HAZLETON – U.S. Congressional candidate Lou Barletta called on Congressman Paul Kanjorski to bring a border security bill to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.

The Democratic leadership in the House has not allowed a vote on H.R. 4088, the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act (SAVE Act), so a “discharge petition” was filed on March 11. Once a discharge petition receives 218 signatures – a majority of House members – a measure is brought to the floor of the House for an up-or-down vote.

“Congressman Kanjorski quickly attached his name as a co-sponsor to the SAVE Act because it served him politically, but when it comes to putting the measure up for a vote in front of the whole House, he refused to sign his name and instead took a two-week break,” Barletta said. “There is a difference between saying you support something and actually having the courage to support it. Mr. Kanjorski’s refusal to sign the discharge petition or use the seniority he mentions in his campaigns to bring the SAVE Act for an up-or-down vote in the full House shows where he truly stands on illegal immigration and border security.”

The SAVE Act has 147 co-sponsors, including 49 Democrats. The discharge petition has 181 signatures, but only nine Democrats have signed it. That leaves 40 Democrats who are co-sponsoring the bill that have yet to sign the petition to allow a vote on it.

“Since only 37 more signatures are needed for this discharge petition to succeed, why hasn’t Mr. Kanjorski used his ‘seniority’ to help persuade 36 of his colleagues to sign the petition with him?” Barletta asked. “I call on Mr. Kanjorski to let his actions speak for him, instead of his taxpayer-funded mailers and campaign rhetoric, and sign the discharge petition to bring the SAVE Act for an up-or-down vote in front of the full House of Representatives.” 

BACKGROUND: The SAVE Act calls for an additional 8,000 Border Patrol Agents, adds new hires to specifically investigate alien smuggling, and expands the "Tunnel Task Force" enforcement program. It augments the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by providing for additional virtual fence and surveillance activities on the border, including unmanned aerial vehicles.

The bill makes the E-Verify Program (known as the Basic Pilot Program) permanent over four years, which will give employers online access to verify that the people they hire are legally allowed to work in the United States. Multiple uses of a single Social Security number will be reported to employers and will require each person to contact the Social Security Administration to verify legal status.

The SAVE Act boosts interior enforcement by employing more federal agents and training additional state and local law enforcement personnel.  It also creates more detention centers to house illegal immigrants and provides additional district court judges to improve the flow of immigration cases.

Democrat leaders in the House are against the SAVE Act because it adds to the border fence, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a “terrible idea.” (USA Today, Sept. 28, 2007)