(Harrisburg) -- The debate over a proposed requirement that public works employees in Pennsylvania be checked against a federal database has dredged up old arguments over privacy and homeland security. State House committee members have approved a bill that would make such contractors check the legal status of their employees through the national E-Verify Program. GOP Representative Daryl Metcalfe, who chairs the panel, says the proposal is intended to stop illegal immigration to Pennsylvania and free up jobs for documented workers. "This is very consistent with current law that I support and that’s to verify when you hire somebody that they actually are a citizen," he says. "Or that they’re a resident alien, or somebody here on a worker’s visa that’s allowed to work." But, the ranking Democrat on the committee, Representative Babette Josephs, and civil rights advocates argue the plan raises questions about personal privacy and state’s rights. She calls the Republican backing schizophrenic. She notes earlier this year, there was GOP opposition to the implementation of the federal Real ID program, which would replace state driver’s licenses with national identification in 2013. The bill awaits House consideration.