By Karoun Demirjian, CQ Staff
A controversial government-sponsored employee verification system got a
firm vote of support Thursday in the House, despite deep disagreements
over whether

the program is the appropriate mechanism through which to
screen job applicants' work eligibility.
A five-year reautorization of the program ) passed 407-2. The
bill is the product of weeks of negotiation between backers of
E-Verify, the government's voluntary, Internet-based system, and
supporters of the New Employee Verification Act, or NEVA ,
which envisioned using existing state-based networks currently used to
identify deadbeat dads. The E-Verify plan is due to expire by the end
of November.