Today, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees agreed to a three-year extension of E-Verify, effectively rejecting the Senate-passed version of the bill, which had called for a permanent reauthorization of the program. The conference agreement for the FY 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill (H.R. 2892) also includes $137 million to operate the system and further improve accuracy and compliance rates.

The committees also appear to have removed two provisions from the Senate version of the bill which would have permitted optional verification of an employer’s existing workforce, and mandated all federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify for both new hires and existing employees, without any conditions or exemptions.

The DHS Appropriations bill will now head back to the House of Representatives and the Senate for a final vote on passage, which should occur in the next few days.