Congress

House Committee Votes to Close Tax Credit Loophole!

Members of the House Ways & Means Committee voted 22-12 to stop the IRS from giving refundable tax credits to illegal aliens.

Last year, the Inspector General for the U.S. Treasury Department released a report revealing that illegal aliens annually receive $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits, primarily through the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).

The Ways and Means Committee voted to close this tax credit loophole by requiring that individuals who claim the ACTC provide a valid Social Security Number (SSN), based on language introduced by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX). Currently, the IRS only requires applicants for the ACTC to provide an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indiscriminately hands out to illegal aliens.

The legislation was part of a budget reconciliation proposal that now goes to the House Budget Committee for inclusion in a larger package aimed at saving taxpayer dollars.

FAIR thanks the following Ways and Means Committee Members who voted to close the loophole:

If you have the time and you could call and thank them, as well.

Chairman David Camp (R-MI) Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA)

Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA) Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE)

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL)

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS)

Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN)

Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX)

Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND)

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) Rep. Diane Black (R-TN)

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY)

Members who voted against closing the loophole include:

Rep. Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) Rep. Mike Thompson, (D-CA)

Rep. Fortney Pete Stark, (D-CA) Rep. John B. Larson, (D-CT)

Rep. Jim McDermott, (D-WA) Rep. Ron Kind, (D-WI)

Rep. John Lewis, (D-GA) Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., (D-NJ)

Rep. Richard E. Neal, (D-MA) Rep. Shelley Berkley, (D-NV)

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, (D-TX) Rep. Joseph Crowley, (D-NY) Read more about House Committee Votes to Close Tax Credit Loophole!

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Congress

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Attend Senator Merkley's Townhall meetings

Alert date:

2012-04-20

Alert body:

Senator Merkley will hold town hall meetings next week. He will update constituents on his work in Washington, DC, answer their questions and invite their suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America. Senator Merkley is currently rated a D- by NumbersUSA on issues of illegal immigration.

This is your opportunity to tell the Senator to support mandatory E-Verify. He is woefully uninformed about E-Verify and uses the same tired line from years ago about the problems of E-Verify (which have since been fixed). This would be a great opportunity to let the Senator know that Oregon taxpayers spend over $700 million dollars a year supporting illegal aliens and we want him to work much harder to solve this problem.

If you are able to attend, please share your experience with OFIR.

Crook County Town Hall
Sunday, April 29, 2012
1:30 pm
COCC Crook County Open Campus Building
510 SE Lynn Blvd
Prineville, Oregon 97754

Deschutes County Town Hall
Sunday, April 29, 2012
4:30 pm
Bend Senior Center
1600 SE Reed Market Road
Bend, Oregon 97702

Jefferson County Town Hall
Monday, April 30, 2012
2:00 pm
Jefferson County Senior Center
860 SW Madison
Madras, OR 97741

Wasco County Town Hall
Monday, April 30, 2012
6:00 pm
The Dalles Veterans Home
700 Veterans Drive
The Dalles, OR 97058

Columbia County Town Hall
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
4:00 pm
Clatskanie Middle/High School
Norm Makela Commons
471 NW Bel Air Drive
Clatskanie, OR 97016

STOP...you must be joking? Rubio immigration push a potential lift for GOP

Alert date:

2012-04-18

Alert body:

Senator Rubio calls his evolving legislation a conservative alternative to the DREAM Act — the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors measure. That Democratic-backed bill, which is overwhelmingly popular with Hispanics, would provide a pathway to citizenship to children in the United States illegally if they attend college or join the military. The measure came close to passage in December 2010 but has languished since then.

"We have to come up with an immigration system that honors both our legacy as a nation of laws and also our legacy as a nation of immigrants," Rubio told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Please call Senator Rubio and let him know what you think of his misguided leadership! Let Romney know what is in store for him if he thinks he will support the Dream Act! Tell Speaker John Boehner, it is time for real leadership on this issue, NO DREAM ACT!

Senator Rubio 202 224-3041

Mitt Romney Campaign 857 288-3500

House Speaker John Boehner 202 225-0600 If you get a response when you call, please let OFIR know!

