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Appropriations Bills Extend E-Verify, CFATS |
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by Mickey McCarter
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Tuesday, 14 July 2009 |
Conference committee to iron out minor differences in House, Senate bills
The Senate approved its Homeland Security spending bill (S. 1298) for fiscal 2010 late in the day on July 9, 84-6, voting to extend several initiatives at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that would otherwise soon expire.
The fiscal 2010 DHS appropriations bill approved by Senators would fund the department with $42.9 billion in discretionary funds. A conference committee is scheduled to meet sometime in the next month to smooth out the minor differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill, which provide DHS with roughly the same amount of money.
The Senate bill includes an amendment to permanently authorize the E-Verify employment verification program. The House bill would extend the program for two years. It is set to expire on Sept. 30 without any extensions.
Under federal law, US employers can opt to use the program voluntarily to confirm that their workers are eligible to work legally in the United States. Several states have passed laws requiring all businesses in their state to use the system.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced July 8 that federal contractors must begin using the application to verify the eligibility of their new hires starting Sept. 8.
An amendment to the Senate appropriations bill added by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) would provide US employers with the opportunity to verify the eligibility of all of their employees, not only new ones. The measure is again voluntary for employers that do not hold federal contracts.
Napolitano also announced July 8 that DHS would propose a rule to rescind its "No Match Rule" of 2007. The rule, which never went into effect, was blocked by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Under the rule, employers would have to investigate employees whose social security numbers did not match that listed with the Social Security Administration. No-match letters would have informed employers of these cases, which DHS acknowledged could arise from typographical errors or name changes, and employers would have had to fire workers whose conflicts remained unresolved within 90 days of receiving a no-match letter.
Senator David Vitter (R-La.), however, added an amendment to the homeland security spending bill to block the department's action to stand down the "no-match rule."
Both Senate and House bills also would extend the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program for one year. The Obama administration requested the extension for CFATS, set to expire Sept. 30, so that DHS could complete implementation of the program, which is in its final phases.
The House Homeland Security Committee passed the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 (HR 2868) July 23 to make extensive changes in CFATS. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which also has jurisdiction over the bill, has not yet scheduled its markup of it, marginalizing chances of the House alone completing a bill before the end of the fiscal year.
The Senate bill also would fund the construction of a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kan., with about $36 million. But Sen. Jon Tester (R-Mont.) potentially slowed the process by adding a requirement to the bill for DHS to study how the new facility would safely handle foot-and-mouth disease and other pathogens before construction begins.
The House bill would mandate a similar study but it did not provide any construction funds for the lab.
Finally, several senators added a bit more money for firefighter grants to the Senate bill. Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), and Tom Carper (D-Del.) introduced an amendment to add $10 million more in funding for grants to local fire departments for equipment and training, boosting the Assistance to Firefighters (FIRE) grant program to $390 million in fiscal 2010.
The fiscal 2010 DHS spending bills also include $420 million for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, which provides money to fire departments for hiring firefighting personnel.
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Mickey McCarter |
| About the author: |
| eNewsletter Editor/Senior Washington Correspondent,
is a journalist with more than a decade of experience in reporting
on
military affairs and information technology.
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