Keeping the United States safe from terrorists has been on many people’s minds following recent attacks.
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Another security bill was passed last week in the House to tighten screening of refugees from Syria and Iraq following the Paris attacks.
The US Travel Association backed the House bill, rather than a Senate proposal from Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Republican Jeff Flake that would also require the collection of biometric data. Obama, too, called in his Oval Office address Sunday night for a new look at the fiancée visa.
“Shoe bomber” Richard Reid, boarded a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001 and attempted to set off a bomb while Zaharias Moussaoui, the “20th hijacker” from the September 11 attacks, flew from London to Chicago with a French passport in February 2001, Homeland Security revealed.
The visa waiver program was launched in the 1980’s to bring more tourists to America.
“The House measure also seeks to prevent Syrian and Iraqi nationals, as well as any passport holder of a waiver country who has traveled to Syria, Iraq, Iran or Sudan since March 1, 2011 – the start of the Syrian civil war – from taking advantage of the program”. She introduced the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 to expand the criteria by which a country may be removed from the program and better ensure terrorists aren’t pouring through our borders and it was voted out of committee in June. H.R. 158 requires all VWP countries to check travelers against INTERPOL databases to determine whether the traveler is wanted by law enforcement agencies based on ties to terrorism or criminal activity. “Given the legitimate threat that terrorists could come to the United States through participant countries, this bill takes commonsense steps to protect national security and the safety of our citizens”. But a strong showing in the House could put momentum behind efforts to include visa waiver legislation in the omnibus spending package – a must-pass bill that lawmakers are now trying to finalize before the current government spending bill expires on Friday. The House of Representatives voted to make changes to a United States visa program and the Senate is headed that way.
The travel industry supports Miller’s bill, saying it strikes a balance that allows a successful program to continue. The Visa Waiver Program is another area where vulnerabilities need to be strengthened.
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Tuesday’s vote was 407 for and 18 against.
