[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H10257-H10258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MILITARY PERSONNEL CITIZENSHIP PROCESSING ACT

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2840) to establish a liaison with the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation in United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to 
expedite naturalization applications filed by members of the Armed 
Forces and to establish a deadline for processing such applications.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 2840

       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 ``Military Personnel 
     Citizenship Processing Act''.

     SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE FBI LIAISON.

       (a) Establishment.--Section 451 of the Homeland Security 
     Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 271) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(g) Office of the FBI Liaison.--
       ``(1) In general.--There shall be an Office of the FBI 
     Liaison in the Department of Homeland Security.
       ``(2) Functions.--The Office of the FBI Liaison shall 
     monitor the progress of the functions of the Federal Bureau 
     of Investigation in the naturalization process to assist in 
     the expeditious completion of all such functions pertaining 
     to naturalization applications filed by, or on behalf of--
       ``(A) current or former members of the Armed Forces under 
     section 328 or 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1439 and 1440);
       ``(B) current spouses of United States citizens who are 
     currently serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, who 
     qualify for naturalization under section 319(b) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1430(b)), and 
     surviving spouses and children who qualify for naturalization 
     under section 319(d) of such Act; or
       ``(C) a deceased individual who is eligible for posthumous 
     citizenship under section 329A of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1440-1).
       ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     to carry out this subsection.''.
       (b) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall 
     promulgate rules to carry out the amendment made by 
     subsection (a).

     SEC. 3. DEADLINE FOR PROCESSING AND ADJUDICATING 
                   NATURALIZATION APPLICATIONS FILED BY CURRENT OR 
                   FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND THEIR 
                   SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.

       (a) In General.--Section 328 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(g) Not later than 6 months after receiving an 
     application for naturalization filed by a current member of 
     the Armed Forces under subsection (a), section 329(a), or 
     section 329A, by the spouse of such member under section 
     319(b), or by a surviving spouse or child under section 
     319(d), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services 
     shall--
       ``(1) process and adjudicate the application, including 
     completing all required background checks to the satisfaction 
     of the Secretary of Homeland Security ; or
       ``(2) provide the applicant with--
       ``(A) an explanation for its inability to meet the 
     processing and adjudication deadline under this subsection; 
     and
       ``(B) an estimate of the date by which the application will 
     be processed and adjudicated.
       ``(h) The Director of United States Citizenship and 
     Immigration Services shall submit an annual report to the 
     Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees 
     and the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the Senate and 
     the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, 
     Border Security, and International Law and the Subcommittee 
     on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that 
     identifies every application filed under subsection (a), 
     subsection (b) or (d) of section 319, section 329(a), or 
     section 329A that is not processed and adjudicated within 1 
     year after it was filed due to delays in conducting required 
     background checks.''.
       (b) GAO Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
     submit a report to Congress that contains the results of a 
     study regarding the average length of time taken by United 
     States Citizenship and Immigration Services to process and 
     adjudicate applications for naturalization filed by members 
     of the Armed Forces, deceased members of the Armed Forces, 
     and their spouses and children.

     SEC. 4. SUNSET PROVISION.

