Immigration for a Competitive America Act of 2016
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Border and Maritime Security.
Immigration for a Competitive America Act of 2016
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to reduce the annual cap for family-sponsored immigrants and increase the annual cap for certain employment-sponsored immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall establish an employment eligibility verification system (EEVS), patterned after the E-Verify system. (The current paper-based I-9 system is eliminated.)
An employer shall verify that an individual is not an unauthorized alien by: (1) obtaining the individual's social security account number, and (2) examining an individual's identity and work authorization documents.
An individual shall attest that he or she is a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien authorized to work in the United States.
The bill establishes a phased-in EEVS participation deadline for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers.
The bill requires reverification of certain workers who have not been verified under E-verify.
An employer may voluntarily reverify employees.
Employment recruitment and referral are included within the scope of EEVS.
The bill provides for the establishment of programs to: (1) block the use of misused social security numbers, and (2) suspend or limit the use of social security numbers of victims of identity fraud.
DHS shall establish: (1) a program under which parents or legal guardians may suspend or limit the use of the social security account number or other identifying information of a minor for the purposes of the employment eligibility verification system, and (2) an Identity Authentication Employment Eligibility Verification pilot program to provide employers with identity authentication and employment verification of enrolled new employees.
The Internal Revenue Code is amended to: (1) deny an earned income tax credit and a child care credit to an alien receiving work authorization pursuant to a deferred removal action; and (2) require an individual to include his or her social security number on his or her tax return in order to receive a child tax credit.
The summary continues for 4 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 7, 2016. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 19, 2016: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Tom Rice (R-SC) introduced it on June 7, 2016, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 7, 2016, 3747 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3674 days ago, on August 19, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers