[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 139 (Wednesday, October 7, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10001-H10007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IRISH PEACE PROCESS CULTURAL AND TRAINING PROGRAM ACT OF 1998

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4293) to establish a cultural and training program 
for disadvantaged individuals from Northern Ireland and the Republic of 
Ireland, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4293

       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 ``Irish Peace Process Cultural 
     and Training Program Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. IRISH PEACE PROCESS CULTURAL AND TRAINING PROGRAM.

       (a) Purpose.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of State and the Attorney 
     General shall establish a program to allow young people from 
     disadvantaged areas of designated counties suffering from 
     sectarian violence and high structural unemployment to enter 
     the United States for the purpose of developing job skills 
     and conflict resolution abilities in a diverse, cooperative, 
     peaceful, and prosperous environment, so that those young 
     people can return to their homes better able to contribute 
     toward economic regeneration and the Irish peace process. The 
     program shall promote cross-community and cross-border 
     initiatives to build grassroots support for long-term 
     peaceful coexistence. The Secretary of State and the Attorney 
     General shall cooperate with nongovernmental organizations to 
     assist those admitted to participate fully in the economic, 
     social, and cultural life of the United States.
       (2) Scope and duration of program.--
       (A) In general.--The program under paragraph (1) shall 
     provide for the admission of not more than 4,000 aliens under 
     section 101(a)(15)(Q)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act (including spouses and minor children) in each of 3 
     consecutive program years.
       (B) Offset in number of H-2B nonimmigrant admissions 
     allowed.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 
     each alien so admitted in a fiscal year, the numerical 
     limitation specified under section 214(g)(1)(B) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act shall be reduced by 1 for 
     that fiscal year or the subsequent fiscal year.
       (3) Records and report.--The Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service shall maintain records of the nonimmigrant status and 
     place of residence of each alien admitted under the program. 
     Not later than 120 days after the end of the third program 
     year and for the 3 subsequent years, the Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service shall compile and submit to the 
     Congress a report on the number of aliens admitted with 
     nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(Q)(ii) who have 
     overstayed their visas.
       (4) Designated counties defined.--For the purposes of this 
     Act, the term ``designated counties'' means the six counties 
     of Northern Ireland and the counties of Louth, Monaghan, 
     Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo, and Donegal within the Republic of 
     Ireland.
       (b) Temporary Nonimmigrant Visa.--
       (1) In general.--Section 101(a)(15)(Q) of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(Q)) is amended--
       (A) by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(Q)''; and
       (B) by inserting after the semicolon at the end the 
     following: ``or (ii)(I) an alien 35 years of age or younger 
     having a residence in Northern Ireland, or the counties of 
     Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo, and Donegal within 
     the Republic of Ireland, which the alien has no intention of 
     abandoning who is coming temporarily (for a period not to 
     exceed 36 months) to the United States as a participant in a 
     cultural and training program approved by the Secretary of 
     State and the Attorney General under section 2(a) of the 
     Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 
     for the purpose of providing practical training, employment, 
     and the experience of coexistence and conflict resolution in 
     a diverse society, and (II) the alien spouse and minor 
     children of any such alien if accompanying the alien or 
     following to join the alien;''.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. Amounts 
     appropriated pursuant to this subsection are authorized to be 
     available until expended.
       (d) Sunset.--
       (1) Effective October 1, 2005, the Irish Peace Process 
     Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 is repealed.
       (2) Effective October 1, 2005, section 101(a)(15)(Q) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(Q)) is 
     amended--
       (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (i);
       (B) by striking ``(i)'' after ``(Q)''; and
       (C) by striking clause (ii).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 4293, the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act 
of 1998, provides for a new nonimmigrant visa program to assist the 
Irish peace process.
  The author of the bill, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) has 
tirelessly supported the Irish peace process. In support of the peace 
process, he has worked with numerous international organizations and 
visited Northern Ireland three times in the last year. H.R. 4293 is the 
result of his dedication on behalf of a cause in which he strongly 
believes. He is to be commended for his diligence and hard work in 
generating broad bipartisan support for H.R. 4293 and moving it to the 
House floor.
  The bill sets up a 3-year program with 4,000 visas available each 
year. The visas are reserved for qualified applicants age 35 or under 
and their spouses and children. The visas are good for 3 years, and the 
bill requires the INS to monitor and report on any visa overstays so 
that the purpose of the program is met and the integrity of the United 
States' immigration system is maintained.
  Finally, the new visas are offset against the available number of 
low-

