[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12978]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             UNITED STATES-ISRAEL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP ACT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, the United States-Israel Strategic 
Partnership Act of 2013 reaffirms the strong relationship the United 
States has with Israel. As the legislation states, our countries share 
a deep and unbreakable bond, forged by over 60 years of shared 
interests and shared values.
  S. 462 includes provisions that will enhance cooperation between our 
countries in the areas of energy, defense, homeland security, and 
agriculture.
  While I support the end goal of the bill, I do have reservations 
about a section dealing with the visa waiver program. The visa waiver 
program was created by Congress but is largely overseen and maintained 
by the executive branch. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate any country as 
a participant if certain qualifications are met. Congress laid out the 
criteria, which include low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate; machine 
readable passport program; law enforcement and security interests; 
reporting lost and stolen passports; repatriation of aliens; and 
passenger information exchange.
  Once a country meets these requirements, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security allows the country to participate in the visa waiver program. 
Yet, S. 462 would amend the statute and allow Israel in the program 
even if all the criteria are not met. Specifically, under the 
legislation, Israel would not have to abide by the low nonimmigrant 
visa refusal rate. Currently, 37 countries participate in the visa 
waiver program without needing a special exception.
  I am concerned about section 9 of the bill because it sets a 
precedent for other countries not to have to abide by all the terms of 
the program. Participating in the visa waiver program is a great 
benefit. Congress should not be making exceptions.
  So, while I support the bill and am cosponsoring it today, I will 
advocate that section 9 be amended before it is passed by this body. 
The Senate should accept the House language, which simply includes a 
statement of policy and requires the Secretary of State to report on 
the extent to which Israel satisfies the requirements specified in law.
  I hope my colleagues will work with me on this section, and I look 
forward to helping pass this bill in the Senate to reaffirm the 
partnership of United States with Israel.

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