Mr. President. I rise today to support Senator ABRAHAM and Senator KENNEDYS efforts to amend and reauthorize the Visa Waiver Pilot Program [VWPP]. The Visa Waiver Pilot Program has been highly successful program. freeing up embassy staff. promoting tourism and trade. and fostering closer ties between our country and her allies. Chairman ABRAHAM has made a number of important changes to the VWPP which I believe will make this program even more successful. The changes include tightening controls so that there will not be abuse of the program. and adjusting the admission criteria to include deserving countries. As many of my colleagues know. I have been a strong advocate of including South Korea in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program. I believe no other country. not currently included in the pilot program. represents as close an ally as South Korea. As our fifth largest export market. home to 37.000 of our troops. and with an economy larger than all but 5 of the current visa waiver countries. this democratic country deserves the right to participate in this program. With a 1996 unemployment rate of 2 percent. lower than all but one of the VWPP countries. the burgeoning middle class in South Korea should be able to travel to the United States without the cumbersome restraints associated with citizens traveling from highrisk countries. The Abraham legislation is a positive step. but it is unclear if South Korea will be eligible for the VWPP in the short term because of the bills continued reliance on refusal rates as the defining criteria for admission.
Keywords matched
Visa visa