John Conyers: “I rise in support of the Jackson Lee/ Conyers amendment to H.R. 1817, which would direct the Government Accountability…”

“I rise in support of the Jackson Lee/ Conyers amendment to H.R. 1817, which would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study of two Administration proposals to increase fees paid by applicants and petitioners for immigration services. The administration's fiscal year 2006 budget submission proposed that Congress enact legislation to authorize the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) component of the Department of Homeland Security to increase the fee paid by applicants for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) above the statutory limit of $50. The administration also has proposed that Congress enact legislation to extend a provision that permits USCIS to charge an extra fee for providing faster services to some employment-based immigration applicants and petitioners. The administration wants Congress to extend this program so that the extra fee can also be charged to family-based applicants and petitioners, as well. The Jackson Lee/Conyers amendment would require that the Government Accountability Office conduct studies of each of these proposals so that Congress can have an opportunity to assess their consequences and impact before acting. TPS Fee--When Congress enacted the TPS statute in 1990, it had the option of permitting the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to set the fee at whatever level was necessary in order to pay for the cost of adjudicating an applicant's application.…”