Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2005-Resumed

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
SENATE
Sept. 8, 2004
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005-RESUMED

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Madam President, I have cosponsored, as my distinguished colleague from Vermont has indicated, an amendment to the Homeland Security appropriations bill, and I ask unanimous consent that Senator HARRY REID of Nevada be added as a cosponsor.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. I believe this is a matter of great importance to the security of our country. The amendment would eliminate funding for an A-76 competitive outsourcing study of immigration information officer, contact representative, and investigative assistant positions within the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, or the BCIS, at the Department of Homeland Security.

As a general principle, I do not oppose privatization of Government jobs where doing so clearly is in the best interest of the most efficient use of taxpayers' dollars and is in the best interest of not only our Government but of the taxpayers. I do believe, though, that there are some types of jobs that can and should be performed by Government, as well as some jobs and services that can be performed by private contractors. I believe that deciding which jobs are appropriate for privatization should be a very careful and deliberative process. It should not be done to meet arbitrary quotas. In the case of these particular BCIS jobs, I believe DHS has made a mistake in subjecting them to an A-76 study.

In this instance in particular, I do not believe privatizing these particular jobs is appropriate or will best serve the interests of our country. I believe these jobs are intricately tied to the national security of our country and therefore are inherently governmental. These jobs require a high level of discretion and of very specific knowledge of immigration laws to determine who is eligible for immigration benefits. These workers are charged with weeding out fraud in the immigration system and identifying those with criminal histories or those who could be potential terrorists. These are the types of jobs that are inherently governmental in that they are vital to protecting our country from security threats.

The DHS's own job descriptions for these positions illustrate why these positions are inherently governmental. For example, immigration information officers are required to have the "skill to identify fraudulent documents in order to prevent persons from appealing for benefits for which they are not eligible." They are also required to have "knowledge and skill in interviewing techniques and observation of applicants in order to determine if an applicant is misrepresenting the facts in order to appear eligible for a benefit."

In addition, according to the DHS's own job descriptions, workers in these positions are exposed to highly confidential information and may at times be exposed to national security information. They must exercise their discretion by observing and questioning individuals for the purpose of determining if those individuals are attempting to submit applications under fraudulent situations and reasons. This can lead to the arrest or detention and subsequent deportation of those aliens and may lead to the prosecution of cases.

In Nebraska alone, there are 100 workers within the BCIS performing these functions, and I have heard from them directly about why they believe their duties are inherently governmental. Quite frankly, I agree with them. I believe it would be unwise, especially in our country's current heightened state of alert to terrorist threats, to outsource jobs that are so closely linked to the security and safety of our country. Weeding out potential fraud in our immigration system must indeed remain a responsibility of Government employees, especially when the perpetrator of the fraud may be a dangerous criminal or a terrorist.

Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support Senator Leahy's and my amendment and prevent these jobs from being privatized.

I thank the Senator from Vermont.