releases: https://comstock.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/comstock-statement-house-passage-visa-waiver-program-improvements
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://comstock.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/comstock-statement-house-passage-visa-waiver-program-improvements | Comstock Statement on House Passage of Visa Waiver Program Improvements | 2015-12-08 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Republican | House | VA | Barbara Comstock | C001105 | comstock.house.gov | legacy | Washington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA-10) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act by a vote of 407 to 19: The House has moved in a bipartisan manner today to close a loophole in our visa waiver program. The bill passed today would deny visa waiver status to citizens in any of our 38 partner countries who have traveled to terrorist associated countries such as Syria and Iraq. It is estimated that 5,000 Europeans have traveled to fight with radical Islamic terrorist groups like ISIS and then traveled back to their home countries. This legislation also gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to halt visa waiver status of a partner country that fails to share counterterrorism information with the United States. The bill also provides for more international security mechanisms with which our partner countries must comply, including checks against INTERPOL databases, mandatory reporting and cataloguing of lost or stolen passports, and upgraded standards for passports to prevent counterfeiting. As a nation, we must use every tool at our disposal to thwart the next possible terrorist attack on the homeland. This legislation is just one facet of a larger national security policy that works to ensure the safety of the American people. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |