[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``(1) Effective October 1, 2008, this Act is repealed,
except for subsection (a)(3), which is repealed effective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.
____________________