Ahead of the House’s vote regarding the Visa Waiver Program, Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, submitted the following letter to the House and Senate leadership, all members of Congress, as well as the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and the House Homeland Security Committee:
“Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Pelosi, and Minority Leader Reid,
As a business that is accustomed to serving the public, the U.S. lodging industry has a heightened sensitivity and concern about national and international security. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), which represents some 2 million employees and the 53,000-property lodging industry, remains ever vigilant about guest and employee safety. It has always been and continues to be a top priority.
There is no question that the country should be on heightened alert in the aftermath of recent terror attacks, and we agree that the United States government needs to take necessary precautions to ensure that our homeland is protected, including making our visa programs more secure. That is why we support H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act, which takes concrete steps to specifically address the risks emanating from Iraq, Syria and other terrorist havens.
Furthermore, we agree that all visa programs should be reviewed, both for visitors and immigrants, as well as security measures and procedures at our ports of entry, because the visa waiver program is just one of numerous ways people from around the world enter our country. We should act quickly but judiciously to ensure that changes to the visa waiver and other visa programs do not inadvertently hurt national security. As a result of intelligence sharing, U.S. inspections of foreign security systems, and other program components, the existing visa waiver program affirmatively strengthens U.S. security, and H.R. 158 makes additional changes to secure the program. However, there is legislation in the Senate, S.2337, the Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act, that includes some worthwhile provisions such as limitations on people who have recently traveled to Iraq and Syria, but also includes other provisions that could have serious unintended consequences. For example, the requirements for collecting biometrics from users of the visa waiver program appear to have very limited security benefits while creating significant implementation challenges that could severely undermine the overall program.
Security must come first, and we strongly believe all areas of law that govern the processes by which millions of people enter the country each year for business, leisure and immigration purposes should be strengthened. Let us not focus solely on one program, at the expense of recognizing the full scope of issues at play, and hastily implement changes that could unjustifiably limit travel to the United States without commensurate improvements to security.
We pledge to work with Congress and the Administration in any way we can to help keep our nation safe, and as a first step, encourage you to enact H.R. 158 expeditiously.”