[[Page H10002]]

skilled employment visas from another nonimmigrant category, so that 
the overall number of available visas remains constant.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4293.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I rise to support H.R. 4293, the Irish Peace Process Cultural and 
Training Program Act of 1998. It creates a new temporary visa program 
for citizens from war-torn Northern Ireland and border counties of the 
Republic of Ireland. Might I say on a personal note to just 
congratulate so many of my colleagues that have been so energized and 
involved in this very important peace process. Just by a small measure 
as I note the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) on the floor, I was 
very honored to have been able to travel with him to see this issue 
firsthand and to be able to provide support to my colleagues who were 
intimately involved in working with the people of Ireland to bring 
peace. This is a glorious time that we can at least be comforted by the 
fact that there is peace and that we can help to contribute to this 
lasting peace by bringing these individuals who will come to the United 
States temporarily and participate in a cultural exchange program to 
develop conflict resolution skill and return to Northern Ireland and 
contribute to the ongoing peace process.
  I truly believe that this program offers a great opportunity to show 
others how Americans from many different religions live and work 
peacefully together. I understand and I see today that the Irish people 
want peace and they want to be together. I look forward to working with 
my colleagues on other exchange programs from other countries that are 
war torn, in particular having visited Africa in recent years, 
especially those countries suffering from civil unrest and terrorist 
attacks in Africa.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Schumer) a member of the Committee on the Judiciary. It is because 
of the gentleman from New York's hard work as well that this bill is 
possible this session. Again I appreciate the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Smith) for his good work. This bill has had 16 Democratic cosponsors 
and I am particularly pleased to be able to acknowledge the very hard 
work of my good friend the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) who 
was certainly one who pressed us forward into making sure this 
legislation would come to reality.
  H.R. 4293, the ``Irish Peace Process and Training Program Act of 
1998'' creates a new temporary visa program for citizens from war torn 
Northern Ireland and border counties of the Republic of Ireland. These 
individuals will come to the United States temporarily and participate 
in a cultural exchange to develop conflict resolution skill and return 
to Northern Ireland and contribute to the on-going peace process.
  I believe this program offers a great opportunity to show others how 
Americans from many different religions live and work peacefully. I 
look forward to working with my colleagues on other exchange programs 
from other countries that are war torn--especially those countries 
suffering from civil unrest and terrorist attacks in Africa.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank Judiciary Committee Member 
Chuck Schumer. It is because of Representative Schumer's hard work that 
this bill is possible this session. This bill has 16 Democratic 
cosponsors and I am pleased to yield time to the Gentleman from 
Massachusetts--an original cosponsor--Mr. Neal.
  Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time for the purposes of 
controlling the time to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), an 
original cosponsor.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) will control the balance of the time.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, first of all I would like to thank 
the gentlewoman from Houston for her general comments. They were 
generous indeed, both to me and to the originator of the bill the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh).
  Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Gilman) the chairman of the Committee on International Relations.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague and friend the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), the distinguished chairman of the 
Friends of Ireland here in the House, in support of this new non-
immigrant, transitional visa initiative for Northern Ireland and the 
affected border areas. I am also pleased that we are joined tonight by 
several leaders of the Irish cause in the Congress. Besides the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Manton) who incidentally may be making his very last appearance on the 
floor. We are going to sorely miss him amongst our Friends of Ireland 
and Irish Caucus. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), also a 
staunch supporter of the Irish cause. The gentleman from New York (Mr. 
King); the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Coyne); the gentlewoman 
from New York (Mrs. McCarthy). This is an important initiative, the 
non-immigrant transitionsal visa initiative for Northern Ireland and 
the affected border areas.
  The future is bright for lasting peace and justice in that long 
troubled region. Despite the setbacks and serious problems surrounding 
the Orange Order marching season, the fire bomb deaths of the Quinn 
boys, and the demented and senseless Omagh terrorist bombing, the way 
ahead can be and is bright, much brighter than the recent past. We in 
America must do all we can to help that region at this critical moment 
in Irish history. We must help bring about real change and a shared 
economic opportunity, new wealth and increased growth which gives the 
youth of the north of both traditions a bright future, a future which 
envisions working together for a new and better society, irrespective 
of one's tradition.

                              {time}  2330

  The Walsh D'Amato bill now before the Congress will help make that 
process of change a better and more productive one. It will provide for 
4000 annual nonimmigrant visas for the disadvantaged in the region for 
up to three years duration. It is going to help that transition that is 
so sorely needed on the ground by providing hundreds with a chance for 
learning new job skills, training and cross community living 
experiences here in our own Nation, skills, training and tolerance that 
can be brought back to the new north of Ireland we all want to see grow 
and change for the better. It is ironic, but most fitting, that 
temporary transitional immigration to help the north of Ireland is one 
vehicle we can utilize to help bring about needed economic change for 
it was Irish immigration that helped to change and to bring about a 
better and more prosperous America.
  I was pleased to be an original cosponsor of this bill, and I 
congratulate the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), the distinguished 
junior Senator from New York, Senator D'Amato, for their tireless and 
outstanding leadership on moving forward expeditiously and building 
support for this important and new initiative, and I want to commend 
the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), of the 
Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims for helping us bring this 
measure to the floor at this time.
  Accordingly, Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
4293, the Cultural and Training Program for Individuals from Northern 
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I think that this discussion this evening on the House 
floor speaks to the reach and the role of the United States as the 
mediator extraordinaire across the globe. I am particularly delighted 
tonight to stand in support of the good work of the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Walsh) who I take a lot of satisfaction from having worked 
with because I recruited him to this cause some years ago when he came 
to the House, and the people that are here tonight I also think can 
take enormous satisfaction from the Good Friday agreement because 
people like the gentleman from New York

[[Page H10003]]

(Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) and the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Manton) and the gentlewoman from New York 
(Mrs. McCarthy) and others, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Coyne) 
were literally, I think, isolated voices on this floor time and again 
when we attempted to elevate this issue in the eyes of the American 
people.
  We have advanced this cause long beyond what any of us might have 
imagined just a few years ago, and it is very, I think, satisfying 
tonight that the same actors are all here to participate in support of 
the Walsh initiative.
  I cannot say enough good things about people of uncommon courage who 
stand with us tonight because it was these voices that literally 
changed this debate in America, and although there are many, I think, 
who can take again a bow at this time, it was the, I think, elevation 
of Bill Clinton to the White House that also had an enormous influence. 
There are many fathers and mothers of this success, but the people who 
are standing here tonight that are about to speak in support of the 
Walsh initiative I think were the primary factors in getting us to this 
day.
  I also must thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith). He has always 
demonstrated a kind eye toward Irish immigrants with the notion that it 
has always been part of their legacy and heritage to demonstrate hard 
work time and again as they have taken their rightful role in American 
society, and I will have an opportunity, as we move back and forth, to 
acknowledge the other speakers that are here, Madam Speaker.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. King).
  Mr. KING. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time 
to me.
  Madam Speaker, I rise tonight in strong support of this initiative by 
my good friend from New York (Mr. Walsh), and I want to join with the 
other speakers in commending him for the truly outstanding job he has 
done in pushing this legislation and advancing it so quickly because it 
is absolutely essential, I believe, to carry forward the Irish peace 
process and to continue the very significant role that the United 
States Government has played.
  I also wanted to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) for the 
tremendous cooperation we received from him and from all my colleagues 
here tonight. I want to join with the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Gilman) in commending the gentleman from New York (Mr. Manton). This 
may well be his last night on the House floor, and no one has fought 
longer or harder for the cause of Irish freedom, and peace and justice 
than Tom Manton. Certainly all of us are going to miss him, all of us 
who cherish his friendship and his sense of loyalty and dedication, and 
certainly his career has been an outstanding one, and there has been no 
issue on which he has been more pronounced than the Irish peace 
process.
  I also want to commend Senator D'Amato who is going to be carrying 
this bill in the Senate for the work that he has done on this bill and 
so many other issues which involve the Irish peace process.
  And that is what this is really about. It is obviously very important 
for the 12,000 people who are going to receive visas over the next 3 
years. It is very important for families, it is very important for 
their communities, because these men and women who come here are going 
to learn skills, they are going to be able to go back to Ireland in 
several years, they are going to be able to alleviate and attack the 
terrible poverty that has wracked so many parts of northern Ireland.
  Those of us who have been to the north have seen the terrible poverty 
in areas such as Valley Murphy and along the Falls Road and the Shanker 
Road, and other parts of the north of Ireland and the border counties 
which have been devastated by 30 years of fighting just in the north of 
them. So, this bill is very, very important as far as the individuals 
who are going to be directly affected.
  But even more importantly, Madam Speaker, it sends a message to the 
people of Ireland, north and south, that the United States is going to 
continue its active role in the Irish peace process, that we are going 
to stay as active players.
  As my good friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) 
pointed out, it was the President of the United States, and it was the 
United States Congress which had so much to do in bringing all the 
parties together, and those of us who were just in Ireland last month 
with the President on his mission realized the one thing the people 
wanted to see was assurance that the U.S. would stay involved. By 
measures such as this, it shows we are in this for the long haul, we 
are committed, we are going to stand firm, and we are going to stand 
with those who struggle for peace for those who want the process to 
work. We are not going to allow those who may intend to to disrupt the 
peace process, to impede it, to slow it down, to throw unnecessary 
preconditions in the way. We are going to stand with those who want the 
Good Friday agreement to work. We are committed to making it work, and 
that is what the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) has done in moving 
this forward as Chairman of the Friends of Ireland, working with the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Gilman) and all the people here tonight.
  Madam Speaker, this is a tremendous step forward, and it is another 
great step by the United States and its commitment to a true and 
lasting peace for all the people of Ireland, north and south.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker I yield as much time as he 
might consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Coyne), an 
individual who has been long active in the issue of Irish peace and has 
been a major player in this issue since he has been in the Congress.
  (Mr. COYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. COYNE. Madam Speaker, I just rise to submit a statement for the 
Record and to congratulate our departing colleague, the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Manton) for all the work he done for the peace process in 
Northern Ireland.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4293, the Irish Peace 
Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998, which is designed to 
assist Northern Ireland in its difficult transition to a peacetime 
economy and a more stable society.
  As its centerpiece, this legislation would create a temporary non-
immigrant visa program targeted at providing disadvantaged, working-age 
individuals from Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of Ireland 
the opportunity to develop practical job training and work experience 
in the U.S. While living and working here, these individuals would also 
be exposed to training in conflict resolution and the experience of 
coexisting in a diverse, multicultural society. The program would 
provide 12,000 visas over a three year period for these designated 
individuals, with a maximum of 4000 such visas extended per year. These 
individuals would then return to Ireland with their newly acquired 
skills.
  Madam Speaker, now that we have such an encouraging start, we should 
do all that we can to nurture the Irish peace process. While we 
sometimes take social and economic stability for granted in the U.S., 
such conditions have not existed for the entire lifetimes of many 
working-age adults in Northern Ireland. These conditions cannot develop 
overnight, and indeed, can only be created through the cooperation of 
thousands of Irish citizens working together to regenerate their 
communities. H.R. 4293 will provide these individuals with the 
necessary cultural and economic training to start the process of 
rebuilding a working, civil society. I urge adoption of this 
legislation.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Manton) who, as previously 
indicated, is retiring at the close of this Congress, and again I would 
say, as the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) and the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Gilman) have already stated and I am sure others will 
reiterate, there has not been a longer or more dedicated champion of 
the peace process in Ireland than has been the Congressman from Queens.
  Mr. MANTON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this 
time to me, and I thank him for his kind words and the kind words from 
others who have spoken here tonight on behalf of my upcoming 
retirement.

[[Page H10004]]

  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4293, the Irish Peace 
Process Cultural Training Program. At the outset, I want to thank my 
colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) for introducing this 
important and timely legislation.
  Although a handful of dissidents have recently tarnished the aura of 
peace in northern Ireland, the message sent earlier this year from 
people throughout Ireland was clear. They want peace, and they want it 
now. Today the situation in their country continues to be complex 
however. A movement toward a just and lasting peace is evident.
  Congress has the opportunity to expand the advancement for peace by 
passing H.R. 4293 which would provide 12,000 visas over 3 years, each 
visa having a duration of 36 months. These temporary nonimmigrant visas 
would be made available to young individuals from the most volatile 
areas of northern Ireland in order to allow them the opportunity to 
partake in programs in the United States to further expand and develop 
their job skills. It is important to point out that these skills would 
be crucial to bringing economic opportunities to local communities in 
northern Ireland and thus further enhancing the peace process.

                              {time}  2340

  In addition, these individuals would have the opportunity to work in 
one of the most diverse and socially interactive environments in the 
world, and that is, the United States of America.
  Rather than arming themselves with guns and expressing themselves 
through violence, these young bright individuals will have the 
opportunity to prepare themselves and their country for the 21st 
century with the skills they gain through the programs offered in this 
bill. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4293 illustrates the United States continuing 
strong commitment to bringing a just and lasting peace to the people of 
Northern Ireland.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation 
which already boasts strong bipartisan support from the Congressional 
Friends of Ireland, the Congressional Ad Hoc Committee for Irish 
Affairs, as well as a number of Irish and Irish American groups and 
newspapers.
  Madam Speaker, as the 20th century draws to a close, let us put the 
hate and violence Northern Ireland has witnessed behind us and welcome 
the 21st century as a peaceful and economically enhanced time for the 
people throughout all of Ireland.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, at this time I would 
include in the official Record comments of the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) who has been a great friend and champion 
of the Irish peace process as well.
  Mr. McGovern. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4293, a bill to 
provide cultural and employment training for the disadvantaged of 
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
  I want to commend by colleagues--the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Walsh] and the gentleman from my own Commonwealth of Massachusetts [Mr. 
Neal]--for their leadership on Irish issues, and especially for 
drafting this bill that promotes peace and prosperity in Ireland.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know of the long sectarian violence and tragic 
history of Northern Ireland. But today we are facing a new history in 
Northern Ireland--one built upon collaboration, consensus-building, and 
the people's choice for peace. H.R. 4293 will contribute to this 
process by involving those who have been exposed to such violence an 
opportunity to live and work in a multicultural society, a diverse 
society, the democratic society of the United States.
  At the same time, these disadvantaged individuals from Ireland and 
Northern Ireland will also be gaining valuable work skills and 
experience so that they might participate and become partners in 
building a new and more prosperous Ireland.
  I urge all my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 4293 and I salute 
the leadership of Congressman Walsh and Congressman Neal.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she 
may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), another 
great champion of the Irish peace process.
  (Mrs. McCARTHY of New York asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I am the newest member of 
this caucus, and it has been a privilege for me to learn from all of my 
colleagues in the last 2 years.
  I had the privilege of traveling with many of my colleagues a month 
ago over to Ireland to continue the peace talks. It was my first trip 
to Ireland, and I have to tell my colleagues what I saw and the faith 
of the people there was unbelievable. But it was up to that point where 
I had learned from the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Manton), the gentleman from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Neal), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) and the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Gilman), that I appreciate. Because going there and 
seeing what they have worked for so hard and to see that peace process 
come and see it in the faces of the people was unbelievable.
  This bill that the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) has put 
forward I support wholeheartedly, mainly because it is a common sense 
bill. It is a bill that will certainly continue the peace process, and 
that is what we have to do. This will give the opportunity for many 
young people to come over here to learn different skills and to go back 
home and bring those skills back, and that will only bring together 
again the tie of Irish Americans and certainly the Irish people in 
Ireland.
  This bill will pass, this bill will do very well, and I am grateful 
for the privilege of working with all of my colleagues.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4293, the Northern 
Ireland Visa for Peace and Reconciliation. I want to commend 
Representative Walsh and all my colleagues on the Congressional Ad Hoc 
Committee on Irish Affairs for their hard work and commitment to the 
peace process in Ireland.
  Like so many fellow Americans of Irish descent, I was thrilled when 
the Good Friday Agreement was signed earlier this year. This historic 
agreement, which was the result of the hard work by the people of 
Northern Ireland along with the dedication of the Irish, British and 
American governments, signaled a new day in Northern Ireland. After 
decades of turmoil, the people of Northern Ireland can now look towards 
a future with peace and justice.
  But peace and justice do not come easy. True peace will take a lot of 
hard work and the continued commitment of all parties involved, 
including the United States. That is why I am so proud to be a 
cosponsor of H.R. 4293. By creating a temporary non-immigrant visa 
program targeted at young men and women from disadvantaged areas in 
Northern Ireland, this legislation will assist Northern Ireland in its 
transition to a peacetime economy. This Visa initiative is designed to 
afford individuals from Northern Ireland and the Border Counties the 
opportunity to develop valuable 21st century job skills and the 
experience of working in the world's greatest economy. After their 
visit, they would return home providing the crucial skill base needed 
to attract private investment in their local communities. This low-
cost, low-risk, high-return investment in peace would also pay 
dividends by introducing its participants to the diverse, cooperative, 
and multi-cultural environment present in the United States.
  Last month, I went to Ireland with a number of my colleagues. 
Traveling from city to city, both north and south of the border, one 
thing became clear to us--the people of Ireland want peace. And their 
dreams and aspirations are no different from those of ordinary 
Americans. the people of Northern Ireland want a safe and economically 
secure life, for themselves and their children. H.R. 4293 will help 
achieve that goal and I urge all my colleagues to support this 
important piece of legislation.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the author of the bill, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Walsh).
  Mr. WALSH. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. I also would like to extend my deepest thanks to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Smith) for allowing us to move this bill as 
expeditiously as we have.
  This whole process has been a remarkable achievement for all of us. 
In all of my experience here in the Congress in 10 years, I have never 
seen a more bipartisan or nonpartisan, bicameral, multi-branch of 
government-supported project as this Irish peace process. The gentleman 
from Texas allowing us to move ahead; Speaker Gingrich who recently 
visited Northern Ireland and in support of the peace process in every 
word that he uttered. President Clinton, who has provided just 
remarkable leadership, truly the catalyst behind this process, along

