221 
SEC. 306. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA-
TION PROGRAMS. 
(a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for 
fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2019, the 
Commissioner and the Secretary shall ensure that an 
agreement is in place which shall— 
(1) provide funds to the Commissioner for the 
full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 
with respect to employment eligibility verification, 
including under this title and the amendments made 
by this title, and including— 
(A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 
technological equipment and systems necessary 
for the fulfillment of such responsibilities, but 
only that portion of such costs that are attrib-
utable exclusively to such responsibilities; and 
(B) responding to individuals who contest 
a tentative nonconfirmation or administratively 
appeal a final nonconfirmation provided with 
respect to employment eligibility verification; 
(2) provide such funds annually in advance of 
the applicable quarter based on an estimating meth-
odology agreed to by the Commissioner and the Sec-
retary (except in such instances where the delayed 
enactment of an annual appropriation may preclude 
such quarterly payments); and
222 
(3) require an annual accounting and reconcili-
ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro-
vided under the agreement, which shall be reviewed 
by the Inspectors General of the Social Security Ad-
ministration and the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity. 
(b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION 
IN ABSENCE OF TIMELY AGREEMENT.—In any case in 
which the agreement required under subsection (a) for any 
fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2019, has not 
been reached as of October 1 of such fiscal year, the latest 
agreement described in such subsection shall be deemed 
in effect on an interim basis for such fiscal year until such 
time as an agreement required under subsection (a) is sub-
sequently reached, except that the terms of such interim 
agreement shall be modified to adjust for inflation and any 
increase or decrease in the volume of requests under the 
employment eligibility verification system. In any case in 
which an interim agreement applies for any fiscal year 
under this subsection, the Commissioner and the Sec-
retary shall, not later than October 1 of such fiscal year, 
notify the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 
on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Finance, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com-
223 
mittee on Appropriations of the Senate of the failure to 
reach the agreement required under subsection (a) for 
such fiscal year. Until such time as the agreement re-
quired under subsection (a) has been reached for such fis-
cal year, the Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not 
later than the end of each 90-day period after October 
1 of such fiscal year, notify such Committees of the status 
of negotiations between the Commissioner and the Sec-
retary in order to reach such an agreement. 
SEC. 307. REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
ELECTRONIC 
EMPLOYMENT 
VERIFICATION 
SYSTEM. 
Not later than 24 months after the date on which 
final rules are published under section 309(a), and annu-
ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report that includes the following: 
(1) An assessment of the accuracy rates of the 
responses of the electronic employment verification 
system established under section 274E of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 
301 of this Act (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘System’’), including tentative and final noncon-
firmation notices issued to employment-authorized 
individuals and confirmation notices issued to indi-
viduals who are not employment-authorized.
224 
(2) An assessment of any challenges faced by 
persons or entities (including small employers) in 
utilizing the System. 
(3) An assessment of any challenges faced by 
employment-authorized individuals who are issued 
tentative or final nonconfirmation notices. 
(4) An assessment of the incidence of unfair 
immigration-related employment practices, as de-
scribed in section 274E(g) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this 
Act, related to the use of the System. 
(5) An assessment of the photo matching and 
other identity authentication tools, as described in 
section 274E(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, in-
cluding— 
(A) an assessment of the accuracy rates of 
such tools; 
(B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 
such tools at preventing identity fraud and 
other misuse of identifying information; 
(C) an assessment of any challenges faced 
by persons, entities, or individuals utilizing such 
tools; and
225 
(D) an assessment of operation and main-
tenance costs associated with such tools. 
(6) A summary of the activities and findings of 
the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services E– 
Verify Monitoring and Compliance Branch, or any 
successor office, including— 
(A) the number, types and outcomes of au-
dits, investigations, and other compliance activi-
ties initiated by the Branch in the previous 
year; 
(B) the capacity of the Branch to detect 
and prevent violations of section 274E(g) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as inserted by 
this Act; and 
(C) an assessment of the degree to which 
persons and entities misuse the System, includ-
ing— 
(i) use of the System before an indi-
vidual’s date of hire; 
(ii) failure to provide required notifi-
cations to individuals; 
(iii) use of the System to interfere 
with or otherwise impede individuals’ as-
sertions of their rights under other laws; 
and
226 
(iv) use of the System for unauthor-
ized purposes; and 
(7) An assessment of the impact of implementa-
tion of the System in the agricultural industry and 
the use of the verification system in agricultural in-
dustry hiring and business practices. 
SEC. 308. MODERNIZING AND STREAMLINING THE EMPLOY-
MENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROCESS. 
Not later than 12 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Commissioner, shall submit to Congress a plan to mod-
ernize 
and 
streamline 
the 
employment 
eligibility 
verification process that shall include— 
(1) procedures to allow persons and entities to 
verify the identity and employment authorization of 
newly hired individuals where the in-person, physical 
examination of identity and employment authoriza-
tion documents is not practicable; 
(2) a proposal to create a simplified employ-
ment verification process that allows employers that 
utilize the employment eligibility verification system 
established under section 274E of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 of 
this Act, to verify the identity and employment au-
thorization of individuals without also having to
227 
complete and retain Form I–9, Employment Eligi-
bility Verification, or any subsequent replacement 
form; and 
(3) any other proposal that the Secretary deter-
mines would simplify the employment eligibility 
verification process without compromising the integ-
rity or security of the system. 
SEC. 309. RULEMAKING AND PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days prior to 
the end of the application period defined in section 101(c) 
of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg-
ister proposed rules implementing this title and the 
amendments made by this title. The Secretary shall final-
ize such rules not later than 180 days after the date of 
publication. 
(b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The requirements under 
chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, (com-
monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’) 
shall apply to any action to implement this title or 
the amendments made by this title. 
(2) ELECTRONIC FORMS.—All forms designated 
or established by the Secretary that are necessary to 
implement this title and the amendments made by 
this title shall be made available in paper and elec-
228 
tronic formats, and shall be designed in such a man-
ner to facilitate electronic completion, storage, and 
transmittal. 
(3) LIMITATION ON USE OF FORMS.—All forms 
designated or established by the Secretary that are 
necessary to implement this title, and the amend-
ments made by this title, and any information con-
tained in or appended to such forms, may not be 
used for purposes other than for enforcement of this 
Act and any other provision of Federal criminal law. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 11, 
2019. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 5038 
AN ACT 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
provide for terms and conditions for non-
immigrant workers performing agricultural labor 
or services, and for other purposes.