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‘‘(A) to inform persons and other entities
that seek information about the program of the
voluntary nature of such programs, and
‘‘(B) to assist persons and other entities in
electing and participating in the program in ef-
fect in the District, in complying with the re-
quirements of section 274A, and in facilitating
confirmation of the identity and employment
eligibility of individuals consistent with such
section.
‘‘(e) SELECT ENTITIES REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE
IN THE PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) 
FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
AND
INDE-
PENDENT AGENCIES.—
‘‘(A) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each Department
and independent agency of the Federal
Government shall elect to participate in the
program and shall comply with the terms
and conditions of such an election.
‘‘(ii) ELECTION.—Subject to clause
(iii), the Secretary of each such Depart-
ment and head of each such independent
agency may limit the election to hiring oc-
curring in certain areas and in specified di-
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visions within the Department or agency in
the same manner as is permitted under
subsection (c)(2).
‘‘(iii) ROLE
OF
ATTORNEY
GEN-
ERAL.—The Attorney General shall assist
and coordinate elections under this sub-
paragraph in such manner as assures
that—
‘‘(I) a significant portion of the
total hiring within each Department
and independent agency is covered
under the program, and
‘‘(II) there is significant partici-
pation by the Federal Executive
branch in the program.
‘‘(B) LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.—Each Mem-
ber of Congress, each officer of Congress, and
the head of each agency of the legislative
branch, that conducts hiring shall elect to par-
ticipate in the program and comply with the
terms and conditions of such an election.
‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN VIOLATORS.—
An order under section 274A(e)(4) or section
274B(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
may require the subject of the order to participate
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in, and comply with the terms of, the program with
respect to the subject’s hiring (or recruitment or re-
ferral) of individuals in a State covered by the pro-
gram.
‘‘(3) CONSEQUENCE OF FAILURE TO PARTICI-
PATE.—If a person or other entity is required under
this subsection to participate in the program and
fails to comply with the requirements of such pro-
gram with respect to an individual—
‘‘(A) such failure shall be treated as a vio-
lation of section 274A(a)(1)(B) with respect to
that individual, and
‘‘(B) a rebuttable presumption is created
that the person or entity has violated section
274A(a)(1)(A).
Subparagraph (B) shall not apply in any prosecution
under section 274A(f)(1).
‘‘(f) CONSTRUCTION.—This subtitle shall not affect
the authority of the Attorney General under any other law
(including section 274A(d)(4)) to conduct demonstration
projects in relation to section 274A.
‘‘SEC. 403. PROCEDURES FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE PRO-
GRAM.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person or other entity that
elects to participate in the program agrees to conform to
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the following procedures in the case of the hiring (or re-
cruitment or referral) for employment in the United States
of each individual covered by the election:
‘‘(1) PROVISION
OF
ADDITIONAL
INFORMA-
TION.—The person or entity shall obtain from the
individual (and the individual shall provide) and
shall record on the I–9 or similar form—
‘‘(A) the individual’s social security ac-
count number, if the individual has been issued
such a number, and
‘‘(B) if the individual does not attest to
United 
States 
citizenship 
under 
section
274A(b)(2), such identification or authorization
number established by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service for the alien as the At-
torney General shall specify,
and shall retain the original form and make it avail-
able for inspection for the period and in the manner
required of I–9 forms under section 274A(b)(3).
‘‘(2) PRESENTATION OF DOCUMENTATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The person or other
entity, and the individual whose identity and
employment eligibility are being confirmed,
shall, subject to subparagraph (B), fulfill the
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requirements of section 274A(b) with the fol-
lowing modifications:
‘‘(i) A document referred to in section
274A(b)(1)(B)(ii) (as redesignated by sec-
tion 412(a) of this division) must be des-
ignated by the Attorney General as suit-
able for the purpose of identification in the
program.
‘‘(ii) A document referred to in sec-
tion 274A(b)(1)(D) must contain a photo-
graph of the individual.
‘‘(iii) The person or other entity has
complied with the requirements of section
274A(b)(1) with respect to examination of
a document if the document reasonably ap-
pears on its face to be genuine and it rea-
sonably appears to pertain to the indi-
vidual whose identity and work eligibility is
being confirmed.
‘‘(B) LIMITATION
OF
REQUIREMENT
TO
EXAMINE
DOCUMENTATION.—If the Attorney
General finds that the program would reliably
determine 
with 
respect 
to 
an 
individual
whether—
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‘‘(i) the person with the identity
claimed by the individual is authorized to
work in the United States, and
‘‘(ii) the individual is fraudulently
using the social security account number of
another person,
if a person or entity could fulfill the require-
ment to examine documentation contained in
subparagraph (A) of section 274A(b)(1) by ex-
amining a document specified in either subpara-
graph (B) or (D) of such section, the Attorney
General may provide that, for purposes of such
requirement, only such a document need be ex-
amined. In such case, any reference in section
274A(b)(1)(A) to a verification that an indi-
vidual is not an unauthorized alien shall be
deemed to be a verification of the individual’s
identity.
