National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am here this morning to urge my colleagues to support an amendment that I have offered to the National Defense Authorization Act to extend the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the SIV Program.

The SIV Program gives Afghans who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and now face grave threats because of their willingness to help our service men and women on the ground in Afghanistan the ability to come to the United States. To be eligible, new applicants must demonstrate at least 2 years of faithful and valuable service. To receive a visa, they must also clear a rigorous screening process that includes an independent verification of their service and then an intensive interagency security review.

People may ask: Who are these Afghans? Let me give a few examples of the extraordinary service they have provided.

The first person I will talk about--and I can't use his name for privacy and security reasons--worked as an interpreter for U.S. Special Operations Command, SOCOM, from 2005 to 2016--11 years. He originally applied for a special immigrant visa in 2012 and continued to work for SOCOM during the interim. One of the applicant's direct supervisors, the commander of 1st Battalion, Third Special Forces Group, stated that the applicant's brother was murdered by extremists--probably Taliban-- due to the applicant's work for the U.S. Government, and the applicant himself has been wounded several times while serving.

A second individual worked as the head interpreter for a provincial reconstruction team, or PRT team, for years. Because of his service, his children can't go to school and the lives of his family members are in danger. The applicant's PRT commander was one of multiple direct Defense Department supervisors to submit letters of recommendations on his behalf testifying to his loyal and valued service.

A third interpreter served the Defense Department from 2008 to 2015. He left work in December following an IED attack which robbed him of one eye and his vision in the other. He applied for his special immigrant visa after being wounded and is in the beginning stages of the extensive interagency vetting process.

Clearly, the service of these individuals has been critical to our successes in Afghanistan, and in at least a handful of other cases, SIV recipients' commitment to the U.S. mission was so strong that they found ways to contribute even after they arrived in the United States. One promptly enlisted in the Armed Forces and later worked as a cultural adviser to the U.S. military. Another graduated from Indiana University and Georgetown and has worked as an instructor at the Defense Language Institute. A third, who worked as a senior adviser at the U.S. Embassy, now serves on the board of a nonprofit, working to promote a safe and stable Afghanistan.

These contributions in Afghanistan and beyond help explain why senior U.S. military officers and diplomats are so supportive of the Afghan SIV Program.

Here is what the current commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General Nicholson, wrote recently about the need to reauthorize the SIV Program:

These men and women who have risked their lives and have sacrificed much for the betterment of Afghanistan deserve our continued commitment. Failure to adequately demonstrate a shared understanding of their sacrifices and honor our commitment to any Afghan who supports the International Security Assistance Force and Resolute Support missions could have grave consequences for these individuals and bolster the propaganda of our enemies. . . . Continuing our promise of the American dream is more than in our national interest, it is a testament to our decency and the long-standing tradition of honoring our allies.

Last year, General Nicholson's predecessor, General Campbell, wrote a similar letter affirming his strongest support for the SIV Program and urging Congress to ``ensure that the continuation of the SIV program remains a prominent part of any future legislation on our efforts in Afghanistan,'' adding that the program ``is crucial to our ability to protect those who have helped us so much.''

Their view is shared by senior diplomats as well. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who served in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012, recently wrote that ``taking care of those who took care of us is not just an act of basic decency, it is also in our national interest. American credibility matters. Abandoning these allies would tarnish our reputation and endanger those we are today asking to serve alongside U.S. forces and diplomats.

I see that my colleague Senator McCain is on the floor. I know my colleague remembers, as I do, watching all of those Vietnamese holding on to those helicopters that were leaving when America pulled out of Vietnam because they knew what their fate was going to be once America left that country. That is not something we can allow to happen in future conflicts. When we make a promise to those people who helped us on the ground, we need to abide by that promise. We need to make sure those people who helped our service men and women are able to get to this country and are not killed by the Taliban and other enemies of the United States and Afghanistan.

Yet, despite these compelling cases and despite the persuasive arguments of our senior military and civilian leaders, the Senate NDAA does not currently reauthorize and extend the SIV Program or allow for additional visas because of the objections of some few in this body. This is particularly problematic because we are going to issue all of those unallocated SIVs by the end of this year even while there are thousands of Afghans at some stage in the application process and new applicants still beginning. In effect, this means that without congressional action, the SIV Program will sunset around December and thousands of Afghans who have stood alongside our military and other government personnel are at severe risk. I hope this body will decide that this is unacceptable and that we have to make sure we support those people who have supported our men and women on the ground and who have, in fact, died to support our men and women on the ground.

I am happy to join Senator McCain and Senator Jack Reed, the chair and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, in trying to pass this amendment and make sure we support those people who supported us.

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