Session #114 · 2015–17

Speech #1140110338

My legislation would work to address the problems that are occurring with long wait times at our respective port of entries. Tourism is critical to the economies of the region. and we cannot let an antiquated visitor entry system and inadequate staffing harm our economy. Establishing an ESTA specific to the GuamCNMI Visa Waiver Program would help to address several issues faced by visitors arriving at Guam International Airport. First. the current process relies on a paperbased system which is cumbersome and only adds to the delays when arriving The bill would allow CBP to automate that process and. as a result. save an estimated $4 million annually that is used by CBP to process and file the paper forms. This is a common sense reform that will save the federal government money and improve the customer experience at Guam International Airport and ports of entry in the CNMI. Admittedly. CBP has the authority to create an ESTA system for the GuamCNMI Visa Waiver Program. however. they do not have the authority to direct revenues collected from this automated process towards staffing at ports of entry in Guam and CNMI. As such. it is the consensus of tourism industry leaders and other stakeholders that there is an ultimate need for this legislation. I am informed that staffing has not increased in Guam since after the 9/11 attacks.
Keywords matched
Visa

Classification

Target group
Sentiment
Neutral
Stereotyping
No
Confidence
100%
Model
gemini-2.0-flash
Framing
Economic contributor Legal / procedural

Speaker & context

Speaker
Unknown
Party
Chamber
State
Gender
Date
2016-07-14
Speech ID
1140110338
Paragraph
#1
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