Speech #920194520

RYANa bill that I have cosponsored. I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to vote for it today. Briefly. it would lay down an annual floor for the number of visas available to any given country. based on the average annual number of visas issued to that country during the 10year period from 1956 through 1965. Every country would be guaranteed 75 percent of that annual average. not to exceed 7.500. As an example. Ireland averaged 7.185 visas a year during that period. and therefore would be guaranteed 5.389 visas. instead of the 1.077 she received last year. The special visas in excess of those granted through the permanent provisions of the immigration law would be provided in addition to the annual ceiling of 170.000 visas per year for Eastern Hemisphere countries. so countries not in need of this safeguard would not be restricted by it. The bill in its entirety is temporary legislation. scheduled to end 4 fiscal years after its enactment. I would have preferred openended legislation. such as the Ryan bill. but there is reason to believe that this is the only form in which the bill could be brought to the House floor for a vote. I assume we will have the opportunity to vote on additional immigration reform bills before the 4year life of this legislation expires. The bills second major provision. sections 3 through 6. is addressed to still another problem that we have been concerned about for a number of yearsthe long waiting list for visas for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens applying under the fifth preference category. Unlike the Irish. Italians emigrate in family groups and. also unlike the Irish. they have been burdened with a grossly inadequate quota under the national origins system. The result was a waiting list of close to a quarter of a million applicants in 1964. of whom more than 100.000 were applying as brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Unlike most backlogs that accumulated in the past. this one did not come close to being absorbed during the 21/2 -year transition period between 1966 and mid1968. Italys immigration rose immediately from 5.666 to the maximum percountry limit of 20.000. but the majority of the available visas are used by the higher preferences. and the backlog for fifth preference continues to accumulate. The purpose of the second provision of the bill before us is to complete the work not finished during the transition period: absorb the backlog so that applicants for fifth preference visas can compete in all countries on an equal footing. unhampered by the backlog resulting from 40 years of an insufficient quota. The bill would make a specified number of special visas available to fifth preference applicants in whose behalf petitions were filed prior to July 1. 1971. Unused special visas will be made available to applicants for sixth preference. workers in short supply in the United States. in whose behalf petitions were filed prior to the same date. In countries where there is a fifth preference backlog. sixth preference and nonpreference visas have become completely unavailable. This provision would allow visas to become available for these lower priority categories.