Ed Case: “I rise today in support and as a cosponsor of H.R. 4417, which will extend for one year the deadline for countries to…”

“I rise today in support and as a cosponsor of H.R. 4417, which will extend for one year the deadline for countries to continue eligibility in our Visa Waiver Program by issuing passports which are both machine-readable and also include biometric identifiers. I do so with a clear focus on tourism, the primary industry in my state. According to the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, in 2002, tourists spent more than $11 billion during their vacations in the state. A significant part of these expenditures come from international tourists. And while facilitated international travel is essential not only to recreational tourism, it is also key to international commerce, especially from Asia, and to the education in Hawaii of foreign nationals, a major and growing component of our economy. Each day, thousands of visitors arrive to Hawaii from foreign destinations, including those countries in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The tourism industry not only in my state, but every state in the Nation, faces grave consequences if this extension is not granted.”