Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act. I am pleased to be joined by Senator Flake, who is the lead Republican cosponsor, as well as Senators Heitkamp, Coats, Heinrich, Johnson, Bennet, Ayotte, Warner, Baldwin, Tester, King, Klobuchar, Boxer, and Blumenthal. This bill would improve the security of the Visa Waiver Program, which is used by about 20 million travelers a year. The horrific attacks in Paris and the emergence of ISIL make it absolutely clear that we must strengthen the Visa Waiver Program to protect our country. This bill would do just that. 38 countries are now part of the Visa Waiver Program. Nationals from these countries may come to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa. Travelers through the program use an online application to gain approval to travel to the United States. Many of these travelers simply apply for approval from their home computer. Participating countries must also enter into valuable intelligence- sharing agreements with the United States. By comparison, only about 36 million people secured visas for business, tourism, and other temporary purposes to the United States from 2005 to 2010--an average of only 6 million per year. As we all know, fewer than 2,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict-- which go through a heavy vetting process--were admitted to the United States over the last 4 years.…”