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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     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, South Korea, and China to
27   the visa waiver program by the United States would further
28   boost Hawaii's economy because of the huge numbers of travelers
29   to 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,
35   

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        S.D. 1
                                                        

 
 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, South Korea, and China to the visa waiver
 9            program;
10   
11   and
12   
13       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of Hawaii's
14   congressional delegation are urged to exert efforts to make the
15   visa waiver program permanent and add Taiwan, South Korea, and
16   China to the program; and
17   
18       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
19   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Majority Leader of
20   the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States
21   House of Representatives, and the members of Hawaii's
22   congressional delegation.