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Sen. Moore asks President Bush to modify visa
waiver program for reliable allies
October 11, 2007...In a time when the United States is calling on our closest partners for steadfast support on global issues, Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, is asking President George W. Bush and Congress to consider modifying the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to the citizens of the Republic of Poland. “As you know, the Polish people and their government consider themselves good friends and reliable allies of the United States,” Sen. Moore wrote in a letter to Special Assistant to President Bush, Andrew Ciafardini. “Despite this support for the administration’s foreign policies, Poland continues to be frustrated by the fact that resident of other European Union members can travel to America with only their passports, while Polish citizens must obtain visas to enter the United States.” At the 2007 annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in Boston this summer, Moore pursued the issue of extending the VWP with Ciafardini. He promptly responded in a letter to Sen. Moore stating that the President “will continue working with Congress to advance security and foreign policy objectives by allowing greater flexibility to bring some of our closest allies, including Poland, into the Visa Waiver Program.” In addition, Ciafardini mentioned that “while the law allows for limited expansion, at this time it does not provide the degree of flexibility needed to fully meet the administration’s goals for expanding membership in the Visa Waiver Program.” He further stated that they will continue to work with Congress on addressing this issue. While Sen. Moore was pleased with the timely response, he expressed the need to continue pressing Administration officials and Congressional leaders to extend the VWP to Polish citizens. For more information on Senator Moore’s work in the Senate, visit his web site at senatormoore.com |