New Report Combats Claim that Ending Birthright Citizenship would Cost Taxpayers Billions of Dollars

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies repudiates claims made by a high-immigration group that ending Birthright Citizenship would cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars per year. Earlier this year, the National Foundation for American Policy released a new report alleging that ending Birthright Citizenship would create a new "baby tax" for all U.S. citizens, create a second-class society, decrease income tax revenues for the federal government, and cause children born to illegal aliens to become stateless.

Jon Feere, a legal policy analyst for the Center for Immigration Studies, challenges every point set forth by the National Foundation for American Policy's report and says, "supporters of the status quo understand that history is not on their side and have resorted to scare tactics to discourage discussion about the subject."

The following is a summary of the claims made by the National Foundation for American Policy followed by comments from Feere. To read the full report, visit the Center for Immigration Studies' website.

CLAIM: Not granting automatic citizenship to anyone and everyone born on U.S. soil "will cost new parents in the United States approximately $600 in government fees to prove the citizenship status of each baby and likely an additional $600 to $1,000 in legal fees."

Feere says that this estimate is based on the average cost to a U.S. citizen who gives birth overseas and must show their own proof of citizenship to get citizenship for their newborn. But just because this cost is incurred by U.S. parents who give birth overseas doesn't automatically translate to every parent who gives birth in the United States.

Feere argues that when parents complete a request for a birth certificate in U.S. hospitals, they are not required to provide their own Social Security number on the form. If it were made mandatory that parents need to include their Social Security number, then a quick check by the hospital with the Social Security Administration to ensure the number matches the name of the parent and that the parent is either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident would ensure that citizenship is only given to newborns who qualify. The state's vital statistics office could issue two types of birth certificates - one denoting U.S. citizenship and not denoting U.S. citizenship.

Feere also notes that it is universally accepted that children born in the U.S. to foreign diplomats DO NOT receive U.S. citizenship, but because Social Security numbers could currently be requested for all children born in the U.S., there can be some future confusion when it comes to citizenship status for those individuals.

CLAIM: Not granting citizenship to children born to illegal aliens would contribute to a growing population of illegal aliens.

Feere argues that if immigration laws are enforced and illegal aliens are deported, they won't give birth to children in the United States. The fact that this happens in the first place has nothing to do with our birthright citizenship law, but rather lack of enforcement at the federal level.

CLAIM: Newborns born to illegal-alien parents will be stateless.

Feere says this claim from the National Foundation for American Policy is flat-out false. Children born to illegal-alien parents in the United States are citizens of their parents' home country. A child born to parents from Mexico will receive Mexican citizenship.

CLAIM: Children of illegal-alien parents will work in an underground economy.

Feere says the United States can prevent illegal-alien children from entering an underground economy in two ways. First, the federal government can enforce immigration laws and deport illegal aliens, and second, Congress can pass an E-Verify law, requiring all employers to use E-Verify and imposing heavy fines on companies that participate in an underground economy.

Feere responds to several other claims made by the National Foundation for American Policy and also discusses the foundations and individuals that helped put the report together. For his full report, visit the Center for Immigration Studies' website. Read more about New Report Combats Claim that Ending Birthright Citizenship would Cost Taxpayers Billions of Dollars

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ACTION ALERT: Attend Senator Ron Wyden's Town Hall and ask about E-Verify!

Posted by Cynthia Kendoll on Tue, 04/10/2012

From our friends at NumbersUSA:

Senator, Ron Wyden, will be at home this week and will be hosting town hall meetings. This is a perfect opportunity to ask Senator Wyden why he hasn't signed on to S. 1196, a bill that mandates E-Verify.

E-Verify is an online program that ensures businesses only hire legal workers. If mandatory E-Verify legislation passes, it could get more Americans back to work than any other bill being discussed in Congress right now. Up to 7 MILLION jobs could open up for American workers and legal immigrants.

This is truly a bi-partisan issue. In a public opinion poll, 94% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 81% of Democrats want a mandatory E-Verify law.The most powerful message you can send as a constituent is to ask your Senator, face-to-face, about an issue.

Some talking points:

Senator Wyden, mandatory E-Verify could open up millions of jobs for Americans. Why aren't you supporting any E-Verify legislation? In the House, there is a bill that was introduced by fellow Oregon Democrat, Rep. DeFazio, to mandate E-Verify. This is not a partisan issue, and I think you should support S. 1196 in the Senate.

