4             
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO EXPAND AND MAKE PERMANENT
   THE TEMPORARY VISA WAIVER PROGRAM ESTABLISHED UNDER THE
   IMMIGRATION CONTROL AND REFORM ACT OF 1986.



 1       WHEREAS, the United States Congress passed the Immigration
 2   Control and Reform Act of 1986 that established a temporary
 3   visa waiver program to pave the way toward better international
 4   relations and increased visitor travel between the United
 5   States and certain participating foreign countries; and
 6   
 7       WHEREAS, the temporary visa waiver program expired in
 8   September, 1996, and has since been extended on a year-to-year
 9   basis, with the current extension expiring in September, 1999;
10   and
11   
12       WHEREAS, the visa waiver program allows persons with
13   waivers to enter the United States for a period of up to ninety
14   days without a visa; and
15   
16       WHEREAS, twenty-one countries were participating in the
17   visa waiver program with the United States as of 1996, with
18   more being added since then; and
19   
20       WHEREAS, the visa waiver program is critical to boosting
21   the number of international arrivals in Hawaii, with an
22   estimated eighty percent of all international visitors arriving
23   at Honolulu International Airport being under the visa waiver
24   program; and
25   
26       WHEREAS, the addition of Taiwan and South Korea to the visa
27   waiver program by the United States would further boost
28   Hawaii's economy because of the huge numbers of travelers to
29   Hawaii from these countries; and
30   
31       WHEREAS, despite the success of the visa waiver program,
32   the United States Congress has not made the program permanent,
33   instead preferring to extend it on a year-to-year basis; now,
34   therefore,

 
Page 2                                  4                  
                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
 2   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
 3   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress
 4   is urged to:
 5   
 6       (1)  Make the visa waiver program permanent; and
 7   
 8       (2)  Add Taiwan and South Korea to the visa waiver program;
 9   
10   and
11   
12       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of Hawaii's
13   Congressional Delegation are urged to exert efforts to make the
14   visa waiver program permanent and add Taiwan and South Korea to
15   the program; and
16   
17       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
18   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Majority Leader of
19   the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States
20   House of Representatives, and the members of Hawaii's
21   Congressional Delegation.
22 
23 
24 
25                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________
 
26 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
27 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
28 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
29 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
30 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
31 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
32 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
33 ___________________________          ____________________________
 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 3                                  4                  
                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 2 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 3 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 4 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 5 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 6 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 7 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 8 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
 9 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
10 ___________________________          ____________________________
 
11 ___________________________          ____________________________