[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 12 (Thursday, January 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1481-S1483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Lugar, and Mr. 
        Hatch):
  S. 205. A bill to authorize the issuance of immigrant visas to, and 
the admission to the United States for permanent residence of, certain 
scientists, engineers, and technicians who have worked in Iraqi weapons 
of mass destruction programs; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, on October 7, 2002, the President of the 
United States said something very important about United Nations 
inspections in Iraq. He said: ``Clearly, to actually work, any new 
inspections . . . will have to be very different. . . . To ensure that 
we learn the truth, the regime must allow witnesses to its illegal 
activities to be interviewed outside the country--and these witnesses 
must be free to bring their families with them so they are all beyond 
the reach of Saddam Hussein's terror and murder. And inspectors must 
have access to any site, at any time, without pre-clearance, without 
delay, without exceptions.''
  The President was right on the money about inspections. This is how 
to get the information the world needs on Saddam Hussein's weapons of 
mass destruction. Inspections are vital to stripping him of those 
banned weapons.
  The United Nations responded properly to the President's challenge. 
On November 8, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1441, which 
provided: . . . that Iraq shall provide UNMOVIC and the IAEA immediate, 
unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access to any and all, 
including underground areas, facilities, buildings, equipment, records, 
and means of transport which they wish to inspect, as well as 
immediate, unimpeded, unrestricted, and private access to all officials 
and other persons whom UNMOVIC or the IAEA wish to interview in the 
mode or location of UNMOVIC's or the IAEA's choice pursuant to any 
aspect of their mandates; further decides that UNMOVIC and the IAEA may 
at their discretion conduct interviews inside or outside of Iraq, may 
facilitate the travel of those interviewed and family members outside 
of Iraq, and that, at the sole discretion of UNMOVIC and the IAEA, such 
interviews may occur without the presence of observers from the Iraqi 
government.''
  The inspectors are given unprecedented authority. But how are they to 
implement it? Where will those weapons scientists and their families 
go, once they've told the truth about Saddam's weapons programs? They 
can't go home again. And at least in the short run, there will be no 
safe haven in the region for people who reveal Saddam's most terrible 
secrets.
  Maybe some can go to Europe, although both al Qaeda cells and 
Saddam's agents have operated there. Maybe some can go to Canada, or to 
South America.
  If the United States wants the world to show resolve in dealing with 
Saddam Hussein, however, then we must take the lead in admitting those 
people who have the courage to betray Saddam's nuclear, chemical, 
biological or missile programs. We have a large country in which to 
absorb those people, and, for all our problems, we have the best law 
enforcement and security apparatus to guard them.
  What we do not have is an immigration system that readily admits 
large numbers of persons who were involved with weapons of mass 
destruction, have aided a country in the sop-called ``axis of evil,'' 
and are bringing their families. I introduced legislation last October, 
therefore, to admit to our country those personnel, and their families, 
who give critical and reliable information on Saddam's programs to us, 
to the United Nations, or to the International Atomic Energy Agency. On 
November 20, the Senate passed an amended version of that bill, S. 
3079, with the strong support of the Administration; but there was not 
enough time for the House of Representatives to act on the legislation.
  Two months have passed since inspections were resumed in Iraq. The 
new inspectors are gaining experience, as well as actionable 
intelligence from the United States and other countries. They are 
beginning to find unreported weapons; and every weapon destroyed is a 
weapon that will never be used to cause mass destruction or to attack 
U.S. forces.
  But inspectors have had a hard time getting truthful information from 
the Iraqis they interview. Saddam Hussein terrorizes his people, 
including his weapons scientists, so effectively that they are afraid 
to be interviewed in private, let alone outside the country. They know 
that even the appearance of cooperation could be a death sentence for 
themselves or their families.
  To overcome this obstacle, and to discover and dismantle Saddam 
Hussein's weapons of mass destruction,

[[Page S1482]]

