Chris Smith: “as a cosponsor of H.R. 4293, The Northern Ireland Visa for Peace and Reconciliation Act, I rise to urge my colleagues to…”

“as a cosponsor of H.R. 4293, The Northern Ireland Visa for Peace and Reconciliation Act, I rise to urge my colleagues to support final passage of this bill and give further evidence of America's support for achieving economic justice and a lasting peace in Northern Ireland. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, I have held a series of hearings on the human rights abuses that persist in Northern Ireland. Regrettably, harassment of defense attorneys, lack of access to legal counsel, search and seizure abuses, sectarian use of plastic bullets and the prospect of collusion between loyalist paramilitary organizations and the police and security forces have all marked the history of British rule in Northern Ireland. Along with these problems in the judiciary and in the enforcement of the rule of law, Northern Ireland has also suffered from discrimination against Catholics in the workplace. For instance, Catholic males are more than twice as likely as Protestant males to be unemployed. H.R. 4293, like the International Fund for Ireland which we created in the 1980s and which we have funded consistently every year since, will help those in Northern Ireland who continue to struggle to find work, or who are still discriminated against because of their faith.”