Senate Clears DHS Appropriations Conference Report
The Senate today cleared for the President’s signature the conference report accompanying the FY 2010 Homeland Security spending bill (H.R. 2892). The measure, which passed the Senate by a 79-19 margin, includes a three-year reauthorization of the E-Verify workplace eligibility verification system. Prior to passage, Senators lamented the conference committee’s removal of a permanent E-Verify reauthorization and other immigration enforcement-related provisions.
The conference report reflects a reconciliation of the differences between the bills passed by the Senate and House. The Senate-passed bill included a permanent reauthorization of E-Verify and provisions that would allow E-Verify users to check the workplace eligibility of current employees. It also provided for a reinstatement of the no-match program, which sends letters to companies that submit information to the IRS with a discrepancy between the employee's name and social security number, and for the completion of 700 miles of fencing along the Southern border. All of these Senate-passed provisions were stripped in conference committee, even though several had passed unanimously.