Senator Wyden, a 50 state E-Verify law needs to be put in place and it needs your support. Co-sponsoring S. 1196 would show me that you are fully dedicated to opening up jobs for Americans and legal workers .

Here is the information for Senator Wyden's town halls:
(We always recommend calling your Senator's office to confirm, in case they have changed or canceled the event. It's rare, but happens)

THURSDAY APRIL 12, 2012:

10:30 AM
Where : Riverside Junior/Senior High School
210 Boardman Avenue
Boardman, OR

3:30 PM
Where : Blue Mountain Community College
Science and Technology, Room 200
2411 Northwest Carden Avenue
Pendleton, OR

FRIDAY APRIL 13, 2012:

2:30 PM
Where : Wallowa Senior Center
204 Second Street
Wallowa, OR

SATURDAY APRIL 14, 2012:

11:30 AM
Where : Union County Senior Center
1504 North Albany Street
La Grande, OR

4:00 PM
Where : Baker City Hall
1655 First Street
Baker City, OR

SUNDAY APRIL 15, 2012:

1:00 PM
Where : Four Rivers Cultural Center
676 Southwest Fifth Avenue
Ontario, OR

If you do have the opportunity to attend one of these meetings, please, let us know how it goes. Thank you!

Senator Merkley's Town Halls

Attend Senator Merkley's Town Hall and ask about E-Verify!

Senator Jeff Merkley will be at home next week and will be hosting four town halls. This is a perfect opportunity to ask Senator Merkley why he hasn't signed on to any E-Verify legislation during this Congress.

E-Verify is a program that ensures businesses only hire legal workers. If mandatory E-Verify legislation passes, it could get more Americans back to work than any other bill being discussed in Congress right now. Up to 7 MILLION jobs could open up for American workers.

Check out the chart... https://www.numbersusa.com/content/files/WM_HR2885.pdf

NumbersUSA has given Senator Merkley the worst grade he could possibly get when it comes to illegal aliens in the workforce. Senator Merkley has voted against E-Verify legislation multiple times in the past.

There are two groups that are benefiting from Senator Merkley's refusal to mandate E-Verify: the illegal aliens who are taking Americans' jobs and big business that still has the ability to hire illegal workers for pennies on the dollar.

So who's getting hurt by Senator Merkley's decisions? The middle class, American worker.

During this slow economic recovery, Americans are still struggling to find work. Mandating E-Verify is good economic policy and fair to the American worker. This is truly a bi-partisan issue. In a public opinion poll, 94% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 81% of Democrats want a mandatory E-Verify law.

We are asking you to attend one of Senator Merkley's town halls and ask him about mandatory E-Verify. The most powerful message you can send as a constituent is to ask your Senator, face-to-face, about an issue.

Here is the information for Senator Merkley's town halls:

April 3, 2012 6pm

Klamath County Town Hall

Lost River Junior and Senior High School

23330 Highway 50

Merrill, OR 97633

April 4, 2012 4pm

Jackson County Town Hall

Medford City Council Chambers, City Hall

411 West 8th Street

Medford, OR, 97501

April 5, 2012 10am

Curry County Town Hall

Southwest Oregon Community College (SOCC) Curry Campus, Krieger Community Room 138

96082 Lone Ranch Parkway

Brookings, OR, 97415

April 5, 2012 3:30pm

Josephine County Town Hall

Josephine County Building

102 South Redwood Highway

Cave Junction, 97523

ASK SENATOR MERKLEY TO SIGN ON TO SENATE BILL 1196, THE ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH VERIFICATION ACT, introduced by Sen. Grassley. Tell him to put good policy before politics. Oregon Democratic Rep. DeFazio introduced very similar legislation in the House, H.R. 483.

See Senator Merkley's grade card on immigration reform: https://www.numbersusa.com/content/my/congress/1341/reportcard/RECENT/#tabset-1

Make your voice be heard and attend one of the town halls!

[Thanks to NumbersUSA for preparing this Alert.]

Tags:

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E-Verify

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In Oregon: What Immigration Enforcement Would Look Like With H.R. 2885 Enacted

The Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885), sponsored by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith proposes a national mandatory E-Verify. NumbersUSA has prepared a chart showing how the bill will impact each state. You can clearly see that Oregon would benefit greatly if such a bill were to pass.

