Leahy Welcomes Passage Of Bipartisan Bill To Reauthorize Critical Visa Program For Iraqi Translators

Statement

[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) issued the following comment Thursday after the House on Wednesday passed legislation to extend the Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which provides visas to translators who served alongside U.S. troops. The Senate passed identical legislation on Monday, and the measure approved by both chambers now goes to the White House for signature.]

"I am glad that House members put politics aside and passed a temporary extension of the Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa program. This program offers a lifeline to thousands of Iraqi men and women who risked everything to support our military and its mission abroad, and we owe it to them to ensure this program continues. I included a year-long extension in the Senate version of the FY 2014 State, Foreign Operations bill, which was reported by the Appropriations Committee in July but has not yet been acted on by the full Senate. I thank Senators Shaheen and McCain for leading this effort to pass a temporary extension through the Senate earlier this week and I was proud to join them along with Senators Grassley and Graham. At a time when Congress is so divided, I hope our bipartisan example will inspire the House to take action on many of the other important matters our Nation faces."

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