State E-Verify Bills Set Hearing on August 19

Please Ask Select State Reps. to Support Legislation

Dear Michigan friends,

I will be testifying at a hearing on Wednesday, August 19 on bills that would require Michigan and its local governments to use the E-Verify system to check whether new hires are eligible to work in the U.S. (HB 4355), and require employment agencies to similarly check the people they refer for employment (HB 4969). The hearing will be held by the House Judiciary Committee at 10:30 a.m. in Room 521 of the House Office Building in Lansing. If you live in the Lansing area, please attend if you can. At this point, it is not known if the bills will receive a vote that day.

Before the hearing, please call and email Judiciary Committee members (as many as possible) in support of the legislation. You may want to contact your Representative as well if he/she is not already on the committee. If you do not know your Representative’s name, use this link - http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp. Talking/drafting points are included below.

Judiciary Committee Members

Mark S. Meadows (D-69) Committee Chair, 517-373-1786 markmeadows@house.mi.gov

Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-27) Majority Vice-Chair, 517-373-0478 EllenLipton@house.mi.gov

Tonya Schuitmaker (R-80) Minority Vice-Chr. and bill co-sponsor, 517-373-0839 tonyaschuitmaker@house.mi.gov

Justin Amash (R- 72) 517-373-0840 JustinAmash@house.mi.gov

Lisa Brown (D-39) 517-373-1799 LisaBrown@house.mi.gov

Bob Constan (D-16) 517-373-0849 bobconstan@house.mi.gov

Marc R. Corriveau (D-20) 517-373-3816 marccorriveau@house.mi.gov

Andy Coulouris (D-95) 517-373-0152 andycoulouris@house.mi.gov

Joseph Haveman (R-90) 517-373-0830 JosephHaveman@house.mi.gov

Rick Jones (R-71) 517-373-0853 rickjones@house.mi.gov

Andrew J. Kandrevas (D-13) 517-373-0845 AndrewKandrevas@house.mi.gov

Eileen Kowall (R-44) 517-373-2616 EileenKowall@house.mi.gov

Tory Rocca (R-30) Bill co-sponsor 517-373-7768 toryrocca@house.mi.gov

Bettie Cook Scott (D-3) 517-373-1776 bettiecookscott@house.mi.gov

Rebekah Warren (D-53) 517-373-2577 rebekahwarren@house.mi.gov

Talking Points

· Please vote YES on HB 4355 and HB 4969 – Rep. Agema’s E-Verify bills – if they come up for a vote during the August 19 Judiciary Committee meeting. HB 4355 would require Michigan and its local governments to use the E-Verify system to check whether new hires are eligible to work in the U.S., while HB 4969 would require employment agencies to similarly check the people they refer for employment.

· These bills will ensure that citizens and legal residents will not have to compete with illegal aliens for public-funded jobs. Our state has the highest unemployment rate in the nation – 15.2%. These bills cannot wait until next year!



· You need to look inside your heart and determine whether you will take a stand on behalf of the unemployed Michigan. These are Americans who can no longer pay their mortgages or afford to put food on the table.



· There are no longer any valid excuses for allowing government funds to be used to hire illegal workers, not when there are so many citizens and legal residents struggling to find work. Michigan’s unemployed are counting on you -- please don't let them down!



· The Obama Administration will require federal contractors to use E-Verify starting next month. In Congress, the Senate recently passed legislation that would allow businesses using E-Verify to run eligibility checks on all employees, not just new hires. The federal government is stepping up to the plate to protect American workers. Now, it’s time for Michigan to do its part.

· One in four new hires in the U.S. are now being checked for workplace eligibility under E-Verify, and 96.9 percent of legal workers with no problems in their Social Security Administration (SSA) records are immediately authorized. The program has an extraordinarily high satisfaction rate and is free for employers.


THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE!