[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 48 (Thursday, April 11, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S2590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. Hatch):
  S. 703. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
provide for the eligibility of the Hong Kong Special Administration 
Region for designation for participation in the visa waiver program for 
certain visitors to the United States; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce S. 703 with 
Senator Hatch to fix a technical problem that prevents Hong Kong from 
joining the Visa Waiver Program. Under current law, only ``countries'' 
are eligible for the program, and Hong Kong is not a sovereign country, 
so a special provision needs to be added to the law to make Hong Kong 
eligible.
  On July 1, 1997, after over 150 years of British rule, Hong Kong 
became a Special Administrative Region of China, retaining its own 
currency, free market economy, political system, civil liberties, and 
immigration policies. This autonomy was recognized by the United States 
and affirmed by Congress in passing the United States-Hong Kong Policy 
Act.
  Today we have a robust bilateral relationship with Hong Kong, a 
global financial and trading hub, which was our 10th largest export 
market last year and whose trade ties are significant for many States. 
The State Department considers Hong Kong an important law enforcement 
partner in combating money laundering and eliminating funding for 
terrorist networks.
  Despite our visa policies treating it separate from Mainland China, 
because it is not a ``country,'' Hong Kong is unable to be considered 
for the Visa Waiver Program. The Visa Waiver Program is an essential 
tool for promoting travel and tourism to America while protecting 
national security by allowing precleared business and leisure travelers 
from 37 countries to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without obtaining 
a nonimmigrant visitor visa.
  Hong Kong has secured visa waivers for its passport holders from over 
140 countries and territories, including allies such as Canada, 
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and all member states of 
the European Union. Hong Kong has already extended visa waivers to 
American citizens. Our laws shouldn't be a barrier to do the same in 
the future.
  As our largest industry, tourism is important to Hawaii, especially 
from Asia. Our largest source of foreign tourists comes from Japan, a 
visa waiver country since 1988. In 2011, domestic and international 
visitors to Hawaii spent $16.9 billion which supported 160,800 jobs in 
the islands according to the U.S. Travel Association.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bipartisan, commonsense 
legislation.
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