[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 2, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today a bipartisan group of several 
dozen Members from both sides of the aisle led by Adam Kinzinger and me 
were going to be sending a letter to Secretary Kerry, and I am pleased 
to say we don't have to send it.
  The origin of the request dealt with our military operations in the 
Middle East, the brave Iraqi and Afghan men and women who provided 
sensitive and trusted services to United States military personnel. For 
over a decade, I have been working to try and protect them.
  These Iraqis and Afghans who worked with Americans, whether as 
drivers or interpreters, were shoulder to shoulder with our troops, 
often in dangerous circumstances. In some instances, we have heard how 
their services literally made the difference as to whether our soldiers 
lived or died.
  Now, thousands of our allies who helped us, face kidnapping, torture, 
and murder as a direct result of their assistance provided to the 
United States because members of the Taliban and the self-proclaimed 
Islamic State and other hostile elements on the ground see these 
individuals' service as an act of betrayal--and they have long 
memories.
  To reward their faithful service and to fulfill our moral obligation, 
I have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with 
Senators, starting with Senator McCain and the late Senator Kennedy in 
2007, to create a special immigrant visa program. Known as the SIV 
program, enables the safe relocation of these Afghans and Iraqis to the 
United States.
  Since 2007, our bipartisan team in Congress, including a number of 
Members who have recently joined us who served in Iraq and Afghanistan 
and know these circumstances firsthand, has been working to reform and 
revise the program, sometimes fighting just to keep it alive.
  In November of last year, the National Defense Authorization Act 
extended and expanded the Afghan SIV program to ensure the continued 
protection of these souls. However, the final version of the bill also 
lengthened the period of service from 1 to 2 years required for 
individuals ``submitting a petition after September 30, 2015.''
  The State Department's initial announcement on the interpretation of 
the law would have made more than 3,000 of our Afghan allies who had 
already begun the cumbersome application process start over to 
demonstrate the 2 years of qualifying employment. That is why 
Representative Kinzinger and I prepared this bipartisan letter to call 
on the State Department to revisit the interpretation.
  Thankfully, after review and consideration of the concerns from 
Members of Congress, the State Department agreed to apply the 2-year 
requirement only to new applicants. This is welcome news.
  Every hour that is delayed to relocate these vital partners to 
safety, puts their lives at risk and lives of their families. I am glad 
we have put this behind us perhaps, but we cannot keep operating in 
this inefficient manner while our allies and their families face 
consistent threats.

                              {time}  1015

  They deserve better. And we can do better.
  It is shameful that we cannot better serve those who have put their 
lives on the line to help us. It seems that there is always another 
roadblock that occurs.
  This should be a bipartisan issue that Members of Congress and the 
administration can work together on to save lives. It is not just 
saving the lives of the people who helped us.
  It ensures the safety of our troops and other American personnel 
currently serving in harm's way. It will ensure the success of our 
future missions. No one in their right mind will cooperate with 
American forces under dire circumstances if we abandon them after their 
vital assistance.
  I applaud the State Department's reinterpretation of this work 
requirement and look forward to working with my colleagues on the SIV 
program improvements this year. I hope we can do a better job to meet 
our responsibility to these souls who risked so much to help Americans.

                          ____________________