Bill seeks to iron out wrinkles in visitor-tracking program
Lawmakers on Thursday plan to introduce a bill to address concerns with a new visa program at the Homeland Security Department.
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who sits on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, along with Reps. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., and Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, are unveiling the Visitor Information and Security Accountability Act at a Capitol Hill news conference.
The measure aims to "mirror" language in an August report by the General Accounting Office on the department's U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program (US VISIT) and also deal with lawmaker's concerns outlined in the fiscal 2004 Homeland Security appropriations bill.
"We want to convince lawmakers to continue funding this cornerstone program," said a Sessions aide. The measure, among other things, would establish a "stakeholders" committee, which would include government officials and private sector representatives, to oversee that resources are "expeditiously provided" for the program.
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