Speech #1050119768

Chairman. I rise In support of the Pombo amendment to H.S. 2578. Ihe Visa Waiver Reaulhorization Act. This amendment would admil a slightly wider circle of countries to Ihe programlhose with a visa refusal rate of 3% or lossa level which I believe is more than justified. In 1986. the Visa Waiver Pilot Program was authorized essentially on a "al rn" basis. under the very slringenl control of a 2% visa refusal rateaveraged over Iwo yearswilh no one year having a rate over 2.b%. The visa waiver saves our embassies and consulates enormous amounts of time and ap. propriated funds. In 26 countries. our consular staffs are freed from processing visas in stable areas whore there are virtually no visa refusals anyway. The visa waiver has made money for the United States by greatly boosting tourism and sparing visitors the inconvenience of traveling to a consulate and going through the red tape of applying for a visa that would likely be approved anyway. Congress has recognized the success and benefits of this program and has repeatedly reauthorized the visa waiver program over tile years. Yet I feel that Congress Is just waking up to the fact that the program is overly strict in its means of measuring who can participate and who cannot. The visa refusal rate Is a poor Indicator of a countrys ability to participate responsibly in the U.S. visa waiver arrangement. Consular officers have farreaching powers to deny visas. Indeed. a federal employment case recently brought to light that the consular officars In Sao Paulo. Brazil were expected to rely heavily on an applicants race. appearance or manner In denying visas. which obscured whether the applicants actually and a motivalion to return home on time. To be fair to the State Department. I concede that consular officers cannot read minds or predict the future. They cannot know in advance whether or nol a visa applicant will violale our immigration laws. But this uncertainty loads them to err too much on the side of caution and deny visas that may be a bit borderline. A far more accurate Indicator for whether a country should be eligible tar visa waiver pogram Is whether foreign visitors do in fact. overstay or violate our Immigration laws. For this reason. I applaud the provision In the main bill requiring the INS to collect data on persons who overstay their 90day visa waiver period. This should be the benchmark. not a mere hunch on the part of a consular ofilcer. Mr.