       This Act and the amendments made by this Act are repealed 
     on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, foreign-born soldiers serving in our Armed Forces are 
eligible for expedited U.S. citizenship, yet they often face delays in 
the processing of the FBI background check required for naturalization.
  S. 2840 would address this backlog by creating an Office of the FBI 
Liaison within the Department of Homeland Security. This office will 
help expedite the processing of naturalization applications filed by 
soldiers, veterans, and spouses and children of active duty soldiers.
  The bill requires DHS to adjudicate these naturalization applications 
within six months, or to inform the applicants of the reasons for the 
delay and provide them with an estimated date of completion.
  It promotes accountability by having the United States Citizenship 
and Immigration Service (USCIS) report annually to Congress on how many 
of these naturalization applications that remain pending a year after 
filing due to delays in background checks.
  Approximately 45,000 lawful permanent residents are currently serving 
in our Armed Forces. More than 13,000 non-citizen military have applied 
for U.S. citizenship since 2002.
  S. 2480 is a good measure that will help ensure that our soldiers and 
veterans do not face unreasonable hurdles to U.S. citizenship.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Ciro Rodriguez, 
as much time as he may consume.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Smith.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in Senate bill 2840, the Military Personnel 
Citizenship Processing Act, sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer of New 
York. I was a sponsor on the House side. Senate bill 2840 would address 
the growing backlog of citizenship applications of those men and women 
that are serving our country and happen to be foreign born.
  This bill addresses some of the holdups with the FBI backgrounds, not 
only for the soldiers, sailors and airmen, but also ensuring that 
dialogue occurs also with the Department of Defense and the military in 
the applications.
  It creates an office of FBI liaison with DHS and monitors the 
communication gaps that exist between them at the present time. This 
bill further requires that the agencies send notice out to the military 
applicants explaining the delay and estimating the date of completion 
for any application pending over 6 months.
  This bill works in harmony with the recently passed Kendell Frederick 
Act. While the Kendell Frederick Act will ensure prompt processing of 
biometric data and timely adjudication after the FBI background checks 
are completed, S. 2840 will ensure that the background checks 
themselves are done expeditiously.
  Taken together, this bill will be a one-two punch that's required and 
needed in order for our military servicemen to be able to move forward 
and become citizens.
  Some 7,500 military applications are presently pending with 
citizenship and immigration services. These men and women represent the 
best of America, and they unquestionably deserve and are owed the full 
rights of every citizen in this country.
  The provisions on this bill allow it to hopefully expedite this to 
occur.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself 
with the remarks made by my Texas colleague, Mr. Rodriguez.
  Mr. Speaker, the Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act 
creates an Office of the

[[Page H10258]]

FBI Liaison within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 
This office will monitor the progress of naturalization applications 
filed by veterans and military personnel.
  It will also monitor the progress of naturalization applications 
filed by spouses of active duty soldiers stationed abroad. And the 
Liaison Office will track the naturalization process for the soldiers 
and their spouses and children who are eligible for citizenship under 
the provisions that grant posthumous citizenship to military personnel 
who die in service to the country.
  The intent behind the establishment of this Liaison Office is to 
address the delays that often occur in the processing of the necessary 
background checks for these categories of applicants.
  The haste under which this bill was added to the suspension calendar 
precludes any meaningful assessment of the need for such an office. 
However, I do not object to measures that facilitate the processing of 
naturalization applications of those who have honorably served our 
country or their spouses and children.
  This bill also requires USCIS to make a decision on these 
applications within 6 months of filing or, in circumstances in which 
that is not possible, to provide the reasons why. This is not an 
onerous burden since USCIS will still have the flexibility needed to be 
sure that all required security checks and eligibility criteria are met 
before granting citizenship.
  In this Congress, we have already passed legislation to ease the 
processing of naturalization applications for our soldiers. The Kendall 
Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act became law on June 26th of this 
year. That law permits soldiers to use the fingerprints they provided 
at the time of enlistment for their background checks.
  That law also requires the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 
Director of the FBI to take steps to ensure that soldiers' 
naturalization applications are adjudicated within 180 days after the 
background checks have been completed. This bill furthers those goals.
  The bill provides, but does not require, an earlier target date of 6 
months after the filing of the application. But in cases in which that 
time frame cannot be met--even with the new FBI liaison office created 
under this bill--USCIS will need to explain why.
  I have no objection to these measures, which are intended to ensure 
the timely adjudication of naturalization applications filed by those 
who have served our Nation, and urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlelady from California, 
Zoe Lofgren, as much time as she may need.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. I would certainly like to commend 
Congressman Rodriguez and Senator Schumer. This is a measure that I 
support.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just like to note there is another measure that 
we have marked up in the Judiciary Committee that would broadly assist 
our American soldiers and their families. I hope that in the same 
spirit of collaboration we see this evening, we will be able to achieve 
that wonderful advance for the fathers, mothers, wives, spouses, and 
sons and daughters of our brave American soldiers.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 2840.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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