UNMOVIC and the IAEA must interview relevant persons securely and with 
their families protected, even if they protest publicly against this 
treatment. Hans Blix may dislike running ``a defection agency,'' but 
that could be the only way to obtain truthful information about 
Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. The protests of those interviewed 
can actually be helpful, as they prevent Saddam from knowing which of 
his personnel may be willing to tell the truth once they and their 
families are given a secure environment.
  The United States must help UNMOVIC and the IAEA to create that 
secure environment. So, today I am re-introducing the Iraqi Scientists 
Immigration Act.
  I am joined by my esteemed colleague on the Judiciary Committee, 
Senator Specter of Pennsylvania, who co-sponsored the original bill, 
and also by the chairmen of the Foreign Relations Committee and the 
Judiciary Committee Senator Lugar of Indiana and Senator Hatch of Utah. 
I have been assured, moreover, that the Administration remains eager to 
see this bill enacted. This bill is not political. Rather, it is a 
bipartisan effort to help the President succeed in forcing Iraq to 
destroy all its weapons of mass destruction capabilities.
  I urge my colleagues to support quick action on this legislation. 
Iraqis will not come forward unless we offer protection to them and 
their families. Those who are willing to provide truthful information 
will merit our protection. And their information will help disarm 
Saddam Hussein; it will save lives if we have to go to war; and it 
could even help us to disarm Saddam without a war.
  Current law includes several means of either paroling non-immigrants 
into the United States or admitting people for permanent residence, 
notwithstanding their normal inadmissibility under the law. These are 
very limited provisions, however, and they will not suffice to 
accommodate hundreds of Iraqi scientists and their families.
  The legislation that I am re-introducing, the ``Iraqi Scientists 
Immigration Act of 2003,'' will permit the Attorney General, on a case-
by-case basis in coordination with the Secretary of State and the 
Director of Central Intelligence, to admit a foreigner and his family 
if such person: has worked in an Iraqi program to produce weapons of 
mass destruction or the means to deliver them; is willing to supply or 
has supplied critical and reliable information on that program to an 
agency of the United States Government; may be willing to supply or has 
supplied such information to United Nations or IAEA inspectors; and 
will be or has been placed in danger as a result of providing such 
information.
  The Attorney General will also have the authority to give legal 
permanent resident status to persons who provide the promised 
information.
  Finally, this legislation will be limited to the admission of 500 
scientists, plus their families. If it works and we need to enlarge the 
program, we can do so.
  The important thing to do now is to give our country the initial 
authority, and to give United Nations inspectors the ability to 
reassure Saddam's nuclear, chemical, biological and missile experts 
that they and their families will be protected if they help the world 
to bring those programs down.
  President Bush, other world leaders, and the inspectors in Iraq are 
trying to disarm a tyrant whose arms programs make him a danger to 
world peace. And they are trying to do this without going to war, even 
as we prepare to wage that war if necessary. We owe it to the 
inspectors to give them every chance to succeed. We owe it to the 
President to give him the tools he needs to help those inspectors. We 
owe it to Iraq's people and its neighbors to do everything we can to 
dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs. And we owe it to 
our own people to do all we can to achieve that end peacefully, and 
with international support.
  This bill is a small, but vital step toward those ends. I urge my 
colleagues to give it their immediate attention and support.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 205

       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 ``Iraqi Scientists Immigration 
     Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. ADMISSION OF CRITICAL ALIENS.

