[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 125 (Thursday, September 18, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9633-S9635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RELIGIOUS WORKERS ACT OF 1997

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. 1198, introduced earlier today by 
Senator Abraham.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1198) to amend the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act to provide permanent authority for entry into the United 
     States of certain religious workers.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
provide permanent authority for 5,000 visas per year for religious 
groups to use to sponsor for permanent residency people who come to 
this country to do God's work.
  Mr. President, the Immigration Act of 1990 took a significant step in 
recognizing the needs of America's religious institutions by creating 
these religious worker visas. At that time the Act only provided 
temporary authority for this program in order to see how it would work. 
I think we have now had enough experience with it to know that it works 
very well. The time has come to place religious institutions on an 
equal footing with businesses and universities with regards to 
sponsoring needed workers by giving these visas the same status as all 
our other immigrant visas.
  Prior to 1990, churches, synagogues, mosques, and their affiliated 
organizations experienced significant difficulties in trying to gain 
admission for a much needed minister or other individual necessary to 
provide religious services to their communities. The 1990 Act changed 
that. It set aside 10,000 visas per year for ``special immigrants.'' Up 
to 5,000 of these visas annually can be used for ministers of a 
religious denomination.
  In addition, a related provision of the law provides 5,000 visas per 
year to individuals working for religious organizations in ``a 
religious vocation or occupation'' or in a ``professional capacity in a 
religious vocation or occupation.'' This has allowed nuns, brothers, 
cantors, lay preachers, religious instructors, religious counselors, 
missionaries, and other persons to work at their vocations or 
occupations for religious organizations or their affiliates. The 
sponsoring organization must be a bona fide religious organization or 
an affiliate of one, and must be certified or eligible to be certified 
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Religious workers 
must have two years work experience to qualify for an immigrant visa. 
The authority for these visas is what expires this year.
  Mr. President, we often hear the charge that immigrants are somehow 
taking from our communities, when, as I heard at a recent subcommittee 
hearing on this subject, the opposite is much more often the case. As 
Bishop John Cummins of Oakland has written: ``Religious workers provide 
a very important pastoral function to the American communities in which 
they work and live, performing activities in furtherance of a vocation 
or religious occupation often possessing characteristics unique from 
those found in the general labor market. Historically, religious 
workers have staffed hospitals, orphanages, senior care homes and other 
charitable institutions that provide benefits to society without public 
funding.''
  Bishop Cummins notes that ``The steady decline in native-born 
Americans entering religious vocations and occupations, coupled with 
the dramatically increasing need for charitable services in 
impoverished communities makes the extension of this special immigrant 
provision a necessity for numerous religious denominations in the 
United States.''
  Mr. President, I and I am sure most Americans share Bishop Cummins' 
views. Indeed the special immigrant program has won universal praise in 
religious communities across the nation. Our office has received 
letters from religious orders and organizations throughout the nation. 
A recent letter signed jointly by Jewish, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran 
and Evangelical organizations states: ``Failure to extend the [special 
immigrant visa categories] would substantially undermine the services 
that religious denominations and organizations in the United States 
provide to their members, parishioners, and communities.
  Mr. President, our nation was founded by people who came to these 
shores in search of a place where they and their children could worship 
freely. It is only fitting that our country welcome those who wish to 
help our religious organizations provide pastoral and other relief to 
people in need.
  That is why I am introducing ``The Religious Workers Act of 1997.'' 
This bill will eliminate the sunset provisions and extend permanently 
the religious workers provisions of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act. I believe religious organizations' ability to sponsor individuals 
who provide service to their local communities should be a permanent 
fixture of our immigration law, just as it is for those petitioning for 
close family members and skilled workers. No longer should religious 
institutions have to worry about whether Congress will act in time to 
renew the religious workers provisions. I am pleased that the entire 
leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee and its Immigration 
Subcommittee--Senators Kennedy, Hatch, Leahy and I--

[[Page S9634]]

are cosponsoring this legislation, along with a large number of other 
colleagues.
  Finally, Mr. President, I would like to close with a letter that was 
sent to me recently. It's a letter that helped convince me that we 
should move without further delay toward permanent extension of the 
religious workers provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 
The letter reads as follows:

       Dear Senator Abraham:
       I am writing to ask you to help us in solving a very urgent 
     problem. My Sisters in New York have told me that the law 
     which allows the Sisters to apply for permanent residence in 
     the United States expires on September 30, 1997. Please, will 
     you do all that you can to have that law extended so that all 
     Religious will continue to have the opportunity to be 
     permanent residents and serve the people of your great 
     country.
       It means so much to our poor people to have Sisters who 
     understand them and their culture. It takes a long time for a 
     Sister to understand the people and a culture, so now our 
     Society wants to keep our Sisters in their mission countries 
     on a more long term basis. Please help us and our poor by 
     extending this law.
       I am praying for you and the people of Michigan. My Sisters 
     serve the poor in Detroit where we have a soup kitchen and 
     night shelter for women. Let us all thank God for this chance 
     to serve His poor.
       Signed: Mother Teresa.

