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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                                
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                        HOUSE  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    
  36        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
  37    Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
  38    of 1999, that the United States Congress is urged to:

 
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                                            H.R. NO.H.D. 1
                                                                
                                     

 
   1        (1)  Make the visa waiver program permanent; and
   2    
   3        (2)  Add Taiwan, South Korea, and China to the visa waiver
   4             program;
   5    
   6    and
   7    
   8        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of Hawaii's
   9    Congressional Delegation are urged to exert efforts to make the
  10    visa waiver program permanent and add Taiwan, South Korea, and
  11    China to the program; and
  12    
  13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
  14    Resolution be transmitted to the Majority Leader of the United
  15    States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
  16    Representatives, and the members of Hawaii's Congressional
  17    Delegation.