Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I understand Senator Vitter, the Senator from Louisiana was on the floor earlier discussing the amendment Senator Hatch and I have proposed, Amendment No. 1183. I have read the remarks the Senator from Louisiana made, and I wish he had read our amendment more carefully. His remarks seem to be describing a different amendment than the one Senator Hatch and I have proposed. Our amendment is very simple. Under current law, foreign performing artists who come to the United States must get either an ``O'' or ``P'' visa. The Immigration Statute requires that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS process these visas in 14 days. This statutory requirement is a reflection of the time sensitivity involved with scheduling these artists for engagements in the United States, and permitting them to meet their obligations, which of course benefit the American organizations that hire them. Our amendment, which is limited to non-profit organizations, provides that if the 14-day statutory requirement for processing is not met, then the foreign artist's petition would automatically be given expedited processing, and the associated additional fee is waived. But let me be clear, the visiting artist is already paying a fee of several hundred dollars for the petition. All our amendment would do is provide the petitioner with free expedited processing if the deadline were not met by the agency.…”