Mr. Speaker. I wish to indicate my full support for the actions taken last week on the State Department Reauthorization bill which puts us moving in the right direction on the all important issue of visa liberalization. Specifically. I wish to express my total agreement with the amendment which will impose a 1year moratorium on the denial of visas for persons solely on the basis of their past or current political beliefs and or associations. It is hoped that during this 1year moratorium that continued progress can be made on more comprehensive legislation to amend the McCarrenWalter Act which has been responsible for this policy. The issue involved here is a fundamental one. For those Americans who have been denied the ability to hear the views and thoughts of a person because their visa to enter the United States was denied. the United States is engaging in a form of censorship. The policy is inimical to our democratic principles and practices and must be changed. One group that has been affected by the current visa policies are those Irish Americans with a concern about the problems in the north of Ireland. Systematically. over the past 15 years. some segments of political thought in Ireland have been exclued from this Nation while others have carte blanche access to our shores. It is an inconsistent policy which causes something less than a full and free exchange of views on this all important subject.
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visas visa