Cramer - House Approves H.R. 158 Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015
Press Release
H.R. 158 Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015. The bill addresses the vulnerabilities in the Visa Waiver Program by requiring participating countries to provide counterterrorism information and other critical intelligence, identifying and allowing for the suspension of high-risk countries, and denying Visa Waiver Program (VWP) status for those who have traveled to terrorist hotspots, like Iraq and Syria, since 2011. Congressman Cramer is a co-sponsor of the legislation.
Established in 1986, the VWP allows more than 20 million people annually from 38 participating countries to more easily travel to the United States for a period of up to 90 days. Instead of going to a U.S. consulate or embassy, citizens of participating countries must provide detailed background information which is then screened against U.S. security databases. (Below is a list and map of the 38 nations participating in the VWP program). The Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 fixes vulnerabilities in the visa program by giving the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to suspend a country's participation in the program if it fails to share counterterrorism information with the U.S.; denies Visa Waiver Program status to those citizens from participating countries that have traveled to certain terrorist hotspots since 2011; requires all Visa Waiver Program countries use fraud resistant "e-passports"; and allows for the suspension of high-risk countries.
"Passage of this bill is a good start, but more needs to be done to ensure our nation is safe from terrorist attack," said Cramer. "Reform of the Visa Waiver Program is essential to securing our nation's borders. We have learned thousands of terrorists have left Europe and gone to fight for ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The estimated number is 5,000 and most of them come from Visa Waver Program countries where they get a 90-day pass to go to another country in Europe or enter the United States and possibly commit terrorist acts. This is an unacceptable risk for the safety and security of the United States."
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