[[Page H10005]]

with his colleagues Berty Hearne, the Teshok of the Republic of Ireland 
and Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of England. My good friends on the 
Democratic side, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) and the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Manton), the gentlewoman from New York 
(Mrs. McCarthy) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Coyne), and my 
hat especially goes off to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Manton) for 
the leadership that he has provided. He taught a lot of us about these 
issues.
  On our side, the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), not only a brave 
and vigilant spokesman for peace and justice in Ireland, but all over 
the world. The gentleman is willing to go anywhere and pay any price to 
make sure that people have their freedom and justice, and I thank him 
for his leadership.
  Over the last few months the world has witnessed events in Northern 
Ireland symbolizing both the hope for its future and the tragedy of its 
past. The politics of the gun has been replaced with the politics of 
the ballot box. The majority of men and women on all sides of this 
conflict have given overwhelming support for the Good Friday agreement 
and stood firmly together in condemnation of violence and terror. The 
Visa for Peace legislation is aimed at helping those who are working 
for that new beginning, a new Ireland.
  As chairman of the Friends of Ireland and a member of the Ad Hoc 
Committee for Irish Affairs, I have personally been involved with this 
effort to help bring peace to Ireland. Back in May, the Speaker of the 
Irish Dail, Mr. Seamus Pattison, led a delegation to Washington for 
meetings between the newly established U.S.-Ireland Interparliamentary 
Group. During those meetings, the Irish representatives repeatedly 
raised the idea of a transitional visa program designed to support the 
implementation of the peace agreement. After a few weeks of research, 
consultation and negotiation, we, all of us, came to share their 
enthusiasm and introduced H.R. 4293.
  The Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act legislation 
creates 12,000 temporary, nonimmigrant work visas targeted at young men 
and women from disadvantaged areas from Northern Ireland in the border 
counties. It aims to assist the region in its transition to a peacetime 
economy. As a new low-cost, low-risk, high return investment in peace, 
this visa affords individuals an opportunity to obtain valuable job 
skills needed for the 21st century and the experience of working in the 
world's greatest economy. After their visit, they would return home 
prepared to provide the crucial skill needed to attract private 
investment to their local economies.

