Basic Pilot Legislation
H.R. 2058
June 11, 2007
H.R. 2508, would require a company competing for a government contract to participate in the Basic Pilot Program and help ensure that all government contractors are in compliance with all federal laws.
Our tax dollars should not be used to pay laborers that are in this country illegally, especially when working on sensitive military installations that would require a U.S. citizen to undergo a background check just to get anywhere near the base.
Earlier this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported the arrest of dozens of illegal immigrants who were working or were about to work on projects at military bases in Nevada, Georgia, and Virginia. Our national security is at stake and I have introduced legislation to stop this from recurring.
Currently, all Federal government agencies are required to use the Basic Pilot Program, a verification system put in place by the Social Security Administration allowing employers to confirm the eligibility of new hires by checking the personal information they provide against Federal databases. However, government contractors are not required to comply with these same standards. If private companies would like to bid for government contracts, then they should abide by the rules required of government agencies. They should not unlawfully employ illegal immigrants at the cost of American security.
- Any federal government contractor or contractor bidding on a federal contract should be in compliance with all federal laws
- Numerous government contractors have been caught hiring illegal immigrants
- These cases include a contractor who was caught hiring illegal immigrants to help build the border fence meant to keep them out of this country and a contractor being caught using illegal aliens to help rebuild New Orleans after Katrina.
- There have even been cases where defense contractors have been caught with illegal immigrants working at a shipyard in Mississippi, an Air Force base in North Carolina, and a Marine base in Virginia
- If private companies would like to bid for government contracts, then they should abide by the rules put forth by the government; in this case meaning they should not unlawfully be employing illegal immigrants at the cost of the American taxpayer
- By simply using the Basic Pilot Program government contractors would be able to verify if their employees are in this country legally
- The Basic Pilot Program is a verification system put in place by the Social Security Administration that allows employers to confirm the eligibility of new hires by checking the personal information they provide against Federal databases
- The Basic Pilot Program helps remove the uncertainty that employers must go through during the document review process
- Federal government agencies are already required to use the Basic Pilot Program, government contractors should be held to the same standard
- This legislation would require any company competing for a government contract to participate in the Basic Pilot Program in order to be eligible for government contracts
- Several states have already enacted laws with similar requirements
- If we are going to stop illegal immigration, this legislation is a step in that direction
- Our tax dollars should not be used to pay laborers that are in this country illegally