[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 111 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7778-H7780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1400
RELIGIOUS WORKERS ACT OF 2000
Mr. PEASE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 4068) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend for
an additional 3 years the special immigrant religious worker program.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4068
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
2000''.
SEC. 2. 3-YEAR EXTENSION OF SPECIAL IMMIGRANT RELIGIOUS
WORKER PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--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 ``2000,'' each place it appears and
inserting ``2003,''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on October 1, 2000.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Jackson-Lee) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease).
General Leave
Mr. PEASE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 4068.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Indiana?
There was no objection.
Mr. PEASE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a program
exists which authorizes religious denominations throughout the United
States to sponsor nonminister workers in religious vocations and
religious occupations, such as lay workers, to enter the United States
as permanent residents.
This program also authorizes visas for temporary nonimmigrant
religious workers who will serve for a period not exceeding 5 years.
This program was created by Congress in 1990 and has been extended
several times. The nonminister religious worker programs will expire
September 30th of this year; therefore, an extension of the existing
program is necessary and must be accomplished with expediency.
As it exists, the legislation requires that an immigrant religious
worker has been carrying on such vocation continuously for at least the
2-year period immediately preceding the time of application. This
requirement was thought to reduce the likelihood of fraudulent
applications; however, the Department of Justice and the INS have
raised concerns regarding suspected fraud existent in the program.
Because of a vague definition of religious worker and the inability
to require other precise definitions of religion, there has been
suggestion of fraudulent applications in both the temporary and
permanent categories.
In opposition to the views of the Department of Justice and the INS,
religious institutions assert that a quantity of fraudulent
applications has not been verified. The religious institutions hold the
view that the limited number of visas granted per year for the
nonminister aliens, which is not to exceed 5,000 persons, does not
demand the addition of antifraud provisions to the existing programs.
In order to accommodate the interests of both the administration and
the
[[Page H7779]]
religious institutions, provisions to prevent fraudulent applications
were discussed. Despite numerous attempts to find a resolution to these
concerns and extend the program permanently, there remains disagreement
as to the suggested antifraud provisions. Therefore, this bill will
extend the existing Religious Worker Visa program for an additional 3
years.
Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that within that time, Congress will
develop an acceptable program which reduces potential fraud, yet not
require excessive administrative demands on the religious institutions
which utilize this program.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 4068 and thereby
approve a 3-year extension of the existing important program.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration
and Claims.
(Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Indiana
(Mr. Pease), my friend, for yielding the time to me.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to play a part in the creation of the
Religious Worker Program in 1990. I support these visas since they
allow American religious denominations, large and small, to benefit by
the addition of committed religious workers from overseas.
The visa program expires at the end of the fiscal year September 30.
H.R. 4068, introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Pease), extends the program for 3 additional years until October 2003.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for all the good work he
has done on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. PEASE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to add my accolades and
appreciation to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease) for H.R. 4068,
and also note the great work of the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lofgren) on this matter and thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith),
the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, for his
work on the Religious Workers Act of 2000.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation has the support of the U.S. Catholic
Conference, the Lutheran Immigration Service and many other religious
organizations. It is a vital piece of legislation that again raises its
head in unity of Republicans and Democrats.
This legislation allows religious organizations to sponsor
nonminister religious workers from abroad to perform service in the
United States. Examples of nonminister related work are included, but
not limited to nuns, religious brothers, catechists, cantors, pastoral
service workers, missionaries, and religious broadcasters. Such
individuals make important contributions to the United States by caring
for the sick, the aged, providing shelter and nutrition to the most
needy, supporting families in crisis and working with the religious
leaders.
Mr. Speaker, this country has always had a history of involving the
religious community in public service or voluntaryism, helping the most
needy of our community, and this legislation allows this to happen.
