Political Quotes

“I wish to also talk about an issue that has not made it into the Defense authorization bill, unlike the amendment that Senator Tillis and I support. Sadly, help for the Afghans who aided our troops in the war in Afghanistan is not included in this Defense authorization bill. As most of us know in the Senate, the Afghan special immigrant visa program allows Afghans who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and who face threats of harm to themselves or their families because of their service--we allow them to apply for refuge in the United States through the special immigrant visa program, or SIV program. Over the years, there has been strong bipartisan support for this effort to bring those Afghans in harm's way back to the United States. I am pleased to have worked with Senator Tillis, Senator Wicker, Senator Leahy, Senator Graham, and, of course, Senator McCain, who has been the champion in the Senate to address this issue. I am proud to partner yet again with these Senators, and we have introduced legislation to authorize 4,000 SIVs for 2019 so that we can continue to bring to the United States those people who are at risk. Even as the administration sharply restricts immigration and refugee programs, President Trump has made an exception for those who serve alongside our soldiers and diplomats. He has included 4,000 Afghan SIVs in his budget request for this upcoming fiscal year. The support for this program truly is bipartisan.…”