                              {time}  2350

  The program would provide up to 4,000 visas a year for 3 years, 
allowing the holder to live in the United States for up to but no more 
than 36 months.
  It would identify disadvantaged areas within Northern Ireland and the 
border counties which require public and private sector activities to 
break the cycle of structural unemployment, retrain the long-term 
unemployed and out-of-work youth, and in doing so, assist in the 
regeneration of the economies in these locales.
  It would encourage grass roots support for long-term peace and 
economic stability by providing a release valve for the tensions and 
disillusionment of communities in despair.
  It would promote cross-community and cross-border initiatives which 
expose individuals from these disadvantaged areas to the business and 
social life of other communities.
  These objectives can be achieved by a non-immigrant program targeted 
at young adults from both sides of the border, and on all sides of the 
sectarian divide.
  Drawing on the experience and empirical evidence from the universally 
respected Project Children program, it is believed that exposing 
individuals who have been subjected to a wartorn sectarian environment 
to the diverse, cooperative, multicultural environment present in the 
United States can provide long-lasting social and economic benefits.
  It is this interaction with alternative cultures within a neutral 
environment that will provide people from the targeted areas the sense 
of confidence and worth they will need to rebuild their economies and 
their lives.
  Last month I accompanied both the Speaker, the gentleman from Georgia 
(Mr. Gingrich), and President Clinton on their separate visits to 
Ireland and Northern Ireland. During those trips we were constantly 
thanked for the support that Congress has given to advancing the peace 
process, and reminded of the need to maintain our involvement.
  As the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) spoke, we saw firsthand the 
benefits of public and private investment in the distressed areas that 
have suffered from the violence of the last 30 years.
  American investment through the International Fund for Ireland has 
been successful in reaching out to all sections of the community, and 
has been very successful in promoting cross-border business activities.
  The Northern Ireland Visa for Peace would leverage existing and 
future private investment. At a time of fiscal austerity and lack of 
support for foreign aid, our visa program would be a relatively 
inexpensive way to promote peace, reconciliation, and stability. 
America is also tired of sending its men and women overseas as 
peacekeepers. I believe it would be a lost opportunity not to try out a 
new, creative attempt at conflict resolution.
  For those who are concerned that these temporary visas might 
encourage permanent emigration from Northern Ireland, I would respond 
that those fears do not stand up to the current facts. I would like to 
submit for the Record an article from the New York Times detailing how 
thousands of Irish are returning home from the U.S.
  The Irish government's Central Statistics Office documents that 6,600 
Irish immigrants have returned from the United States this year, with a 
net migration to Ireland of over 15,000 individuals in the last 2 
years. This figure will increase as the economy continues to thrive in 
the north, or begins to thrive in the north.
  Our bill is an attempt to duplicate that success in Northern Ireland. 
The people of Northern Ireland will enjoy the same benefits as those in 
the south, if peace holds and the conditions for private investment are 
met. Our visa proposal is a response to the demands made by the U.S. 
Trade and Investment Conferences of 1995 and 1996. Those conferences 
called for ways to assist the economy in the north through on-the-job 
training of young adults with cross-community and cross-border 
participation.
  In the past several years, we have seen 800 years of Irish history 
take a dramatic shift towards peace and justice for all. I believe that 
this Visa for Peace legislation will further cement that progress. I 
hope all Members will join me in supporting this low-cost, low-risk, 
high-return investment in support of peace in Northern Ireland.
  I would like to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Smith) and his staffers, Jim Wilon and George Fishman, for their 
efforts to bring this bill to the floor. I would like to thank John 
Mackey, of the staff of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ben Gilman), 
Mr. Mackey has been just an absolute soldier in this process, and my 
staff, John Simmons and Pat Togni, who have worked so hard to bring 
this to its fruition. I thank the committee for its indulgence.
  Madam Speaker, I include for the Record the following article:

              Leaving America--Ireland, New Promised Land

                            (By Mike Allen)

       Yonkers, N.Y.--Between retrieving thrown juice cups and 
     cleaning up crushed cookies, the moms in the mother-toddler 
     group at the Irish Community Center here talk about home. But 
     unlike generations of homesick Irish women before them, many 
     of them aren't just talking. They're going.
       With the Irish economy thriving and now an agreement for 
     peace in the long-bloody North--resoundingly ratified in a 
     referendum last weekend--the motherland's pull on its exiles 
     in America seems more powerful than ever. Many young Irish 
     adults are breaking with earlier generations of Irish 
     immigrants who settled in the United States for good: The 
     Irish Government reports that over the last two years, 13,000 
     more Irish moved back to Ireland from America than went the 
     other way.


                                reversal

       That reversal breaks with previous decades of Irish 
     immigration to the United States, one of the oldest, largest, 
     most sustained and most culturally influential migration 
     flows