‘‘(3) SEEKING CONFIRMATION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (C), the person or other entity shall
make an inquiry, as provided in section
404(a)(1) of this division, using the confirma-
tion system to seek confirmation of the identity
and employment eligibility of an individual, by
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not later than the end of 3 working days (as
specified by the Attorney General) after the
date of the hiring (or recruitment or referral, as
the case may be).
‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD.—If the
person or other entity in good faith attempts to
make an inquiry during such 3 working days
and the confirmation system has registered that
not all inquiries were received during such time,
the person or entity can make an inquiry in the
first subsequent working day in which the con-
firmation system registers that it has received
all inquiries. If the confirmation system cannot
receive inquiries at all times during a day, the
person or entity merely has to assert that the
entity attempted to make the inquiry on that
day for the previous sentence to apply to such
an inquiry, and does not have to provide any
additional proof concerning such inquiry.
‘‘(C) PERMITTING USE OF MACHINE-READ-
ABLE
DOCUMENTS.—If the individual whose
identity and employment eligibility must be con-
firmed presents to the person or entity hiring
(or recruiting or referring) the individual a li-
cense or other document described in section
HR 3429 IH1S
274A(b)(1)(D)(i) that includes a machine-read-
able social security account number, the person
or entity may make an inquiry through the con-
firmation system by using a machine-readable
feature of such document.
‘‘(D) LIMITED
DISCLOSURE.—The con-
firmation system shall disclose to the person or
entity making the inquiry only a confirmation
or nonconfirmation of the individual’s eligibility
to be employed and shall not disclose any social
security account number or any other social se-
curity account information.
‘‘(E) USE OF ELECTRONIC INQUIRY SYS-
TEM.—The confirmation system shall permit,
not later than 2 years after the date of the en-
actment of this subparagraph, for inquiries to
be made, and confirmation and nonconfirmation
to be made transmitted, through electronic
media (such as a modem or telephone).
‘‘(4) CONFIRMATION OR NONCONFIRMATION.—
‘‘(A) CONFIRMATION
UPON
INITIAL
IN-
QUIRY.—If the person or other entity receives
an appropriate confirmation of an individual’s
identity and work eligibility under the confirma-
tion system within the time period specified
HR 3429 IH1S
under section 404(b) of this division, the person
or entity shall record on the I–9 or similar form
an appropriate code that is provided under the
system and that indicates a final confirmation
of such identity and work eligibility of the indi-
vidual.
‘‘(B) NONCONFIRMATION UPON INITIAL IN-
QUIRY AND SECONDARY VERIFICATION.—
‘‘(i) NONCONFIRMATION.—If the per-
son or other entity receives a tentative
nonconfirmation of an individual’s identity
or work eligibility under the confirmation
system within the time period specified
under 404(b) of this division, the person or
entity shall so inform the individual for
whom the confirmation is sought.
‘‘(ii) NO CONTEST.—If the individual
does not contest the nonconfirmation with-
in the time period specified in section
404(c) of this division, the nonconfirmation
shall be considered final. The person or en-
tity shall then record on the I–9 or similar
form an appropriate code which has been
provided under the system to indicate a
tentative nonconfirmation.
HR 3429 IH1S
‘‘(iii) CONTEST.—If the individual
does contest the nonconfirmation, the indi-
vidual shall utilize the process for sec-
ondary verification provided under section
404(c) of this division. The nonconfirma-
tion will remain tentative until a final con-
firmation or nonconfirmation is provided
by the confirmation system within the time
period specified in such section. In no case
shall an employer terminate employment of
an individual because of a failure of the in-
dividual to have identity and work eligi-
bility confirmed under this section until a
nonconfirmation becomes final. Nothing in
this clause shall apply to a termination of
employment for any reason other than be-
cause of such a failure.
‘‘(iv) RECORDING OF CONCLUSION ON
FORM.—If a final confirmation or noncon-
firmation is provided by the confirmation
system under section 404(c) of this divi-
sion regarding an individual, the person or
entity shall record on the I–9 or similar
form an appropriate code that is provided
under the system and that indicates a con-
HR 3429 IH1S
firmation or nonconfirmation of identity
and work eligibility of the individual.
‘‘(C) CONSEQUENCES
OF
NONCONFIRMA-
TION.—
‘‘(i) TERMINATION OR NOTIFICATION
OF CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.—If the per-
son or other entity has received a final
nonconfirmation regarding an individual
under subparagraph (B), the person or en-
tity may terminate employment (or recruit-
ment or referral) of the individual. If the
person or entity does not terminate em-
ployment (or recruitment or referral) of
the individual, the person or entity shall
notify the Attorney General of such fact
through the confirmation system or in such
other manner as the Attorney General may
specify.
