Pete Sessions: “I believe there may be some opportunity to change what is in it. I hope so because one of the most disappointing aspects…”

“I believe there may be some opportunity to change what is in it. I hope so because one of the most disappointing aspects of the process we have been going through is that I was denied a vote on an amendment that would simply say that every business that gets contracts out of this job stimulus package will have to use the very simple-to-operate E-verify system that over one hundred thousand American corporations are using voluntarily. With that system, you simply punch in the Social Security number of a job applicant in order to verify work eligibility. Employers run the social security number through the system and they receive information as to whether this individual has a legitimate Social Security number. It accurately identifies quite a number of people illegally in the country who are passing themselves off as being legal. In fact, we have had testimony over the years that there are quite a number of individuals who have used the same social security number; possibly thousands who have used the same Social Security number. Until the E-Verify program, nobody checked. This system has successfully been set up.”