  My office received this letter, a copy of which I ask unanimous 
consent to have printed in the Record, only a few weeks before Mother 
Teresa's death.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. ABRAHAM. I believe that all of us who have been inspired by 
Mother Teresa's life have asked ourselves what we might do to honor her 
memory. For me, at least, moving this legislation forward is something 
I would like to do to remember her great and noble works in the name of 
God and on behalf of humanity.
  I urge my colleagues to support the crucial faith-based institutions 
that have so enriched all our lives by supporting this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  I yield the floor.

                               Exhibit 1


                                      Missionaries of Charity,

                                   Calcutta, India, July 20, 1997.
     Hon. Spencer Abraham,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Abraham: This brings you my prayers, greetings 
     and gratitude for all that you have done to help my Sisters 
     and all Religious serve the poor in the United States.
       I am writing to ask you to help us in solving a very urgent 
     problem. My Sisters in New York have told me that the law 
     which allows the Sisters to apply for permanent residence in 
     the United States expires on September 30, 1997. Please, will 
     you do all that you can to have that law extended so that all 
     Religious will continue to have the opportunity to be 
     permanent residents and serve the people of your great 
     country.
       It means so much to our poor people to have Sisters who 
     understand them and their culture. It takes a long time for a 
     Sister to understand the people and a culture, so now our 
     Society wants to keep our Sisters in their mission countries 
     on a more long term basis. Please help us and our poor by 
     extending this law.
       I am praying for you and the people of Michigan. My Sisters 
     serve the poor in Detroit where we have a soup kitchen and 
     night shelter for women. Let us all thank God for this chance 
     to serve His poor.
       God bless you.
                                                    M. Teresa, MC.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am honored to join with Senator 
Abraham, Senator Hatch, Senator Leahy and my other colleagues in 
sponsoring legislation to reauthorize provisions of our laws permitting 
immigrants to come to this country to serve communities in churches and 
other religious institutions across the United States.
  One of the most significant achievements of the Immigration Act of 
1990, which I sponsored in the Senate, was the creation of this 
important visa category. Religious institutions perform extraordinary 
services for families and communities. In doing so, they often find it 
worthwhile to bring in religious workers from other lands as 
immigrants, to help them carry out their activities in the United 
States.
  One of the best known supporters of this practice was Mother Teresa. 
Missionaries in her Order come to the United States frequently to work 
with the poor in our country. She and the members of her Order have 
directly touched the lives of millions of Americans. Much of the recent 
work by her Missionaries of Charity in this country would not have been 
possible without this important provision in our immigration laws.
  Unfortunately, this visa category expires on September 30, just two 
weeks from today. We cannot allow this to happen.
  As His Eminence Cardinal Maida of Detroit testified before the 
Immigration Subcommittee last week, ``Should the program be permitted 
to expire, the impact would be far reaching. Not only would religious 
organizations and denominations lose access to the much needed 
contributions of these religious workers, but so, too, would the many 
communities in which these individuals work.''
  The legislation we are sponsoring would make this visa a permanent 
part of our immigration laws. Renewal of this visa would be a small, 
but enduring memorial to Mother Teresa and her work in America. It will 
enable the members of her Order to continue their charitable and 
compassionate work in this country long into the future.
  I have been honored to see her good work in America and around the 
world. I recall meeting her when I visited India in 1971 and viewed 
firsthand the extraordinary compassion of this remarkable woman. And I 
was impressed also by the tremendous difference that she and her 
Missionaries of Charity made in the lives of hundreds of thousands of 
starving families during the famine in Ethiopia and Sudan in 1984 and 
1985. My family and I visited the area during the Christmas season in 
1984, and was deeply moved by Mother Teresa's extraordinary healing 
presence amid that great tragedy.
  Since this visa category was established in 1990, over 20,000 
religious workers have entered the United States to serve in our 
communities. These men and women have brought their skills and 
compassion to churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of 
worship across America. They teach in our parochial schools. They serve 
as health care workers, cantors, and catechists. They provide religious 
training to youths and after-school programs that keep young people off 
the streets and give them hope for a better future.
  I have been deeply moved by the ways in which this special visa has 
benefitted Massachusetts. Maria Alvarez came to Boston at the 
invitation of the African Mission Fathers, and has devoted her life to 
helping city youth deal with gang violence, depression, and other 
problems that plague inner cities. She has also extended her helping 
hand to refugees in the Boston area, helping them build new lives in 
our state.
  Sister Vitolia came to Lawrence, Massachusetts on a religious worker 
visa through the Society of Mary. She works with unemployed and 
homeless Spanish speakers there. She helps them find jobs and helps 
keep their families together.
  Once again, I commend Senator Abraham for his leadership on this 
issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.