I would have liked this legislation to have been permanent, but it
extends it for 3 years. I hope during this time frame we will be able
to see the value of these religious workers and ensure that we work to
keep them. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, the Non-Minister Religious Worker Visa Program,
originally enacted as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act of
1990, allows religious organizations to sponsor non-minister religious
workers from abroad to perform service in the United States. Examples
of non-minister religious workers include but are not limited to: nuns,
religious brothers, catechists, cantors, pastoral service workers,
missionaries, and religious broadcasters. Such individuals make
important contributions to the United States by: caring for the sick
and aged, providing shelter and nutrition to the most needy, supporting
families in crisis, and working with religious leaders.
The program is composed of two parts. Part one, the Special
Immigration provision, provides for up to 5,000 Special Immigrant visas
per year. Once granted, this type of visa allows religious workers to
permanently immigrant to the United States. Under current law, this
part of the program will expire on September 30, 2000. While this bill
will extend the program for an additional 3 years, we really need a
bill that makes the program permanent.
The Executive Director of the Lutheran Immigration Service has stated
that, ``Foreign lay religious workers admitted to the United States
under this provision serve very important and traditional religious
functions in the congregations and the communities where they work and
live . . . in many communities, there is an increasing need for
religious workers who can help develop or start congregations for
certain ethnic or language groups . . . and Congress should extend the
provision permanently so that religious denominations may implement,
without any trepidation, long-term strategic plans that rely on lay
foreign workers.'' However, I support this bill as it does extend the
program for 3 years.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Lofgren), who has worked very hard on this
legislation. I thank her for her leadership on it.
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of extending the
religious worker visa program. I applaud my colleagues for recognizing
the importance of this provision to religious communities across
America.
My only reservation to the passage of this bill is the temporary
nature of the extension. I believe that Congress should extend the
religious worker program permanently. I believe that the Catholic
Church, the Lutheran Church, the Methodist Church, the Christian
Science Church, the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints and
other churches, synagogues, temples and mosques across America have
much worthier work to accomplish than lobbying politicians every 3
years to allow a few thousand nuns, monks, sisters, brothers, cantors
and other religious workers to enter this country.
Religious workers are among the most valuable members of our American
society. They come to America at the call of their church and expect
only the opportunity to serve. The services they provide to the
communities they become a part of are immeasurable. For example,
religious workers are involved in caring and ministering to the sick
and elderly. Think about the hospitals and local hospice care
facilities across the country and the comfort those who offer spiritual
solace provide.
These facilities and their patients are all the better for our
religious workers. Religious workers work with adolescents and young
adults offering them spiritual guidance and counsel at a critical time
in their lives.
Religious workers are involved in helping refugees adjust to a new
way of life. Think of how frightening it must be to come to a new land
and how welcoming it must be to know that you still have a church,
where someone can lead a prayer in the language of your parents.
Most importantly, religious workers help our poor. Mr. Speaker, 3
years ago, in 1997, I read a letter from Mother Teresa urging Congress
to extend this program. She said ``my sisters serve the poor in Detroit
where we have a soup kitchen and a night shelter for women. Let us all
thank God for this chance to serve his poor.''
That letter moved me and many of my colleagues to create legislation
that would extend this provision permanently. While I applaud Congress
for bringing this H.R. 4068 to the floor, I wish with all my heart that
I could make this extension a permanent one.
I thank all of my colleagues who have worked with me on this issue,
and I especially want to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease)
for his willingness to reach across the aisle to work with me on this
important issue and for his successful struggle to bring a good
resolution, although not a perfect one, to the floor today. I thank the
gentleman and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
[[Page H7780]]
Mr. Speaker, I hope that we can fix this, as we can fix other
immigration issues, and I ask my colleagues to support this
legislation. And I thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease) for his
leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PEASE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the work of the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and
Claims; the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), the ranking
member of the subcommittee; and the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lofgren) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon), all of whom spent a
great deal of time with us and with staff and with representatives of
the religious denominations trying to meet the objections that were
raised by the Department of Justice and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
Mr. Speaker, it was the most candid, open, honest, effort that I have
seen during my time here to reach a consensus; everyone operating in
good faith. We have before us what I believe is a good bill. It is not
a perfect bill. But under the circumstances and given the urgency of
time, I believe it is the best we can do for the most. I would
encourage all my colleagues to support the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Scarborough). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4068.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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