Full Text of SR0262 97th General Assembly
SR0262 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Since 2005, the U.S. Department of State has been | 3 | | conducting discussions with Poland so that the nation may be | 4 | | admitted to the United States' visa waiver program, which | 5 | | allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the United | 6 | | States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days with | 7 | | a passport, without having to obtain a visa; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, President George W. Bush supported working with | 9 | | Congress and international partners to modify the visa waiver | 10 | | program; in 2006, the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism
| 11 | | Partnership Bill was introduced, but the United States Senate | 12 | | took no action; the bill directed the Secretary of Homeland | 13 | | Security to establish a pilot program to expand the visa waiver | 14 | | program for countries that are cooperating with the United | 15 | | States on security and counterterrorism matters; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Citizens of 30 European countries, including | 17 | | Poland's neighbors Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and | 18 | | Slovakia, are eligible for visa-free entry into the United | 19 | | States under the visa waiver program; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Poland has a very high ranking in human | 21 | | development, human rights, and standard of living, which are | 22 | | all criteria shared by countries eligible for the visa entry |
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| 1 | | program; due to their country's strong economy, citizens of | 2 | | Poland who have visas do not overstay them; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Admitting Poland into the visa entry program would | 4 | | bring more Polish tourists to Chicago; additionally, both | 5 | | Chicago and the Polish city of Warsaw are major financial | 6 | | centers; easing restrictions for travel between the two cities | 7 | | would benefit both economies; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Polish President Komorowski has recently reached | 9 | | out to President Obama to encourage him to resurrect | 10 | | negotiations easing restrictions for Polish citizens to travel | 11 | | to the United States; President Obama has pledged to work on | 12 | | the issue; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the President | 15 | | of the United States to lift the restrictions currently in | 16 | | place that prevent Poland from being admitted to the visa | 17 | | waiver program; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | delivered to President Barack Obama.
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