Go to: https://www.numbersusa.com/content/oregon-everify.html

Call your Congressmen today, tell them you are a constituent and that you support Lamar Smith's legislation. Tell them you think Oregon would benefit greatly from the passage of HR 2885 and you are counting on their support of the bill.

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Should Foreign workers take American jobs?

Posted by Cynthia Kendoll on Sun, 03/11/2012

Last year the U.S. Department of Forestry received $13 million in federal stimulus money to pay for some pre-commercial timber harvesting and thinning in Deschutes and Crook County in Central Oregon. With unemployment close to 20% in those counties one would think that it would be good news for out of work Americans - jobs paying $12 to $22 per hour. Unfortunately the jobs did not go to citizens; they went to foreign workers from Mexico.

Using the H-2B visa program, employment contractors brought in foreign workers. The H-2B visa program is theoretically in place to provide non-agricultural, unskilled labors to be used if American workers are unavailable. H-2B visas can be used for hotel maids, fry cooks, landscapers, loggers and other so-called unskilled labor. The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, after studying the operation of temporary worker provisions recommended the elimination entirely of the H-2B visa program.

“The Commission recommends the elimination of the admission of unskilled workers. Unless there is another compelling interest, such as in the entry of nuclear families and refugees, it is not in the national interest to admit unskilled workers. This is especially true when the U.S. economy is showing difficulty in absorbing disadvantaged workers and when efforts towards welfare reform indicate that many unskilled Americans will be entering the labor force.”

While nibbling at the edge of the cookie is a move in the right direction, instead of ending the idiocy of the H-2B visa program, Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman Peter DeFazio want it refined. Do we really need to import fry cooks, hotel maids, loggers and people to cut our lawns?

Please consider calling these legislators and asking them to end the scam of the H-2B visa program:

Senator Jeff Merkley (202) 224-3753; Portland office: 503-326-3386
webform for email: http://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact/

Congressman Peter DeFazio (202) 225-6416; Toll Free in Oregon: 800-944-9603

webform for email: https://forms.house.gov/defazio/IMA/contact.html

Merkley and DeFazio move to plug holes in visa program that allows foreign workers to be hired instead of local ones

WASHINGTON - Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio will offer legislation Wednesday designed to close gaping loopholes in a visa program that allows forest companies to hire foreign workers even though there are an abundance of qualified - and idle - U.S. citizens in Oregon and elsewhere who would take the jobs.

The flaws in what is known as the H-2B visa program burst into national view last fall when the Inspector General for the federal Department of Labor concluded that at least $7 million in federal stimulus money intended to provide jobs to unemployed Oregonians instead paid wages to 254 foreign workers.

While the report triggered outrage in rural Oregon, where unemployment in some places was 20 percent and in Washington, federal investigators said no laws were broken. For example, under federal rules, notice of the job openings must be made where the job "originates." And while the bulk of the work took place in Oregon, smaller jobs originated in other states. That allowed the companies to post small ads in newspapers in California and other far-flung places for a brief period.

When the response fell short of need, the companies could claim that no local workers could be found and therefore could look to workers in other countries. DeFazio and Merkley want to fix that. "We want to make sure this travesty is not repeated," Merkley said.

If their bill becomes law, companies would be required to advertise at local job fairs, list the job openings with local and state workforce agencies and nonprofits and advertising on local radio and reputable Internet job-search sites.

State workforce agencies, such as Oregon's Employment Department could also require "other recruitment strategies" be used to ensure that potential workers are notified.

Most importantly, state workforce agencies would be required to certify that companies asking for H-2B visas meet all the requirements and that no local workers are available. "That gives tremendous leverage to the state; it's a real lever to make sure there aren't abuses," Merkley said.

Nobody could claim with a straight face that there weren’t Oregonians available to do forest thinning work in 2009 and 2010,” Merkley said. “It’s obvious that the H-2B visa program is being abused and that stricter standards are necessary to ensure Americans have a full opportunity to fill these jobs.”

The decision to introduce legislation came after the lawmakers, both Democrats, concluded that earlier efforts to convince the Department of Labor to tighten the way the visa program operates were not succeeding.

“The Department of Labor has made some common sense changes, but we need to do more to ensure federal dollars that go to federal projects hire American workers," DeFazio said.

