Chairman. I rise in strong opposition to the Franks amendment. This amendment strikes an important provision of our legislation that requires the Department of State to report to Congress on the possibility of offering consular and visa services at the U.S. office in Pristina. Kosova. Although the United States maintains a robustly staffed mission in Pristina. those Kosovars wishing to visit the United States must travel out of Kosova to receive consular and visa services. Mr. Chairman. this is both inconvenient and expensive for the average Kosovar. who is not very wealthy. because many visa applications require multiple visits to a consulate outside of Kosova to places as far off as Skopje. Tirana. and Podgorica: three different countries and three different capitals. The State Department says the current layout of the U.S. office in Pristina makes it difficult to provide adequate security to handle consular and visa matters there. The authorization bill. as written and passed by a vote of 44 to nothing by the Committee on International Relations. demonstrates the importance Congress places on providing consular and visa services in Pristina and having the State Department detail its plans for the future. It mandates no changes. but merely requires the Department of State to report to Congress on the matter as part of our oversight responsibilities. Nor does it threaten to change the status of Kosova. as some proponents of this amendment may believe.