       (a) Nonimmigrant Category.--Section 101(a)(15) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (U);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (V) 
     and inserting ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(W) Subject to section 214(s), an alien--
       ``(i) who the Attorney General determines, in coordination 
     with the Secretary of State, the Director of Central 
     Intelligence, and such other officials as he may deem 
     appropriate, and in the Attorney General's unreviewable 
     discretion, is an individual--
       ``(I) who has worked at any time in an Iraqi program to 
     produce weapons of mass destruction or the means to deliver 
     them;
       ``(II) who is in possession of critical and reliable 
     information concerning any such Iraqi program;
       ``(III) who is willing to provide, or has provided, such 
     information to the United States Government;
       ``(IV) who may be willing to provide, or has provided, such 
     information to inspectors of the United Nations or of the 
     International Atomic Energy Agency;
       ``(V) who will be or has been placed in danger as a result 
     of providing such information; and
       ``(VI) whose admission would be in the public interest or 
     in the interest of national security; or
       ``(ii) who is the spouse, married or unmarried son or 
     daughter, parent, or other relative, as determined by the 
     Attorney General in his unreviewable discretion, of an alien 
     described in clause (i), if accompanying or following to join 
     such alien, and whose admission the Attorney General, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of State and the Director of 
     Central Intelligence, determines in his unreviewable 
     discretion is in the public interest or in the interest of 
     national security.''.
       (b) Limitations and Conditions Applicable to ``W'' 
     Nonimmigrants.--Section 214 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (m) (as added by section 
     105 of Public Law 106-313), (n) (as added by section 107(e) 
     of Public Law 106-386), (o) (as added by section 1513(c) of 
     Public Law 106-386), (o) (as added by section 1102(b) of the 
     Legal Immigration Family Equity Act), and (p) (as added by 
     section 1503(b) of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act) 
     as subsections (n), (o), (p), (q), and (r), respectively; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(s) Numerical Limitations and Conditions of Admission and 
     Stay For Nonimmigrants Admitted Under Section 
     101(a)(15)(W).--
       ``(1) Limitation.--The number of aliens who may be admitted 
     to the United States or otherwise granted status under 
     section 101(a)(15)(W)(i) may not exceed a total of 500.
       ``(2) Conditions.--As a condition for the admission, and 
     continued stay in lawful status, of any alien admitted to the 
     United States or otherwise granted status as a nonimmigrant 
     under section 101(a)(15)(W), the nonimmigrant--
       ``(A) shall report to the Attorney General such information 
     concerning the alien's whereabouts and activities as the 
     Attorney General may require;
       ``(B) may not be convicted of any criminal offense 
     punishable by a term of imprisonment of 1 year or more after 
     the date of such admission or grant of status;
       ``(C) must have executed a form that waives the 
     nonimmigrant's right to contest, other than on the basis of 
     an application for withholding of removal or for protection 
     under the Convention Against Torture, any action for removal 
     of the alien instituted before the alien obtains lawful 
     permanent resident status;
       ``(D) shall cooperate fully with all requests for 
     information from the United States Government including, but 
     not limited to, fully and truthfully disclosing to the United 
     States Government all information in the alien's possession 
     concerning any Iraqi program to produce weapons of mass 
     destruction or the means to deliver them; and
       ``(E) shall abide by any other condition, limitation, or 
     restriction imposed by the Attorney General.''.
       (c) Adjustment of Status.--Section 245 of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)--
       (A) by striking ``or'' before ``(8)''; and
       (B) by inserting before the period ``or (9) an alien who 
     was admitted as a nonimmigrant described in section 
     101(a)(15)(W)'';
       (2) by redesignating subsection (l), relating to ``U'' visa 
     nonimmigrants, as subsection (m); and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(n) Adjustment to Permanent Resident Status of `W' 
     Nonimmigrants.--
       ``(1) In general.--If, in the opinion of the Attorney 
     General, a nonimmigrant admitted into the United States (or 
     otherwise provided nonimmigrant status) under section

[[Page S1483]]

     101(a)(15)(W)(i) has complied with section 214(s) since such 
     admission or grant of status, the Attorney General may, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of State and the Director of 
     Central Intelligence, and in his unreviewable discretion, 
     adjust the status of the alien (and any alien who has 
     accompanied or followed to join such alien pursuant to 
     section 101(a)(15)(W)(ii) and who has complied with section 
     214(s) since admission or grant of nonimmigrant status) to 
     that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if 
     the alien is not described in section 212(a)(3)(E).
       ``(2) Record of admission; reduction in visa numbers.--Upon 
     the approval of adjustment of status of any alien under 
     paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall record the alien's 
     lawful admission for permanent residence as of the date of 
     such approval and the Secretary of State shall reduce by one 
     the number of visas authorized to be issued under sections 
     201(d) and 203(b)(4) for the fiscal year then current.''.
       (d) Waiver Authority.--Section 212(d) of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)) is amended by 
     inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) The Attorney General shall determine whether a ground 
     of inadmissibility exists with respect to a nonimmigrant 
     described in section 101(a)(15)(W). The Attorney General, in 
     the Attorney General's discretion, may waive the application 
     of subsection (a) in the case of such a nonimmigrant if the 
     Attorney General considers it to be in the public interest or 
     in the interest of national security.''.
       (e) Conforming Amendment.--Section 248(1) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1258(1)) is amended 
     by striking ``or (S)'' and inserting ``(S), or (W)''.

     SEC. 3. WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION DEFINED.

       (a) In General.--In this Act, the term ``weapon of mass 
     destruction'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     1403(1) of the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction 
     Act of 1996 (title XIV of Public Law 104-201; 110 Stat. 2717; 
     50 U.S.C. 2302(1)), as amended by subsection (b).
       (b) Technical Correction.--Section 1403(1)(B) of the 
     Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 
     (title XIV of Public Law 104-201; 110 Stat. 2717; 50 U.S.C. 
     2302(1)(B)) is amended by striking ``a disease organism'' and 
     inserting ``a biological agent, toxin, or vector (as those 
     terms are defined in section 178 of title 18, United States 
     Code)''.
                                 ______