                           Amendment No. 1247

 (Purpose: To provide for waiver of fees for nonimmigrants engaged in 
                     certain charitable activities)

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, Senator Hatch has an amendment at the 
desk. I ask for its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Jeffords] for Mr. Hatch, for 
     himself and Mr. Kennedy, proposes an amendment numbered 1247.

  The amendment is as follows:

       At the end of the bill, add the following:

     SECTION 3. WAIVER OF NONIMMIGRANT VISA FEES FOR CERTAIN 
                   CHARITABLE PURPOSES.

       Section 281 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1351) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new sentence: ``Subject to such criteria as the Secretary of 
     State may prescribe, including the duration of stay of the 
     alien and the financial burden upon the charitable 
     organization, the Secretary of State shall waive or reduce 
     the fee for application and issuance of a nonimmigrant visa 
     for any alien coming to the United States primarily for, or 
     in activities related to, a charitable purpose involving 
     health or nursing care, the provision of food or housing, job 
     training, or any other similar direct service or assistance 
     to poor or otherwise needy individuals in the United 
     States.''.


[[Page S9635]]


  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with Senator Hatch 
in sponsoring legislation requested by Mother Teresa to waive visa 
application fees for religious workers coming to the United States to 
perform charitable work for temporary periods.
  During her visits to the United States, Mother Teresa asked President 
Clinton to take this step to waive visa fees for her missionaries 
coming to work in this country. Her Missionaries of Charity come to 
America to help the poor in our communities and to minister to the sick 
and the elderly. Each time they travel here, they are required to pay a 
$120 visa fee to the United States Government.
  It makes no sense to require these religious workers to pay a fee to 
the federal government in order to come here to help our communities. 
The legislation we introduce today would waive the fee in these 
instances.
  This past weekend, while attending Mother Teresa's funeral in India, 
the First Lady met with Sister Nirmala, Mother Teresa's successor at 
the Missionaries of Charity Order in Calcutta. Sister Nirmala asked 
once again for a waiver of the visa fee and was delighted to learn that 
the United States Senate would be considering legislation this week to 
accomplish this goal as Mother Teresa had requested.
  This is an important step that Congress can take to honor the memory 
of Mother Theresa and the compassionate work that her Order brings to 
America. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment be agreed to, the bill be considered read a third time and 
passed, as amended, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, 
and finally, any statements relating to the bill be placed at this 
point in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1247) was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 1198), as amended, was considered as read the third time 
and passed, as follows:
       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Religious Workers Act of 
     1997''.

     SEC. 2. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR ENTRY INTO UNITED STATES OF 
                   CERTAIN RELIGIOUS WORKERS.

       Section 101(a)(27)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(C)(ii)) is amended by 
     striking ``before October 1, 1997,'' each of the two places 
     it appears.

     SEC. 3. WAIVER OF NONIMMIGRANT VISA FEES FOR CERTAIN 
                   CHARITABLE PURPOSES.

       Section 281 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1351) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new sentence: ``Subject to such criteria as the Secretary of 
     State may prescribe, including the duration of stay of the 
     alien and the financial burden upon the charitable 
     organization, the Secretary of State shall waive or reduce 
     the fee for application and issuance of a non-immigrant visa 
     for any alien coming to the United States primarily for, or 
     in activities related to, a charitable purpose involving 
     health or nursing care, the provision of food or housing, job 
     training, or any other similar direct service or assistance 
     to poor or otherwise needy individuals in the United 
     States.''.

                          ____________________