Rep. Heath Shuler Cosponsors Chairman Smith's E-Verify Bill
Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) has cosponsored Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R.2885) becoming the second Democrat to add his name to the bill. For the last three Congresses, Rep. Shuler has authored the SAVE Act that, like the Legal Workforce Act, would require all businesses to use E-Verify.
Rep. Shuler is serving his third term in Congress and represents North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. He has earned a career A-grade, making him the highest rated Democrat in Congress. This Congress, Rep. Shuler has also cosponsored Rep. Bob Goodlatte's bill that would end the Visa Lottery and Rep. DeFazio's bill that would also mandate E-Verify nationwide.
Chairman Smith's bill would:
- Require federal and state contractors, critical infrastructure employers, and business that employ more than 10,000 workers to use E-Verify within 6 months.
- Require federal, state, and local agencies to E-Verify their current workforce within 6 months.
- Allow states to use its authority over business licensing to penalize business that don't use E-Verify.
- Require the Social Security Administration to notify employers when an employee's information does not match the information in their database and notify employees when their Social Security number is being used with multiple employers.
- Require ICE to respond to state reports of employers possibly hiring illegal workers within 5 business days.
Rep. Shuler's cosponsorship brings the total number of sponsors of Chairman Smith's bill to 70.