Celebrating Freedom for All

Press Release

Sen. Voinovich was honored at the American Nationalities Movement's Captive Nations Dinner in Cleveland July 23. Sen. Voinovich, who is the honorary president of the American Nationalities Movement, was acknowledged for his dedication to public service, ethnic communities, and his achievements in expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Visa Waiver Program. He received a miniature replica of the Goddess of Democracy statue in memory of the one hundred million victims of communism. As a former five-year member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Voinovich played a key role in the expansion of NATO membership to include Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. He joined President Bush in 2002 on an official U.S. delegation trip to the NATO summit in Prague and was the only member of Congress in the room when membership was formally extended. He continues that fight today to ensure the door to NATO remains open for all of the captive nations. In 2007, President George W. Bush signed the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 into law. The law included a provision authored by Sen. Voinovich mandating increased national security requirements for Visa Waiver Program participant countries while expanding opportunities for key allies to join the program. The Visa Waiver Program was established in 1986 to permit nationals from selected countries to enter the United States for legitimate tourism or business travel without a visa for up to 90 days.

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