CONGRESS WILL OVERHAUL VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME

Posted on 12/09/2015

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation on Tuesday (407 to 19) that would overhaul the federal visa waiver programme and bar those from Iraq, Syria, Iran and the Sudan, or those who have visited those countries in the last five years, from travelling to the US without a visa.

The current programme allows tourists from 38 countries, including the UK, Spain and France, to stay in the US for up to 90 days without a visa.

About 20 million tourists use the programme each year.

Concerns about the programme’s security have spiked following reports that all of the identified attackers in Paris were European nationals. Tourists who use the visa waiver programme are already screened against American security databases, but are subject to less restrictive checks than other travelers.

"This will help neutralize the threat from foreign terrorists entering our country," House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday.

The GOP proposal, which top House Democrats have endorsed, calls for greater sharing of information among the 38 countries that participate in the programme with the US.

Currently those eligible can travel for limited time periods without having to apply for a visa. The bill would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to terminate any country's participation in the programme if it doesn't adequately transmit data. It also looks to beef up efforts to detect fraud from those traveling with electronic passports.

The House vote comes after the Obama administration last week moved to expand security checks for the visa-waiver programme, such as determining whether travellers had visited countries with significant terror activity.

President Obama called on Congress to go even further to secure the programme during his Oval Office address on Sunday night.

“We should put in place stronger screening for those who come to America without a visa so that we can take a hard look at whether they’ve travelled to warzones. And we’re working with members of both parties in Congress to do exactly that,” Obama said.

Ryan however, criticized the Oval Office speech, saying, "We heard the President defend staying the course. But why would we stay the course when the enemy is evolving?"

He repeated his call for the President to offer a "real, comprehensive strategy to defeat - defeat, not contain, ISIS."

The vote was delayed for a short period on the House floor, as Democrats offered procedural motions designed to force a vote on a measure to block gun purchases from those on the terror watch list.

Ryan has incredibly argued that the idea is a "distraction" and that the broader focus should be on measures aimed at fighting terrorism.

Tuesday’s vote stands in contrast to a more partisan bill the House passed last month that would enhance security requirements for refugees from Iraq or Syria seeking asylum in the United States.

Liberal Democrats denounced that bill, saying America should not turn its back on the world's most vulnerable people.

“While the refugee bill showed our country and this body at its worst, today’s bill makes sensible improvements to the security of the visa waiver programme,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)