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Sen. John Boozman: E-verify is commonsense technology that allows us to hold employers accountable

John Boozman is a Republican Senator from Arkansas.

Unemployed Arkansans are struggling to find jobs to support their families and put food on the table. The unemployment level nationwide continues to increase and because of uncertainties in regulations from federal agencies, our job creators are their halting hiring practices. In this economic environment I believe we must take steps to provide hardworking Americans with job opportunities and American workers must be given an advantage over illegal immigrants in the workplace.

I believe one of the best ways to ensure this is done is by making it mandatory for employers to verify the work eligibility of new hires. This can be accomplished through E-verify, a web-based tool that allows employers to confirm eligibility of a job candidate by their name and Social Security number.

E-verify has a proven track record of combating the hiring of illegal immigrants and is currently used by nearly 270,000 employers nationwide. I recently cosponsored legislation to make E-verify permanent and mandatory for all employers. This is commonsense technology that allows us to hold employers accountable and helps them abide by the law.

The legislation gives businesses one year to comply with the electronic verification program and also increases the penalties for employers who do not use the system or knowingly hire undocumented workers. 

We have an immigration crisis on our hands, and I believe the E-verify system is a way to start working toward a solution to the problem that transcends into other issues our government faces today including our struggling economy and our education system.  Our nation admits one million immigrants each year, but those who arrive illegally to our nation have broken the law and must be held accountable. So to, should the employers who knowingly hire them. When federal laws go unenforced, it leaves cash-strapped local and state governments to fend for themselves and find resources they do not have to absorb millions of undocumented workers.

While the current administration is encouraging amnesty to illegal immigrants, I believe those who come into our nation illegally should not be rewarded for their actions. I will continue to vote against President Obama’s amnesty proposals, as I did as a member of the House of Representatives.

I believe firmer E-verify rules can make an impact on the illegal immigrants who cross our borders undetected, and prevent millions of illegal immigrants from infringing upon every legal citizen’s right to pursue the American dream.

With millions unemployed in the United States, I believe it is vital that we give employers the right tools to ensure they aren’t hiring illegal workers so they may contribute to improving the job market.

Rep. Randy Forbes: The decline of small business optimism

Congressman Randy Forbes represents Virginia's 4th Congressional District.

Ants. They are the unwelcome summer guests. The plight of the summer picnic. One tiny mistake - one lemonade left unfinished, one cookie crumb fallen on a checked blanket - is the surest way to put a damper on any summer afternoon. They appear slowly, one carefully making its way across the blanket to the fated leftovers, another following close behind. With careful calculation, the others follow suit working their way across the blanket and onto the once pristine spread. Left unchecked, they slowly take over, as if one is an invitation for another - until there are so many ants that the picnic is effectively ruined.

Small businesses are facing a similar plight. Only the unwelcome guest at the proverbial picnic is the federal government and small businesses are left feeling the effects.

The National Federation of Independent Business, an organization that regularly surveys small businesses across America, reported a decline in small business optimism for the third straight month. Nearly two-thirds of small business owners responding to the survey said it was a bad time to expand their business operations.

Small businesses employ half of our nation's private work sector, creating almost two-thirds of all net new jobs over the last 15 years. The idea that "as small business goes, so goes the economy" is no surprise. Small businesses are the anchors of Main Street USA. They are the backbone of our economy. When small businesses are not optimistic, they are hesitant to invest, grow, and create jobs. And when they do not invest, grow, and create jobs, it impedes our nation's economic growth

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Rep. David Schweikert: 14 trillion reasons to embrace the ‘cut, cap, balance’ proposal

Congressman David Schweikert is an Arizona Republican.

While the debt-ceiling battle continues to rage in Washington, closed-door meetings and last-minute deadlines have become thehallmark of the debate. Congress is staring down an Aug. 2 deadline that would mark the first time the U.S. would not make good on its promise to pay the bills.

Since 1940, Congress has increased the debt ceiling 95 times. The last 10 times the U.S. borrowing limit has been raised, the average increase was $799 billion. It is clear this is an unsustainable pattern.

However, instead of continuing to increase our borrowing level, which we fail to pay back, we have the opportunity to pass systemic changes once and for all to make this the last debt-ceiling debate America will ever have.

By the end of this year, our national debt will overtake the size of the entire U.S. economy for the first time in history, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

In less than two years, President Obama has added more than $3.7 trillion to our national debt. It previously took the U.S. from the birth of our nation until 1992 to accumulate this much debt. In fact, under Mr. Obama’s proposed 2012 budget, our debt would increase to a record $25.7 trillion by 2021. Not only did Mr. Obama’s proposed budget fail to address entitlement reform, it was so fiscally irresponsible that it received zero votes in the Senate. This is not a serious approach, nor is it leadership.

Keep reading at the Washington Times...