Jim Sensenbrenner: “H.R. 4558 amends the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998, which established a cultural…”

“H.R. 4558 amends the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998, which established a cultural training program for disadvantaged individuals to assist the Irish peace process. The program creates 12,000 3-year nonimmigrant visas of the Q classification for adults between the ages of 18 and 35 who live in disadvantaged areas in northern Ireland and the border counties of the Irish Republic. The program enacted in 1998 is set to sunset on October 1, 2005. This bill extends it for 1 year to 2006. The purpose of the visa is to provide practical training, employment, and the experience of co-existence and conflict resolution in a diverse society and a strong economy such as ours. After trainees return home, they can provide the critical skill base needed to attract private investment in their local economies. Because the program has been so successful, it also began in Syracuse, New York, within the past few months. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”