,000 worksites. 

In a recent report to the Subcommittee (Federal Agencies Have Taken Steps to Improve E-Verify, but Challenges Remain, GAO-11-146), the Government Accountability Office found the E-Verify system had made progress in improving accuracy with immediate confirmations rising to 97.4 percent. However, the study also noted the system was still vulnerable to unauthorized workers and unscrupulous employers presenting stolen or borrowed documents for the purpose of identity fraud. 

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) stated, “A broken federal worksite enforcement policy keeps Americans out of a job, leaves workers vulnerable to identity theft, law-abiding employers with uncertainty and unscrupulous employers able to exploit the system.  We can and must do better.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on the progress made and challenges created by E-Verify, including the potential burdens on employees, employers and the SSA.  The Subcommittee will examine how the current shortcomings of the system could be improved to ease the verification process during this critical time of job creation.  Finally, the Subcommittee will also review other proposals to expand employment eligibility verification, including enhancing the Social Security card with tamper-proof, counterfeit-resistant or biometric features and increasing enforcement through the sharing of taxpayer wage information.    

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note: Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms. From the Committee homepage, https://waysandmeans.house.gov, select “Hearings.”  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.”  Once you have followed the online instructions, submit all requested information. ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by the close of business on Thursday, May 5, 2011.  Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings. For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721 or (202) 225-3625.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.  As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee.  The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines.  Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below.  Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments. Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone, and fax numbers of each witness.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities.  If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested).  Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.waysandmeans.house.gov/.