Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) is putting the final touches on this year's SAVE Act, which he plans to introduce in Congress within the next few weeks. Shuler first sponsored the legislation during the last Congressional session, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept it off the floor, and the attempt at a discharge petition fell 28 signatures short.
The House Appropriations Committee approved a stimulus bill on Thursday with two key amendments. Rep. Ken Calvert successfully added an amendment that would extend E-Verify for four years. Rep. Jack Kingston successfully added another amendment that would require any contractors awarded work through stimulus money verify the employment eligibility of their workers through E-Verify.
NumbersUSA has been keeping a close eye on several races that could impact immigration reform in the United States. Here are some of the major race results.
The SAVE Act is the middle-ground answer to the illegal immigration issue. This not only will be the most effective solution, but it is what polls show most Americans want. When given the choice among (a) mass roundups and mass deportations, (b) mass legalizations, and (c) Attrition Through Enforcement & Self Deportation, the public chooses the middle-ground Attrition option.
The bi-partisan SAVE Act was introduced by Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) in the House and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) in the Senate. It is one of our "5 Great Immigration Reduction Bills".
The Heritage Foundation issued two studies in 2007 pointing out that the big problem with mass legalization is that (a) most illegal aliens are low-skilled and therefore do not earn enough money to pay enough taxes to cover the government benefits they receive; and (b), amnesty would eventually make them eligible for the full array of welfare and medical benefits offered by local, state and federal governments. They found the cost of allowing illegal aliens to remain in the United States, and eventually to become citizens, would be $3.7 trillion through the year 2056. That works out to a present cost of $1 trillion, at a 5 percent discount rate. In other words, immediately upon passage of an amnesty bill, the United States government would need to put $1 trillion into an investment earning 5 percent per year if it were honest about paying for the costs of amnesty.