[[Page H10006]]

     of American history--reaching nearly a million in the 1850's 
     after the Irish potato famine, but dwindling lately to just a 
     few thousand a year.
       For a few years now, the Irish have been celebrating the 
     surprising return of their countrymen from England and 
     Australia as well as America, a trend that the peace 
     agreement seems sure to accelerate. Now the Irish in America, 
     who once saw little choice but to come here, are confronted 
     with a happy dilemma: choosing between this land of 
     opportunity and a land more familiar to them that has been 
     newly vested with promise.
       To economists, Ireland is now ``the Celtic tiger.'' Thanks 
     largely to American and other foreign investments in high-
     tech manufacturing plants for computers, pharmaceuticals and 
     other products, newly created jobs have brought unemployment 
     in Ireland down to 9 percent from nearly 16 percent in 1993. 
     Investors, in turn, are bullish largely because next year 
     Ireland (unlike neighboring Britian) will adopt the European 
     Union's unified currency, the euro. Participation in the euro 
     imposes economic discipline on countries using it and is 
     expected to reduce the cost of doing business within the 
     European Union.
       Jerry J. Sexton, a labor-market specialist for the Economic 
     and Social Research Institute in Dublin, said most of those 
     returning from the States are in their mid-20's to mid-30's, 
     and usually have some education or skills.
       Across the Atlantic, his assessment is affirmed in 
     interviews with Irish immigrants. James Dalton, an Irishman 
     who owns Dublin Construction Inc. in Woodside, Queens, said 
     he typically employs 20 of his countrymen as carpenters or 
     laborers--and typically one leaves for home every week. After 
     spending the day refitting a pub in mahogany, two of his 20-
     year-old carpenters--both out of Ireland just two months--
     ordered a round of Guinness and confided their dream: saving 
     enough money to start a construction business back home.
       In many of the Irish bars that dot New York, similar 
     stories are being told, some that sound much like the 
     fantastic tales that envious dreamers in the Old World once 
     told about America. Seamus Gillespie, a 44-year-old asbestos 
     remover who was sharing a pint and a cigarette with a co-
     worker and his fiancee at another bar in Woodside, leaned in 
     to give the news about the Irish economy. ``They're not 
     building houses,'' he said. ``They're building mansions!''


                            whole households

       Historians of American immigration say revolving-door 
     migrations like this one are nothing new, despite popular 
     myths about America as the promised land. But they note that 
     the Irish exodus is unusual in that it seems to involve whole 
     households (as opposed to men without families), making the 
     departure of the Irish more noticeable.
       Dr. Kerby A. Miller, a history professor at the University 
     of Missouri who specializes in Irish immigration, calls the 
     turnabout simply astonishing for a people long motivated by 
     starvation and political and religious repression to forsake 
     their homeland. In the past, he said, ``Irish immigrants 
     longed to return, at least sentimentally, but they realized 
     it was impractical or impossible.''
       Among the factors motivating the new Irish returnees, Irish 
     immigration counselors say, are frustrations and delays in 
     winning American citizenship, given the United States' 
     current anti-immigrant political climate. Lately, though, the 
     peace agreement for the British province of Northern Ireland 
     provides another incentive for those already weighing a 
     decision to return.
       Arriving at the Irish Community Center in Yonkers to pick 
     up his wife and young son, Andrew J. Convery, a taxi driver 
     from the Bronx, said the prospect of peace was a big factor 
     in their decision to return. A Catholic from Northern 
     Ireland, he came here six years ago in search of the American 
     dream, and met his future wife, Kerry, a Catholic from 
     Dublin, when he picked her up as a fare. Now they are moving 
     back so their 1-year-old, Ciaran, can be raised the way they 
     were. But without the bombs. ``Before, there wasn't much to 
     go back to,'' Mr. Convery said.
       The Irish exodus raises as yet unanswerable questions about 
     the subtler cultural effects on two countries that have long 
     drawn on each other's richness. Several neighborhoods in 
     Queens and the Bronx look like Potemkin Irish villages: 
     Newsstands sell papers from each Irish county, convenience 
     stores carry ox-tail soup mix and butcher shops offer grouse. 
     Lately in the United States, Irish culture, once shunned by 
     the upper crust, has enjoyed a broad revival. ``Angela's 
     Ashes,'' Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of 
     growing up poor in Limerick (interestingly enough, after his 
     family returned from America), has been on The New York Times 
     Best-Seller List for 89 weeks. And in recent years, ``Lord of 
     the Dance,'' the choreographed extravaganza created by 
     Michael Flatley, an Irish-American, has made Irish folk-
     dancing almost hip.
       The Irish cultural vibrancy here could be diluted by 
     Ireland's new drawing power, says Dr. Timothy J. Meagher, the 
     director of the Center for Irish Studies at Catholic 
     University in Washington.
       ``If you lose the immigrant base, it threatens the 
     culture,'' he said.
       The flow of Irish from the United States can be expected to 
     increase as the Irish Government and business groups rev up 
     the welcome wagon. Ireland's Department of Social Welfare, 
     which earlier published ``Thinking of Going to London?'' and 
     ``Thinking of Going to the United States?'' last year 
     switched gears and put out ``Thinking of Returning to 
     Ireland?''--a guide to housing, pensions and workers' rights. 
     A hopeful headline asked, ``Home for Good?'' A private group 
     called Returned Emigrants was started last year and has grown 
     to 180 members in three chapters; they gather to vent shared 
     frustrations, including their experiences with the pokey 
     Irish telephone service.
       To other returnees, however, such flaws are quaint 
     reflections of a more leisurely pace of life, which to them 
     is one of Ireland's big draws. Pauline A. McGovern, who moved 
     back to County Kerry in May with her husband, Brendan, and 
     their son, said that within days of returning, her husband 
     found work as a plumber. When they lived in Yonkers, he had 
     to leave every workday at 6:45 A.M. to catch a train and then 
     the subway for work in Manhattan. Now, he hops on his bike at 
     8:55 and rides 20 blocks to work--and comes home at noon for 
     dinner. Their 3-year-old son, Ryan, sleeps three hours later. 
     ``I think it's in the air,'' Mrs. McGovern said.

