Letter to the Hon. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, and the Hon. Harry Reid, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate - Consider Improvements To Visa Waiver Bill Provisions

Letter

"We all agree that the first responsibility of government is to keep the American people safe, and the American people are rightfully concerned about the threat of terrorism. This is why we are pleased that Congress and the Administration have been examining changes to the Visa Waiver Program to ensure that any vulnerabilities that could put the American people at risk are addressed.

"Requiring all travelers under the Visa Waiver Program to have an unexpired, fraud-resistant electronic passport is an important security measure to take. We also support new requirements for Interpol screening of travelers and reporting on theft of passports. These provisions are included in H.R. 158 and would help improve our security here at home, should the bill be enacted into law.

"Making sure that we avoid as many unintended consequences as possible is particularly important when we are proposing to disqualify specific populations of people from long standing immigration practices."

Specifically, the Members would like the Senate to consider making three possible improvements to the House-passed version of H.R. 158:

· Provisions that discriminate based on dual citizenship based on ancestry should be eliminated.

· Exceptions are needed from the bars on visa waiver travel for those who have spent time in Syria, Iraq, and other designated countries to provide medical or humanitarian aid or as journalists or researchers.

· Changes to the visa waiver program should require reauthorization after a specified period of time.