Mr. President. I rise today to voice my concern about the efforts to expand the Visa Waiver Program in the 9/11 commission report bill and to offer an amendment that will cap the unlimited expansion of this program. I believe the bill as offered on the floor will make us less safe. not more safe with respect to this huge program called Visa Waiver. The bill would allow the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to expand the Visa Waiver Program without limits. My amendment would limit this discretion based on a 10 percent visa refusal rate or on the actual visa overstay rate. The Visa Waiver Program provides an extraordinary exception to our immigration laws. It allows the citizens of 27 nations to visit this country by merely showing up on the day of departure with a passport from their home country. In 2004. the State Department reported that 15.6 million people came to this country as part of this program. I am told that in 2005. unofficially. the number was at least 15.5 million and in 2006. the number was at least 15.6 million. We have no way of knowing how many left because we do not have an exit system. The bill on the floor today changes the Visa Waiver Program in a number of key ways. First. it adds some good security measures. such as the expedited reporting of lost and stolen travel documents. and the exchange of information on terrorist watchllst. It also authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to develop an electronic travel authorization program so that all persons entering the U.S. will have to apply for clearance to enter the U.S. in advance of their trip.
Keywords matched
Visa visa immigration