‘‘(ii) FAILURE
TO
NOTIFY.—If the
person or entity fails to provide notice with
respect to an individual as required under
clause (i), the failure is deemed to con-
stitute a violation of section 274A(a)(1)(B)
with respect to that individual and the ap-
plicable civil monetary penalty under sec-
HR 3429 IH1S
tion 274A(e)(5) shall be (notwithstanding
the amounts specified in such section) no
less than $500 and no more than $1,000
for each individual with respect to whom
such violation occurred.
‘‘(iii) 
CONTINUED
EMPLOYMENT
AFTER FINAL NONCONFIRMATION.—If the
person or other entity continues to employ
(or to recruit or refer) an individual after
receiving final nonconfirmation, a rebut-
table presumption is created that the per-
son 
or 
entity 
has 
violated 
section
274A(a)(1)(A). The previous sentence shall
not apply in any prosecution under section
274A(f)(1).
‘‘(b) PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY FOR ACTIONS
TAKEN ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION PROVIDED BY
THE CONFIRMATION SYSTEM.—No person or entity par-
ticipating in the program shall be civilly or criminally lia-
ble under any law for any action taken in good faith reli-
ance on information provided through the confirmation
system.
HR 3429 IH1S
‘‘SEC. 
404. 
EMPLOYMENT 
ELIGIBILITY 
CONFIRMATION
SYSTEM.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in co-
operation with the Secretary of Labor and the Commis-
sioner of Social Security, shall establish the program con-
firmation system through which the Attorney General (or
a designee of the Attorney General, which may be a non-
governmental entity)—
‘‘(1) responds to inquiries made by electing per-
sons and other entities at any time through a toll-
free telephone line or other toll-free electronic media
concerning an individual’s identity and whether the
individual is authorized to be employed, and
‘‘(2) maintains records of the inquiries that
were made, of confirmations provided (or not pro-
vided), and of the codes provided to inquirers as evi-
dence of their compliance with their obligations
under the program.
To the extent practicable, the Attorney General shall seek
to establish such a system using one or more nongovern-
mental entities.
‘‘(b) INITIAL RESPONSE.—The confirmation system
shall provide confirmation or a tentative nonconfirmation
of an individual’s identity and employment eligibility with-
in 3 working days of the initial inquiry. If providing con-
firmation or tentative nonconfirmation, the confirmation
HR 3429 IH1S
system shall provide an appropriate code indicating such
confirmation or such nonconfirmation.
‘‘(c) SECONDARY VERIFICATION PROCESS IN CASE
OF TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.—In cases of ten-
tative nonconfirmation, the Attorney General shall specify,
in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Security,
Secretary of Labor, and the Commissioner of the Immi-
gration and Naturalization Service, an available secondary
verification process to confirm the validity of information
provided and to provide a final confirmation or noncon-
firmation within 10 working days after the date of the
tentative nonconfirmation. When final confirmation or
nonconfirmation is provided, the confirmation system shall
provide an appropriate code indicating such confirmation
or nonconfirmation.
‘‘(d) DESIGN
AND OPERATION
OF SYSTEM.—The
confirmation system shall be designed and operated—
‘‘(1) to maximize its reliability and ease of use
by persons and other entities making elections under
section 402(a) of this division consistent with insu-
lating and protecting the privacy and security of the
underlying information;
‘‘(2) to respond to all inquiries made by such
persons and entities on whether individuals are au-
HR 3429 IH1S
thorized to be employed and to register all times
when such inquiries are not received;
‘‘(3) with appropriate administrative, technical,
and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized dis-
closure of personal information; and
‘‘(4) to have reasonable safeguards against the
system’s resulting in unlawful discriminatory prac-
tices based on national origin or citizenship status,
including—
‘‘(A) the selective or unauthorized use of
the system to verify eligibility;
‘‘(B) the use of the system prior to an
offer of employment;
‘‘(C) the exclusion of certain individuals
from consideration for employment as a result
of 
a 
perceived 
likelihood 
that 
additional
verification will be required, beyond what is re-
quired for most job applicants; or
‘‘(D) the authority of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service to impose a civil money
penalty of not less than $500 and no more than
$1,000 for each individual with respect to
whom such a violation occurred.
‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER OF
SOCIAL SECURITY.—As part of the confirmation system,
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the Commissioner of Social Security, in consultation with
the entity responsible for administration of the system,
shall establish a reliable, secure method, which, within the
time periods specified under subsections (b) and (c), com-
pares the name and social security account number pro-
vided in an inquiry against such information maintained
by the Commissioner in order to confirm (or not confirm)
the validity of the information provided regarding an indi-
vidual whose identity and employment eligibility must be
confirmed, the correspondence of the name and number,
whether the individual has presented a social security ac-
count number that is not valid for employment, and
whether the individual is fraudulently using the social se-
curity account number of another person. The Commis-
sioner shall not disclose or release social security informa-
tion (other than such confirmation or nonconfirmation),
except that if an officer or employee in connection with
conducting activities under the program discovers evidence
of criminal activity, the officer or employee may report
such activity to authorized law enforcement officials.
‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER OF
THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE.—As
part of the confirmation system, the Commissioner of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, in consultation
with the entity responsible for administration of the sys-
HR 3429 IH1S
tem, shall establish a reliable, secure method, which, with-
in the time periods specified under subsections (b) and (c),
compares the name and alien identification or authoriza-
tion number described in section 403(a)(1)(B) of this divi-
sion which are provided in an inquiry against such infor-
mation maintained by the Commissioner in order to con-
firm (or not confirm) the validity of the information pro-
vided, the correspondence of the name and number, wheth-
er the alien is authorized to be employed in the United
States, and whether the individual is fraudulently using
the social security account number of another person.
‘‘(g) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commissioners
of Social Security and the Immigration and Naturalization
Service shall update their information in a manner that
promotes the maximum accuracy and shall provide a proc-
ess for the prompt correction of erroneous information, in-
cluding instances in which it is brought to their attention
in the secondary verification process described in sub-
section (c).
‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON USE OF THE CONFIRMATION
SYSTEM AND ANY RELATED SYSTEMS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, nothing in this subtitle shall be
construed to permit or allow any department, bu-
reau, or other agency of the United States Govern-
HR 3429 IH1S
ment to utilize any information, data base, or other
records assembled under this subtitle for any other
purpose other than as provided for under the pro-
gram.
‘‘(2) NO
NATIONAL
IDENTIFICATION
CARD.—
Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to author-
ize, directly or indirectly, the issuance or use of na-
tional identification cards or the establishment of a
national identification card.
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General shall
enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of
Labor and the Commissioner of Social Security for the
purpose of carrying out this subtitle. Under the agree-
ment, officers and employees of the Immigration and Nat-
uralization Service and of the Department of Labor, in
cooperation with the Social Security Administration, are
authorized to confirm the eligibility of individuals to be
employed in the United States. In confirming such eligi-
bility, such officers and employees may use records that
include Social Security account numbers to determine with
respect to an individual whether the person with the iden-
tity claimed by the individual is authorized to be employed
in the United States and whether the individual is fraudu-
lently using the social security account number of another
person. Under the agreement, the Social Security Admin-
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istration is authorized to release to employees of the Immi-
gration and Naturalization Service information, including
(but not limited to) the following:
‘‘(1) The name, date of birth, and social secu-
rity account number of individuals.
‘‘(2) All records relating to any alien.
‘‘(3) All records relating to any individual
whom the Attorney General suspects is fraudulently
using the social security account number of another
person, including records that indicate that an indi-
vidual has requested a high number of replacement
social security account number cards.
‘‘SEC. 405. ANNUAL REPORTS.
‘‘The Attorney General shall submit to the Commit-
tees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and
of the Senate reports on the program. Such reports
shall—
‘‘(1) assess the degree of fraudulent attesting of
United States citizenship,
‘‘(2) include recommendations on whether or
not the program should be modified, and
‘‘(3) assess the benefits of the program to em-
ployers and the degree to which they assist in the
enforcement of section 274A.
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‘‘SEC. 406. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated, for fiscal
year 2000 and each succeeding fiscal year, such sums as
may be necessary to carry out this subtitle.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The items in the table
of contents in section 1(d) of the Illegal Immigration Re-
form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division
C of Public Law 104–208) relating to subtitle A of title
IV are amended to read as follows:
‘‘SUBTITLE A—LEGAL EMPLOYMENT AUTHENTICATION PROGRAM (LEAP)
FOR EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY CONFIRMATION
‘‘Sec. 401. Establishment of program.
‘‘Sec. 402. Voluntary election to participate in the program.
‘‘Sec. 403. Procedures for participants in the program.
‘‘Sec. 404. Employment eligibility confirmation system.
‘‘Sec. 405. Annual reports.
‘‘Sec. 406. Authorization of appropriations.’’.
(c) SUNSET
OF CURRENT CITIZEN ATTESTATION
AND
MACHINE-READABLE-DOCUMENT
PILOT
PRO-
GRAMS.—The pilot programs under subsections (b) and
(c) of section 403 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Pub-
lic Law 104–208) (as in effect before the date of the en-
actment of this Act) shall terminate when the program
under section 404(a) of such Act (as amended by this Act)
becomes effective and any reference in such subsections
to a pilot program under subsection (a) shall be to such