{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://roby.house.gov/press-release/house-takes-important-step-strengthen-national-security", "House Acts to Strengthen National Security", "2015-12-08", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Martha Roby", "R000591", "roby.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Taking an important step to protect the homeland amid growing security concerns, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to strengthen the visa waiver program with the passage of H.R. 158. U.S. Representative Martha Roby (R-AL) today made the following statement regarding the passage of the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act:\nCongress has a responsibility to protect this nation, and this bill is one much-needed step in the right direction. While the Visa Waiver Program is crucial to our economys trade and tourism, we need to beef up security protocol and make sure our partner countries are playing by the rules. I am pleased that the Visa Waiver Improvement Act takes necessary measures to close any gaps that exist in the current system and to ensure those entering our country are not a threat. I appreciate Chairman Candice Miller (R-MI) of the House Judiciary Committee for authoring this legislation and Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) and his team on the House Homeland Security Committee for their dedicated work in advancing this important bill for a vote today.\nThe Visa Waiver Program allows citizens of 38 approved countries to travel to the U.S. without a visa for 90 days, after passing a background and security check. However, given the recent terror activity across the globe, important revisions to the program were needed. The bill passed by the House ramps up security with provisions to:\n terminate VWP countries if they fail to share counterterrorism information;\n terminate VWP countries if they fail to screen travelers against INTERPOL criminal and terrorism databases;\n deny VWP status to those who have gone to terrorist hotspots, like Syria and Iraq, since 2011 or those who have dual-nationality in such countries;\n require all VWP countries to issue and screen fraud resistant e-passports to everyone;\n require annual threat assessments of high-risk VWP countries based on foreign fighter flow, visa denials and terror database matches;\n allow for suspension of high-risk countries until the threat has passed.\nThe bill passed the House by a vote of 407-19.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://roby.house.gov/press-release/house-takes-important-step-strengthen-national-security"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4125681482255459, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}