July 2009 Archives

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Heath Shuler voted with an overwhelming House majority to
add $2 billion to the cash-for-clunkers program, which was designed to remove gas
guzzlers from the highways and stimulate U.S. auto sales.
 
The program, which provides up to $4,500 to trade in vehicles for new ones that get
better gas mileage, proved far more successful than expected. The Car Allowance Rebate
System (CARS) program started Monday but exhausted its $1 billion funding by Friday.
 
Today, the House voted 316-109 to add $2 billion to the program in hopes of extending it
to more consumers. Rather than paying to extend CARS by adding to the federal deficit,
this bill transfers money from an Energy Department program that was included in this
year’s stimulus bill, said Rep. Shuler, D-Waynesville.  
 
“I voted against the stimulus bill because it didn’t do enough to give a quick boost to the
economy and added to the federal deficit,” Rep. Shuler said. “The CARS program shows
that government incentives can work, and has not only has stimulated car sales and the
U.S. economy, but helped the environment by ridding our highways of some old gas
guzzlers.”

###

Download:  Rep. Shuler Votes to Extend ‘Cash-for-Clunkers’

SAVE Act Safeguards Borders, Enforces Current Laws and Opens Up Jobs to Legal U.S. Workers
 
Washington, D.C. -- Representative Heath Shuler and 74 of his House colleagues
introduced the SAVE Act, which increases border security and requires companies to
verify employees’ legal right to work in the United States.  The bill is viewed by
supporters as a commonsense approach to reduce illegal immigration.
 
“We need to shut down the jobs magnet that attracts millions of illegal immigrants to the
U.S. every year,” said Shuler, D-N.C., on Thursday. “The SAVE Act would not only help
enforce existing laws but could open up thousands of American jobs to workers with
legal status.”
 
Americans expect Congress to reform our broken immigration system, which threatens
our national security, adds large costs to state and local governments, and depresses
wages for many workers, Rep. Shuler said. But voters remain deeply divided on how to
fix the problem, and sweeping proposals to fully overhaul our immigration laws have
failed in recent years.
 
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., is offering the Secure America through Verification and
Enforcement (SAVE) Act in the Senate. Both bills would boost the number of Border
Patrol agents, add immigration judges and detention facilities, and give law enforcement
agencies the tools they need to better carry out their jobs.
 
The Save Act has widespread Democratic and Republican support from Congressional
members across the nation.

“The American public must have confidence that our immigration system works, and I
am pleased to team up with Representative Shuler to see that it does,” Sen. Pryor said. 
“A critical first step towards solving our immigration problem is enforcing the laws we
already have on the books.”

The SAVE Act would require companies to use E-Verify, a government program for
employers to use to ensure their new hires have the legal right to work in the U.S.
Currently, more than 100,000 employers voluntarily use E-Verify, but the SAVE Act
requires all companies to use the program within the next four years or face penalties.
Instead of targeting the immigrant population, this bill focuses on companies that
knowingly hire illegal workers. Employers who use E-Verify legitimately will not be
held liable for inadvertently hiring workers who use fraudulent documents when seeking
work. 
 
According to an independent analysis, nearly 97 percent of all workers screened through
E-Verify have been approved within 24 hours.  While a small percentage of legal workers
will receive what is known as a “tentative non-confirmation” due to errors in their
personal information, E-Verify gives these individuals ample opportunity to correct their
information with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland
Security databases, on which the program relies.
 
Even President Obama has acknowledged the need for employment verification, and in  
September the Obama administration will implement a rule requiring all companies that
receive federal contracts to use E-Verify to ensure they hire legal U.S. workers. 
 
While there is no silver bullet to fully correct our long-standing immigration problems,
the SAVE Act attempts to enforce existing laws before trying to pass any type of major
reforms, Rep. Shuler said. A comprehensive immigration bill passed in 1986 offered
amnesty to those who had entered the country illegally but promised to halt future illegal
border crossings. 
 
“We all know how that turned out,” Shuler said. “The amnesty was granted, yet here we
are again with over 12 million people in the country illegally and a very real possibility
that the federal government will attempt to grant another amnesty. If we cannot enforce
existing laws, what is the point of Congress trying to pass new ones?”

###

Download: Rep. Shuler Introduces Immigration Bill

Washington, D.C. – Representative Heath Shuler voted with a majority of House
members Wednesday to pass pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules that force fiscal discipline
on the federal government that continues to run large budget deficits.
 
PAYGO requires that all new federal spending must be offset by either making budget
cuts elsewhere or raising new revenues. This policy has been a top priority for the House
Blue Dogs, a group of fiscally conservative Democrats that Shuler helps lead.
 
 “Congress has not passed a balanced budget since the late 1990s and continues to pile
government debt on the backs of our children,” said Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville.
“Today marks a big step towards stopping this out-of-control government spending.”
 
PAYGO, which was ignored in recent years, was an effective budget enforcement tool
used in the early 1990’s that led to Congress balancing its budgets. Re-instituting
PAYGO has been a top priority of the Blue Dogs, Rep. Shuler said, and the Senate now
needs to pass this legislation quickly to rein in further government overspending.
 
“Congress has ducked having to make a lot of tough decisions, but it’s now time to pay
the piper,” Shuler said. “Wasteful government spending has become the status quo in
Washington throughout the previous administration. American families must live within
their means, and it’s long past time for the federal government to do the same.” 

###

Download: Rep. Shuler and Blue Dogs Pass PAYGO rules to curb government spending