OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

Date: June 24, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Immigration

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, EB-5 investments are a major economic driver in Texas. EB-5 projects use merit-based immigration to create thousands of American jobs and bring billions of dollars in investment to major urban areas, like Dallas and Houston, as well as our rural communities across the State. These projects include investments in infrastructure for a wide variety of sectors, including energy, hospitality, residential, and commercial.

I am a supporter of the EB-5 Program and its resources for the community, but there is no question, as Senator Grassley has said, that it could stand some reforms. As with any debate in Congress, there are a lot of different opinions on what those reforms should look like, but we can all agree that we need to strengthen this program and reauthorize it.

I am glad to join Senator Grassley today in offering this legislation to improve the integrity and security of the EB-5 Program, while ensuring law-abiding Texas job creators aren't negatively impacted.

This bill would have reauthorized the EB-5 Program until 2023, with significant oversight and integrity measures. It will require regional centers to have policies and procedures in place to protect against fraud. It will give the Department of Homeland Security greater authority to terminate applications based on fraud, criminal misuse, or threats to public safety or national security. It would subject EB-5 projects to greater oversight. All of these changes come without skewing the framework of the program to benefit certain areas to the detriment of others.

This happens to be very similar to legislation that I introduced in 2015 with Senator Schumer and Senator Flake, which included recommendations from both the Department of Homeland Security and the Government Accountability Office.

I appreciate Chairman Grassley's leadership on this legislation, and I hope at some point we can reauthorize the EB-5 Program and safeguard critical investments in communities across the country.

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