In a statement after the vote, Hardy said what was started as a well-intended way to ease travel between participating countries has become a potential weakness that enemies of the US could manipulate to harm Americans.
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It also would add terrorism to the list of risk factors for which USA officials may stop someone from entering the country and require the Department of Homeland Security to suspend countries’ participation if they don’t meet requirements. The chamber voted 407-19 in favor of the legislation, with all of those voting “no” being Democrats.
The terror attacks in San Bernardino, Calif., and Paris have prompted a new emphasis on security but left lawmakers struggling to determine the appropriate response. Also denied waivers would be nationals of those countries who hold a passport from one of the visa waiver nations.
The proposal was drafted by a task force of Republican committee chairmen, who have been working on a roster of proposals to respond to the Paris terror attacks by stepping up security measures at home and overseas.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California has called the measure a “good bill” and Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said Tuesday that the Obama administration had previously indicated it supports the House measure.
The Washington Post reported that the strong bipartisan support could light a fire under efforts to make changes to the programme in the omnibus spending package, which needs to be finalised before government funding expires on 11 December.
It is estimated that approximately 5,000 Europeans have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS, many of whom are from countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program and could travel to the USA fairly easily. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), which has not yet been scheduled for a vote.
It would bar people who traveled after March 1, 2011 to Iraq and Syria, as well as Iran and Sudan, from participating in the visa-free programme, require the use of electronic passports for all participating countries and call for participating countries to share more intelligence data on suspected terrorists and criminals.
The No. 2 House Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said he worked closely with GOP leaders on the visa waiver bill and that the measure said it was “reasonable” and “measured” plan.
It is one of the smallest visa categories managed by the USA – accounting for 0.3 percent of the almost 10 million visas issued in fiscal year 2014 -and was created to try to root out marriage fraud.
The bill also would disqualify from the program travelers who have been to Syria or Iraq within the last five years.
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House Democrats tried to capitalize on the legislation Tuesday afternoon by pushing for votes on a bill by Rep. Peter King, R-New York, that would plug a loophole allowing individuals on the government’s terrorist watch list to buy firearms and explosives in the United States.
