If we could cut that in half--and that burden would still be too high, in my opinion--that would mean for a business of 20 people, over $100,000 a year.

the question in my mind is not whether to regulate but how.

What I am going to talk about in terms of legislation, the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act, is fundamentally different and I think is an important complement to that and is a much more immediate relief valve.

Today's hearing will examine the employment verification systems available for employers' use, including E-Verify.

I think it is very important that the employer is offered a safe harbor, because at the end of the day, it is really the government's responsibility to get the system right to protect the employer, and to offer a safe harbor, and to…

Employers are on the front lines of ensuring a legal workforce, and it is a battle for these employers.

Due to our broken immigration enforcement system, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates there are over 8 million illegal workers in this country.

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.

It sounds like you don't like the program. We have got to do something to stop the illegal workers.

We have to create due process so people have a way to challenge these errors, and that they get back pay if they lose their jobs.

With unemployment around 9 percent, these illegal workers often compete with lawful citizens for much-needed jobs.

It seems to be that unless we tackle identity fraud and false breeder document problems, at the end of the day, I don't know that we are being very effective in keeping unauthorized workers out of the workforce.

Well, every expert we have talked to acknowledged the fact that E-Verify can't detect identity fraud very well and may, in fact, encourage it.

Since our last hearing on this subject nearly 3 years ago, the use of E-Verify has expanded.

I guess my concern is that whenever the EPA is giving oversight, ultimately it means that they really control the process.

As a Republican, of course, I would like to give more responsibility to the States than to the Federal Government.

I am very pleased to join Senator Landrieu in introducing and strongly supporting Nannette Jolivette Brown for this position.

In Louisiana, we have the opposite challenges of some of the West Coast States. We have too much water, not too little water, and we are struggling to manage that.