[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 140 (Tuesday, October 7, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9228-H9231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AMENDING AND EXTENDING IRISH PEACE PROCESS CULTURAL AND TRAINING 
                          PROGRAM ACT OF 1998

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 2655) to amend and extend the Irish Peace Process 
Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2655

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. AMENDMENT AND EXTENSION OF IRISH PEACE PROCESS 
                   CULTURAL AND TRAINING PROGRAM.

       (a) Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program 
     Act.--
       (1) Program participant requirements.--Section 2(a) of the 
     Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 
     (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(5) Program participant requirements.--An alien entering 
     the United States as a participant in the program shall 
     satisfy the following requirements:
       ``(A) The alien shall be a citizen of the United Kingdom or 
     the Republic of Ireland.
       ``(B) The alien shall be between 21 and 35 years of age on 
     the date of departure for the United States.
       ``(C) The alien shall have resided continuously in a 
     designated county for not less than 6 months before such 
     date.
       ``(D) The alien shall have been continuously unemployed for 
     not less than 6 months before such date.
       ``(E) The alien may not have a degree from an institution 
     of higher education.''.
       (2) Extension of program.--Section 2 of the Irish Peace 
     Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 (8 U.S.C. 
     1101 note) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``the third program 
     year and for the 4 subsequent years,'' and inserting ``each 
     program year,'';
       (B) by amending subsection (d)(1) to read as follows:
       ``(1) Effective October 1, 2008, this Act is repealed, 
     except for subsection (a)(3), which is repealed effective 
     October 1, 2009.''; and
       (C) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ``2006,'' and 
     inserting ``2008,''.
       (3) Technical amendments.--The Irish Peace Process Cultural 
     and Training Program Act of 1998 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is 
     amended--
       (A) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term 
     appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
       (B) by striking ``Immigration and Naturalization Service'' 
     each place such term appears and inserting ``Department of 
     Homeland Security''.
       (b) Immigration and Nationality Act.--
       (1) Requirements for nonimmigrant status.--Section 
     101(a)(15)(Q) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(Q)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term 
     appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
       (B) in clause (ii)(I)--
       (i) by striking ``35 years of age or younger having a 
     residence'' and inserting ``citizen of the United Kingdom or 
     the Republic of Ireland, 21 to 35 years of age, unemployed 
     for not less than 6 months, and having a residence for not 
     less than 6 months''; and
       (ii) by striking ``36 months)'' and inserting ``24 
     months)''.
       (2) Foreign residence requirement.--Section 212 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended--
       (A) by redesignating the subsection (p) as added by section 
     1505(f) of Public Law 106-386 (114 Stat. 1526) as subsection 
     (s); and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(t)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person 
     admitted under section 101(a)(15)(Q)(ii)(I), or acquiring 
     such status after admission, shall be eligible to apply for 
     nonimmigrant status, an immigrant visa, or permanent 
     residence under this Act until it is established that such 
     person has resided and been physically present in the 
     person's country of nationality or last residence for an 
     aggregate of at least 2 years following departure from the 
     United States.
       ``(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the 
     requirement of such 2-year foreign residence abroad if the 
     Secretary determines that--
       ``(A) departure from the United States would impose 
     exceptional hardship upon the alien's spouse or child (if 
     such spouse or child is a citizen of the United States or an 
     alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence); or
       ``(B) the admission of the alien is in the public interest 
     or the national interest of the United States.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie 
Bernice Johnson) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. 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. 2655, the bill 
currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2655 would extend the Irish Peace Process Cultural 
and Training Program for 2 years, from 2006 to 2008. It would also 
modify the provisions of the program to ensure that those aliens 
receiving visas are those the program was designed to benefit.
  In 1998, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) guided the Irish 
Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act to enactment. The 
purpose of this program is to allow young adults who live in 
disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland and designated border counties 
of the Irish Republic that are suffering from sectarian violence and 
high unemployment to enter the United States to develop job skills and 
conflict resolution abilities in a diverse, cooperative, peaceful and 
prosperous environment. They can then return to their homes better able 
to contribute toward economic regeneration and the Irish peace process.
  Up to 4,000 qualifying aliens, and their spouses and minor children, 
can be admitted each year, and they can stay in the United States for 
up to 3 years. The program was set to sunset on October 1, 2005. In the 
107th Congress, this program was extended until October 1, 2006.
  The bill of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), H.R. 2655, would 
extend the program for another 2 years until October 1, 2008. It would 
also make a number of changes to the program to ensure that the aliens 
granted admission are truly the economically disadvantaged young adults 
the program was designed to help. These changes include requirements 
that program participants not have degrees from institutions of higher 
education; that they be at least 21 years of age; that they be 
nationals of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland; and that 
they have been unemployed and resident in Northern Ireland or the 
designated border counties for at least 6 months.
  The bill would also make changes to the program to help ensure that 
the aliens return to Ireland to foster economic development and peace. 
The bill would reduce the duration of the visa term from 3 years to 2 
years, and this change would discourage visa holders from remaining in 
the United States by reducing the amount of time they would have to 
establish roots here. The bill would also require that aliens admitted 
under this program return home for 2 years before they could apply for 
an immigrant visa, permanent residence, or another nonimmigrant visa.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume, and I rise in support of H.R. 2655.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2655 amends the Irish Peace Process Cultural and 
Training Program Act of 1998 to extend through fiscal year 2008. The 
Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program provides for 
admission into the United States each fiscal year of up to 4,000 young, 
disadvantaged aliens from designated countries in Northern Ireland and 
the Republic of Ireland. These youths suffer from sectarian violence 
and high unemployment. This program helps these youth develop job 
skills and conflict resolution skills in a diverse and peaceful 
environment so that they can return to their homes better able to 
contribute toward economic regeneration and a lasting peace in Ireland.

[[Page H9229]]

  This bill also makes a few changes to the program to ensure that the 
disadvantaged youth are those who benefit from the program. H.R. 2655 
clarifies that a qualifying alien must be a citizen of the United 
Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. It also clarifies that no 
qualifying candidate may have a degree from an institution of higher 
education. All participants in the program must also return home for 2 
years, rather than 1, at the conclusion of the visa term.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Walsh), who is the principal author of this bill.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time and also for providing for speedy consideration of this bill. The 
gentleman from Wisconsin takes remarkable interest in all of this 
legislation, has a thorough understanding of it, and I very much 
appreciate his interest.
  I rise in strong support of the reauthorization of the Northern 
Ireland Peace Process and Cultural Training Program. A long time ago, 
as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, I was given the opportunity at a 
tender young age to broaden my horizons and in a short 2-year period of 
time step out of my role in traditional American society and immerse 
myself into a culture that opened my eyes to a new world and new 
perspective on life. This experience inspired me to help create a 
similar program that could be applied to those living in Northern 
Ireland and the border counties.
  As chairman of the Friends of Ireland and a member of the Ad Hoc 
Committee on Irish Affairs, I have traveled annually to Ireland, both 
with the President and leading my own CODELs, and through these 
experiences have had a firsthand opportunity to watch the peace process 
evolve. Through these experiences, I felt a program of this nature 
could be applied to people on both sides of the conflict.
  The program was first enacted by Congress in October of 1998 and is 
up for reauthorization this year. Since the program's infancy, 
approximately 1,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 have 
traveled from disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland and the Republic 
of Ireland, the border counties bordering Northern Ireland. This 
program provides unemployed members from different communities, of 
varying educational level levels and religious backgrounds the 
opportunity to work in the United States for up to 2 years in our 
society, a society where it does not matter what religion you practice 
or what street you live on.
  This program creates 4,000 temporary nonimmigrant working visas per 
year and targets men and women from these disadvantaged areas. Moving 
forward, we have tailored the program slightly so that it truly applies 
to disadvantaged people residing in areas of Northern Ireland where 
there are deep pockets of unemployment. This program is not intended or 
structured to be a work visa program for college graduates looking to 
gain work experience, but rather a program to give those without an 
education, without a job, without the skills the opportunity to gain 
experience and expertise and overall self-confidence before they 
return.
  There have been several questions raised regarding the new 
unemployment and educational restrictions placed on the applicants. The 
reasoning behind limiting the program to those without a degree of 
higher education is to target the truly underprivileged and, more 
specifically, those susceptible to paramilitary recruitment.
  Participants go through an 8-week predeparture training period during 
which time they research and secure employment in the United States 
prior to their arrival. As a result, they are gainfully employed before 
they reach the U.S. The program continues to give participants 
practical training experience during the time they are here as well as 
the opportunity to coexist and experience conflict resolution training 
in a diverse society. Therefore, we have changed the education 
requirements in order to better target those who deserve to participate 
in the skills-based opportunity that this program provides.
  We have also placed a requirement that the participants must be 
unemployed for at least 6 months prior to departure to the U.S. In 
previous years, the requirement was 3 months. Recruiters in Dublin and 
Belfast ran into a problem when college-level graduates began staying 
purposefully unemployed for 3 months in order to qualify for the 
program. Therefore, the 6-month time frame creates a more extreme 
period in which they must be unemployed. The legislation now states 
that it is mandatory for the participants to return home for at least 2 
years following their stay in the United States.
  Politically, the island of Ireland has been relatively stable, and we 
are seeing positive changes unfold as the peace process continues to 
work. The results and return rates of the Walsh visa program have been 
terrific. The program will continue to support this transition by 
providing new potential leaders with valuable job skills and a 
demonstrated ability to live and work with people of diverse views.
  I hope all members will join me in supporting this low-risk, high-
return investment to support the continuing movement towards peace in 
Northern Ireland. Through programs like this, we will be able to 
solidify the steps toward a permanent peace.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley).
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, as cochair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Irish 
Affairs, I am pleased to rise in strong support of the Walsh visa 
program. This program helps the truly disadvantaged of Northern Ireland 
and the six border counties of the Republic of Ireland by allowing them 
to live and work here in the United States for a short period of time.
  While in the United States, these young men and women are given the 
training they need to become skilled workers. At the completion of this 
short-term job training program, the participants return to their 
homeland and put into practice the skills they have learned here in the 
United States. These skills will help them to build a better life for 
themselves, a life that they may not have had but for this program and 
its opportunities.
  We are not just discussing job opportunities, but rather life 
opportunities and the ability to look to a brighter future. We all know 
the reality that Northern Ireland still faces is a very difficult one. 
The assembly is still dissolved and the elections look as if they will 
be further postponed. But this program provides hope to these people 
for a better future for themselves and their families.
  The United States needs to continue this program for the good people 
of the island of Ireland. I urge all of my colleagues to support this 
bill.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. King).
  Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding 
me this time, and I am proud to rise in support of this legislation.
  At the outset, Mr. Speaker, let me extend my sincerest thanks and 
gratitude to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) for the leadership 
he has shown on this issue and being in the forefront of putting forth 
the Walsh visas, which have done so much, not just on a very practical 
level of providing training and opportunity for Catholics and 
Protestants, Republicans and Loyalists, Nationalists and Unionists from 
the north of Ireland and also from the border counties on the northern 
border, but also for making it clear the United States retains a 
lasting commitment to the peace process in the north of Ireland.
  Several years ago, none of us would have thought that we would see 
the resolution, or almost the resolution, of the centuries-old struggle 
that has been going on among the Irish and the British and so many of 
the forces on the island of Ireland. But today we have gone so far. We 
are approaching what I believe will be the ultimate resolution of the 
struggle in Northern Ireland. This legislation, providing the Walsh 
visas, providing economic opportunity, and letting the people in those 
areas know that the United States remains committed to peace and 
justice and to the peace process really is worth its weight in gold.
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) referred to this as low-risk, 
high-investment. That could not be more true. This is so important to 
the

[[Page H9230]]

peace process. It is so important, really, to the image of the United 
States around the world. It is so important to the people who have 
suffered for so many years on both sides of the divide, on both sides 
of the border, those who have lived in poverty, those who are 
struggling to work their way up. This is such an important symbol to 
them. It also has the practical effect of providing the training they 
need.
  So, Mr. Speaker, with that, I am proud to support it, and I urge its 
adoption.

                              {time}  1500

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal).
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I want to lend my support to 
the initiative which has been so successful and to point out on the 
island of Ireland, the dispute represents the longest standing 
political divide in the history of the Western world. It is most 
extraordinary; and today in contrast to the turbulence that we witness 
in the rest of the world, the reach of the United States is so apparent 
in the successful diplomatic efforts which have occurred in Ireland 
over this past decade.
  I would remind Members it was not that long ago when this issue 
seemed to defy solution. Today the face of Ireland is changed. I do not 
know anybody on either side of the border or in either of the two 
communities that would argue that we ought to return to such a tragic 
history. Instead, Ireland is a vibrant international economy, the 
second largest producer of software in the world, a population that is 
educated as well as any and all of Europe, a people that are confident 
and in large measure they were willing to take that risk for peace 
because of the support that was generated in the Congress of the United 
States by both political parties, two successive administrations who 
said that this issue deserved the same sort of attention that other 
international events had reached.
  Today, we reap the reward of that success. It has been initiatives 
like this from the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), and it is a 
fact that Members on both sides of the aisle meet faithfully and 
regularly in an effort to demonstrate that America still cares.
  Is there a way to go? There certainly is. It is still a long road, 
but contrast what we have today with what we had just a few years ago, 
and I think members of the American community as well as other 
international partners can all take the necessary satisfaction from the 
success that the world is witnessing, and it is thanks to initiatives 
like this that have ensured that path forward.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2655 would extend the 
excellent Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program. This 
program provides employment and vocational training for young people 
from disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland and the 6 border counties 
of the Republic of Ireland. The goal of the program is to help the 
participants to develop and enhance their personal and professional 
skills and then return to their own communities as productive and 
skilled members of the workforce.
  The program has focused on business sectors in which personnel or 
skills shortages exist in Ireland and Northern Ireland, or where strong 
future growth and/or new investment is expected. The business sectors 
include hospitality and tourism; customer service; information and 
communications technologies; pharmaceuticals; engineering; sales, 
marketing and promotion; agriculture and horticulture diversification; 
food processing, and furniture.
  The experience this program provides enables the participants to 
return to their communities better able to contribute to economic 
regeneration and a lasting peace in Ireland. I urge you to vote for 
H.R. 2655 to extend the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training 
Program.
  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2655, 
legislation reauthorizing the Walsh Visa program. This program provides 
U.S. work visas to young people from economically disadvantaged 
communities in Northern Ireland.
  The City of Pittsburgh, which I have the honor of representing, is 
one of the hub cities for the Walsh Visa program. Consequently, I have 
had the opportunity to see first-hand the impressive accomplishments of 
this important program.
  Nearly 250 young men and women, Protestant and Catholic, have 
participated in the Walsh Visa Program in Pittsburgh since the city was 
selected as a hub city for this initiative. This program promotes 
tolerance in Northern Ireland by bringing unemployed Protestant and 
Catholic youth from economically disadvantaged areas to work and live 
together in a vibrant multicultural community. These young people learn 
first-hand about the benefits of tolerance and diversity as they 
develop useful job skills and important work habits.
  The Walsh Visa program literally transforms the lives of many of its 
participants, ending their dependence on government hand-outs and 
returning them to their communities as valuable economic assets--as 
well as advocates of tolerance and peaceful coexistence in their deeply 
divided communities. Their new work skills reinforce their status and 
influence in their communities, and that gives their message of 
tolerance and peaceful co-existence added weight.
  And that brings me to the bigger picture. The Walsh Visa programs 
doesn't just benefit a few thousand individuals. It also benefits the 
hundreds of thousands of people in their communities in Northern 
Ireland.
  When these young people go home, they take back much-needed job 
skills, and they serve as important role models for the other young 
people in their community--not just in terms of promoting religious 
tolerance, but also in terms of encouraging participation in the 
workforce in communities where unemployment has historically been 
depressingly high and many young people have developed an unhealthy 
dependency on government welfare programs.
  After completing the Walsh Visa Program, one of the Pittsburgh hub 
participants stated that, having lived and worked in America, she would 
never consider being without a job again back in Belfast.
  The Walsh Visa Program is administered in Pittsburgh by the Ireland 
Institute, a non-profit organization which has a mission to promote 
mutual understanding between the Catholic and Protestant communities in 
Northern Ireland and job creation throughout all of Ireland.
  More than 100 local companies have signed on in support of this 
program, and thousands of dollars in in-kind contributions have been 
received from the community. If, as I believe, widespread public 
support indicates the merit of a government program, then private 
support for the Walsh Visa Program in Pittsburgh represents a ringing 
endorsement of this international initiative.
  Mr. Speaker, the Walsh Visa Program is helping the people of Northern 
Ireland move beyond the sectarian strife that has divided them for far 
too long. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2655 and 
reauthorizing this important program.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2655, which 
would extend and enhance the Walsh Visa Program--a critical effort in 
the drive for peace in Northern Ireland.
  There is still a great deal of work to be done to realize the vision 
we all share of a peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland. The Walsh 
Visa Program is a critical part of this effort, providing disadvantaged 
young adults from Northern Ireland and border counties with job skills 
and conflict resolution training in the United States. When they return 
home, these young people play a positive role in their communities, 
helping along the economy and the peace process. I cannot stress enough 
the importance of this program.
  H.R. 2655 would extend this vital program for two years and would 
also ensure that the people who benefit from it are the truly 
economically disadvantaged young adults the program was designed to 
help. They come from areas that have been gravely affected by conflict, 
suffering from intense violence and high levels of unemployment.
  As we strive for peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland, we must 
remember that while leaders may make peace, people make peace flourish. 
This program would support the everyday people who are the foundation 
of peace in future generations.
  I strongly support H.R. 2655, and I thank my colleague Mr. Walsh for 
his important contribution to the peace effort.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of H.R. 2655, a bill which establishes a cultural training 
program for young people from disadvantaged areas in Northern Ireland 
and other areas in Ireland.
  This bill will extend a very successful program for two years, and 
makes a few other changes which will improve the program.
  The changes include requiring that only 20 percent of the program 
participants may have a higher education degree, that they must be at 
least 21 years old, and that they must be an unemployed resident for at 
least 6 months.
  One of the main goals of the program is a better educated Irish 
citizenry. Not only do the participants personally benefit from the 
program, but because of the improved contributions participants can 
make, so do the people of Ireland. Participants are required to return 
home after the program, which fosters economic development and peace. 
This requirement is waived however, if returning home

[[Page H9231]]

would impose certain hardships on a participant or his family, or if it 
is of national interest to keep the alien here.
  When I traveled to Ireland earlier this year, I saw first hand how 
such a program would help the Irish people. A well-educated society is 
a successful, productive, and peaceful society.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill, and am sure that 
the improvements made by it will benefit not only individuals 
participating in the program, but also the Irish people.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hefley). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2655, 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.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________