Rep. Patrick Murphy Offers Support for Pennsylvania E-Verify Measure
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) has teamed up with State Rep. John Galloway to urge the state senate into passing a mandatory E-Verify law. Two house bills would require all construction contractors to verity new hires through the E-Verify employment verification system. Rep. Galloway says there are approximately 35,000 illegal aliens working in the construction industry in Pennsylvania.
During on press conference on Saturday, Rep. Murphy specifically called for Governor Ed Rendell to support the legislation.
"We need to use every tool we have, including E-Verify," he said.
In addition to verifying new hires through E-Verify, the laws would also require existing construction workers to be verified through the Social Security Number Verification Service. Contractors who violate the law would be ineligible for state contracts and could have their business license revoked. The laws would also provide protection for whistle blowers.
"These bills target contractors who cheat, who use and abuse a cheap illegal work force for profit and push hard-working Pennsylvania workers off the payrolls and on to the unemployment rolls," state Rep. Galloway said.
The two bills passed through the House earlier this month and are awaiting consideration in the state Senate.
For more information, see the Bucks County Courier News.