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I would simply like to compliment the gentleman from 
New York again on his hard work on this bill, and congratulate him on 
its imminent passage.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the Irish Peace 
Process Cultural & Training Program. I also want to take this 
opportunity to congratulate the leaders of Northern Ireland and England 
for achieving a much hoped for peace agreement many felt would be out-
of-reach. We are now seeing peace materialize before our eyes. I am 
glad to be alive to see these days--the beginning of the end of the 
troubles in Northern Ireland.
  I am pleased that we are able to vote on this bill today. It is both 
timely and necessary. One of my proudest legislative achievements is 
the passage of the Diversity Visa which helped our countries 
reestablish a very important bond. Today's vote in favor of this bill 
will further cement this union. Both our nations will benefit greatly 
from this exchange of knowledge and people.
  This bill will help Irish nationals learn valuable skills needed to 
strengthen local economies in Northern Ireland. My only disappointment 
with this negotiated version of the bill is that it grants a smaller 
number of visas than under the original bill. That bill, which I co-
sponsored, would have made available 50,000 visas. Nonetheless let me 
be clear that I fully support the goals of this legislation and I urge 
my colleagues to do the same.
  The people of Ireland have added to the cultural fabric of this 
country for many years. I have always believed that Irish immigrants 
have made a special and tangible contribution to America. Theirs is a 
story of hardship and hope, of trials and triumph. I ask my colleagues 
to remember that millions of Irish people chose us for their home away 
from home. They have come here to America for the promise of a better 
life. Many have helped build strong communities in the U.S.; others 
have chosen to return and take the example and experience of America 
back to their childhood homes.
  Let us say welcome again to our brothers and sisters from the Emerald 
Isle and pledge to help them however we can in this time of peace and 
healing. Our bonds are strong and this bill will only help to make them 
stronger. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of H.R. 4293, 
The Northern Ireland Visa for Peace and Reconciliation Act, I rise to 
urge my colleagues to support final passage of this bill and give 
further evidence of America's support for achieving economic justice 
and a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
  As Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human 
Rights, I have held a series of hearings on the human rights abuses 
that persist in Northern Ireland. Regrettably, harassment of defense 
attorneys, lack of access to legal counsel, search and seizure abuses, 
sectarian use of plastic bullets and the prospect of collusion between 
loyalist paramilitary organizations and the police and security forces 
have all marked the history of British rule in Northern Ireland.
  Along with these problems in the judiciary and in the enforcement of 
the rule of law, Northern Ireland has also suffered from discrimination 
against Catholics in the workplace. For instance, Catholic males are 
more than twice as likely as Protestant males to be unemployed.
  H.R. 4293, like the International Fund for Ireland which we created 
in the 1980s and which we have funded consistently every year since, 
will help those in Northern Ireland who continue to struggle to find 
work, or who are still discriminated against because of their faith. 
H.R. 4293 creates a temporary working visa category for individuals 
from disadvantaged areas in Northern Ireland so that they can come to 
the U.S., learn new job skills,

[[Page H10007]]

participate in cross-community training programs, and promote economic 
equality when they return to Ireland.
  As drafted, H.R. 4293 is intended to help mitigate the social and 
economic problems that have contributed to civil unrest in Northern 
Ireland. By permitting young, unskilled people from the areas of civil 
strife to spend a brief time in the U.S. to learn a craft and 
experience the diversity of our country, we will help disadvantaged 
youth in nationalist and loyalist communities break the cycles of 
unemployment and distrust which have contributed greatly to the civil 
unrest in the region. The program will also enhance economic relations 
the trade between the U.S. and Northern Ireland.
  When I was in Northern Ireland last year, I was amazed, saddened--and 
highly insulted--when a leading Unionist party official told me that 
Catholics remained unemployed in Northern Ireland not because of any 
subtle or blatant discrimination against them but rather because 
``they'' are unskilled. He proceeded to reason, to my disbelief, that 
Catholics are good in the arts and entertainment field--i.e., singing 
and dancing--but are ``wanting'' in the math, sciences and other 
applications more fitting for finding work. I asked for data to back up 
his theory and needless to say I never got it.
  It is this sort of ``typecasting'' and discrimination that can fuel 
civil strife. I am pleased that H.R. 4293 will go a long way in 
providing new employment experiences for the workers in both the 
Catholic and Protestant communities, give them opportunities to 
disprove the stereotypes they have supposed about each other over the 
years, and enable them to return home and provide the crucial skill 
base needed to attract more international private investment 
opportunities in their local economy.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Wilson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4293, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof), the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was 
passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read:

  ``A bill to establish a cultural training program for disadvantaged 
individuals to assist the Irish peace process.''

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________