[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 24, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1927-S1928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH:
  S. 452. A bill for the relief of Belinda McGregor; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.


                          private relief bill

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am today introducing a private relief 
bill on behalf of Belinda McGregor, the beloved sister of one of my 
constituents, Rosalinda Burton.
  Mistakes are made every day, Mr. President, and when innocent people 
suffer severe consequences as a result of these mistakes, something 
ought to be done to remedy the situation.
  In the particular case of Ms. Belinda McGregor, the federal 
bureaucracy made a mistake--a mistake which cost Ms. McGregor dearly 
and it is now time to correct this mistake. Unfortunately, the only way 
to provide relief is through Congressional action.
  Belinda McGregor, a citizen of the United Kingdom, filed an 
application for the 1995 Diversity Visa program. Her husband, a citizen 
of Ireland, filed a separate application at the same time. Ms. 
McGregor's application was among those selected to receive a diversity 
visa. When the handling clerk at the National Visa Center received the 
application, however, the clerk erroneously replaced Ms. McGregor's 
name in the computer with that of her husband.
  As a result, Ms. McGregor was never informed that she had been 
selected and never provided the requisite information. The mistake with 
respect to Ms. McGregor's husband was caught, but not in time for Ms. 
McGregor to meet the September, 1995 deadline. Her visa number was 
given to another applicant.
  In short, Ms. McGregor was unfairly denied the 1995 diversity visa 
that was rightfully hers due to a series of errors by the National Visa 
Center. As far as I know, these facts are not disputed.
  Unfortunately, the Center does not have the legal authority to 
rectify its own mistake by simply granting Ms. McGregor a visa out of a 
subsequent year's allotment. Thus, a private relief bill is needed in 
order to see that Ms. McGregor gets the visa to which she was clearly 
entitled to in 1995.
  Mr. President, I have received a very compelling letter from 
Rosalinda Burton of Cedar Hills, UT which I am placing in the Record. 
Ms. Burton is Ms. McGregor's sister and she described to me the strong 
relationship that she and her sister have and the care that her sister 
provided when Ms. Burton was seriously injured in a 1993 car accident.
  I hope that the Senate can move forward on this bill expeditiously. 
Ms. McGregor was the victim of a simple and admitted bureaucratic 
snafu. The Senate ought to move swiftly to correct this injustice.
  Mr. President, I am also including in the Record additional relevant 
correspondence which documents the background of this case.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that additional material be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                              Cedar Hills, UT,

                                               September 23, 1997.
     Hon. Orrin Hatch,
     U.S. Senate.
       Dear Senator Hatch: This is one of the many endless 
     attempts to seek fairness and justification regarding a very 
     unique and still unresolved case pertaining to the future of 
     my beloved sister, Belinda McGregor.
       This is a plea on my part for you to please allow me the 
     opportunity to humbly express in this letter, my deepest 
     concern which is also personally shared by Senator Edward 
     Kennedy.
       It would be a challenge to explain what once started as 
     ``the dream come true'' for my sister, Belinda, on to paper, 
     but I hope you will grant me a moment of your time to read 
     this attempt to seek your help, as my Senator.
       Towards the end of 1993 I was the victim of a very serious 
     car accident and I could not have coped without the support 
     of my church and the tremendous help of my beloved sister, 
     Belinda, after which she expressed a strong desire to come 
     and live in Utah, to be close to me, her only sister. In 
     1994, therefore, a dream came true when, after applying for 
     the DVI Program, which is held yearly, my sister's husband 
     David, was informed by the National Visa Center, that he was 
     selected in the 1995 Diversity Visa Lottery

[[Page S1928]]

     Program. Finally, my sister had a chance to live near her 
     family and friends, Belinda, who is Austrian/British, then 
     working for the ``United Nations Drug Control Programme'' 
     (UNDCP) at the UN Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, was so 
     thrilled to be informed of the good news. Therefore, all the 
     necessary documents were provided to the National Visa Center 
     in New Hampshire.

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