Full Text of HR0717 97th General Assembly
HR0717 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The United States government launched the Visa | 3 | | Waiver Program (VWP) in 1986 to make it easier for tourists and | 4 | | business travelers from friendly nations to visit without a | 5 | | visa, as long as their homeland met stringent security and | 6 | | law-enforcement standards; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Poland is currently one of the few European | 8 | | nations to be excluded from the VWP, despite its nearly | 9 | | century-long diplomatic relationship with the United States; | 10 | | and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The Polish government repealed its visa | 12 | | requirement for U.S. citizens traveling to Poland in 1991; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Poland has been one of the staunchest U.S. allies | 14 | | during the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, where | 15 | | 2,500 Polish soldiers are currently deployed; at least 24 | 16 | | Polish troops have been killed in action in Iraq and | 17 | | Afghanistan; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In his December 2010 meeting with Polish President | 19 | | Bronislaw Komorowski, President Barack Obama said he would make | 20 | | Poland's admission into the VWP a "priority", and pledged to | 21 | | complete that process expeditiously; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Expansion of the VWP would bring increased revenue | 2 | | to the travel industry, at a time when America's economy needs | 3 | | it the most; in 2008, the countries in the VWP generated more | 4 | | than 16 million visits to the U.S., accounting for 65% of all | 5 | | overseas arrivals that year; VWP travelers spent more than $51 | 6 | | billion in the U.S., which generated an estimated 512,000 jobs, | 7 | | $13 billion in payroll and $7.8 billion in taxes for the U.S. | 8 | | economy; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The Secure Travel and Counterterrorism | 10 | | Partnership Program Act of 2011, currently under consideration | 11 | | in Congress, aims to update and modernize VWP requirements, | 12 | | ultimately making Poland and other U.S. allies eligible to | 13 | | participate in VWP; the Act would also enhance national | 14 | | security by encouraging information sharing between the United | 15 | | States and member countries; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 18 | | we urge Congress to pass the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism | 19 | | Partnership Program Act of 2011 in an effort to improve our | 20 | | international diplomatic relationships, create jobs, stimulate | 21 | | the economy, and strengthen national security; and be it | 22 | | further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United | 3 | | States House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority | 4 | | Leaders of the United States Senate, and the members of the | 5 | | Illinois congressional delegation.
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