Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am pleased to join today with my friend and colleague from Virginia Senator Kaine to introduce the Religious Workforce Protection Act. Our bill would allow foreign-born religious workers in the United States to continue to perform essential work in their communities all across the Nation, including the State of Maine. I would also like to thank our friend and colleague Senator Jim Risch, who joins us in introducing this important bill. Like my colleague from Virginia, I, too, learned about this problem from my local parish in Maine. In the summertime, I tend to attend Catholic mass in either Lincoln or Howland, ME. Both parishes are served by the same priest. The priest, until last year, came from India--Father Tony. We all loved him. Unfortunately, when he went back home, there was a change in his visa status, and he was unable to return. Our legislation would grant the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to extend the temporary R-1 status for a religious worker past 5 years until he or she receives a decision on the permanent EB-4 visa application. In doing so, the bill would provide a solution to the significant problems that religious organizations and workers are experiencing with our current system. Our bill would help religious workers of all faith traditions continue their work providing services, such as acting as a chaplain at a hospital, conducting worship services, and serving as religious educators.…”