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106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3429
To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996 to authorize the establishment of a voluntary legal employ-
ment authentication program (LEAP) as a successor to the current
pilot programs for employment eligibility confirmation.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 17, 1999
Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska (for himself, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. LATHAM, and
Mr. BILBRAY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 to authorize the establishment
of a voluntary legal employment authentication program
(LEAP) as a successor to the current pilot programs
for employment eligibility confirmation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Legal Employment Au-
thentication Program (LEAP) Act of 1999’’.
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SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING LEGAL EMPLOYMENT AUTHENTICA-
TION PROGRAM (LEAP) AS A SUCCESSOR TO
CURRENT PILOT PROGRAMS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF LEGAL EMPLOYMENT AU-
THENTICATION PROGRAM (LEAP).—Subtitle A of title IV
of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon-
sibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104–208)
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘Subtitle A—Legal Employment Au-
thentication 
Program 
(LEAP)
for Employment Eligibility Con-
firmation
‘‘SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in close
consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Commis-
sioner of Social Security, shall establish a legal employ-
ment authentication program for employment eligibility
confirmation under this subtitle.
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Attorney General shall
implement such program in a manner that permits per-
sons and other entities to have elections under section 402
of this division made and in effect no later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of Legal Employment Au-
thentication Program (LEAP) Act of 1999.
‘‘(c) REFERENCES IN SUBTITLE.—In this subtitle—
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‘‘(1) PROGRAM AND LEAP REFERENCES.—The
terms ‘program’ and ‘LEAP’ refer to the legal em-
ployment authentication program provided for under
this subtitle.
‘‘(2) CONFIRMATION SYSTEM.—The term ‘con-
firmation system’ means the confirmation system es-
tablished under section 404 of this division.
‘‘(3) REFERENCES TO SECTION 274A.—Any ref-
erence in this subtitle to section 274A (or a subdivi-
sion of such section) is deemed a reference to such
section (or subdivision thereof) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act.
‘‘(4) I–9 OR SIMILAR FORM.—The term ‘I–9 or
similar form’ means the form used for purposes of
section 274A(b)(1)(A) or such other form as the At-
torney General determines to be appropriate.
‘‘(5) LIMITED
APPLICATION
TO
RECRUITERS
AND REFERRERS.—Any reference to recruitment or
referral (or a recruiter or referrer) in relation to em-
ployment is deemed a reference only to such recruit-
ment or referral (or recruiter or referrer) that is
subject to section 274A(a)(1)(B)(ii).
‘‘(6) UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP.—The term
‘United States citizenship’ includes United States
nationality.
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‘‘(7) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 101(a)(36) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act.
‘‘SEC. 402. VOLUNTARY ELECTION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) VOLUNTARY ELECTION.—Subject to subsection
(c)(3)(B), any person or other entity that conducts any
hiring (or recruitment or referral) may elect to participate
in the program. Except as specifically provided in sub-
section (e), the Attorney General may not require any per-
son or other entity to participate in the program.
‘‘(b) BENEFIT OF REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a person or other entity
is participating in the program and obtains con-
firmation of identity and employment eligibility in
compliance with the terms and conditions of the pro-
gram with respect to the hiring (or recruitment or
referral) of an individual for employment in the
United States, the person or entity has established
a rebuttable presumption that the person or entity
has not violated section 274A(a)(1)(A) with respect
to such hiring (or such recruitment or referral).
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not
be construed as preventing a person or other entity
that has an election in effect under subsection (a)