"Companies that game the system and exploit immigration loopholes to undercut competition should not be awarded federal contracts. Many of the DOL’s failings have been addressed, but our legislation will further strengthen their rule changes to protect American workers," he said.

As currently designed, the program is riddled with loopholes that allow employers to bring in 66,000 workers for temporary, non-agriculture jobs each year. Once a worker qualifies for H-2B status that worker does not count against the next year's quota so the actual number of foreign workers brought to the United States to work each year is much higher. The program was originally designed to provide labor for jobs that U.S. citiziens did not want or local businesses could not fill.

But the case involving contracts to clear U.S. Forest Service property highlighted the gaping loopholes in the program. One of the biggest is notification. Under law, companies must advertise the job openings and if U.S. workers do not respond they then are allowed to look offshore. But the law says the advertisements must be published where the job "originates." In the Oregon case, a small number of jobs originated outside Oregon, which is where the ads ran in tiny newspapers.

Merkley and DeFazio each sent letters to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis highlighting flaws in the visa program and suggesting changes to fix the problems.

"Over the past year it has come to light that several contractors exploited loopholes in the H-2B visa process to intentionally hire foreign workers, rather than available Americans, for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded jobs on Forest Service lands in Oregon. This is unacceptable," DeFazio said in his letter delivered in October. Merkley followed suit in December.

The H-2B visa program was created as a safety valve that would give local companies to fill jobs with foreign workers when the labor market is tight and competitive. Under law, companies must show that there are no local workers available for the jobs and that hiring foreign workers would not dilute local wages. But the system was largely self-policing and it has been riddled with weaknesses.

The federal investigation triggering the legislation from Merkley and DeFazio looked at 14 contracts to clear federal forests in central Oregon. The contracts were controlled by four Oregon companies: Medford Cutting Edge Forestry, Summitt Forestry, Ponderosa Reforestations, and G.E. Forestry. All hired foreign workers, according to the report, though they didn't all handle hiring in the same way.

While legal, the hiring practices appear to violate the spirit and purpose of the $840 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the stimulus, which was designed to create jobs that would jumpstart the country out of recession.

The contractors applied for H-2B visas allowing them to hire workers for seasonal jobs, according to the report. In order to get clearance, contractors must prove the jobs can't be filled with local residents and that pay won't dilute local prevailing wages.

Mike Wheelock, owner of Grayback Forestry in Merlin, said his competiors were able to under-bid him for jobs by using foreign workers. While the wages for each worker were similar, he said that companies using foreign workers would hire fewer workers, pay less for health insurance and not offer 401k plans and other benefits.

"Unscrupulous contractors used loop holes within the H2B program to get around hiring qualified Oregonian workers," he said in an interview.

At the time of the stimulus jobs were offered, Wheelock said there were thousands of qualified local people out of work who could have stepped into those jobs.

"Rural Oregon, which in some areas has seen 15 percent to 20 percent unemployment rates, has been the hardest hit by these abuses of our well intended system," he said. "Grayback Forestry hires hundreds of workers in rural Oregon, paying family wage jobs with health insurance and retirement benefits. Sadly, companies like ours were adversely impacted by negligent efforts to enforce the H-2B regulations."

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Absurd! President Obama's proposed budget cuts to Customs and Border Enforcement

Posted by Cynthia Kendoll on Wed, 03/07/2012

Having just returned from a week long, intensive study of the Arizona/Mexico border I am appalled at the prospect of a reduced budget for our border protection. Men and women of the border patrol and a variety of law enforcement agencies put their lives on the line every day to protect us. It is our government's responsibility to make certain they have everything they need to do the job. Drug cartels and human smugglers are very well funded and are just waiting for a reduction in our security to make their move.

The role of Government is to protect. Beyond securing our borders and protecting us from our enemies, the role of the Federal Government should be very small.

And yet, on Wednesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security held a hearing on President Obama’s proposed budget cuts to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), included in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) budget proposal for Fiscal year 2013.

$68.2 million decrease in funding for air and marine operations and procurements
$7.1 million reduction in air and marine staff
$6 million decrease in border security inspections and trade facilitation between points of entry
$6.7 million decrease in automation technology modernization
$72.9 million decrease in border security fencing, infrastructure, and technology

Both Republicans and Democrats on the Subcommittee raised concerns that these proposed reductions could weaken CBP programs and put border security in jeopardy.

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