Bill Text: IL SR0262 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the President of the United States to lift the restrictions currently in place that prevent Poland from being admitted to the visa waiver program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-11-08 - Resolution Adopted [SR0262 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-SR0262-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Since 2005, the U.S. Department of State has been | ||||||
3 | conducting discussions with Poland so that the nation may be | ||||||
4 | admitted to the United States' visa waiver program, which | ||||||
5 | allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the United | ||||||
6 | States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days with | ||||||
7 | a passport, without having to obtain a visa; and
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8 | WHEREAS, President George W. Bush supported working with | ||||||
9 | Congress and international partners to modify the visa waiver | ||||||
10 | program; in 2006, the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism
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11 | Partnership Bill was introduced, but the United States Senate | ||||||
12 | took no action; the bill directed the Secretary of Homeland | ||||||
13 | Security to establish a pilot program to expand the visa waiver | ||||||
14 | program for countries that are cooperating with the United | ||||||
15 | States on security and counterterrorism matters; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Citizens of 30 European countries, including | ||||||
17 | Poland's neighbors Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and | ||||||
18 | Slovakia, are eligible for visa-free entry into the United | ||||||
19 | States under the visa waiver program; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Poland has a very high ranking in human | ||||||
21 | development, human rights, and standard of living, which are | ||||||
22 | all criteria shared by countries eligible for the visa entry |
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1 | program; due to their country's strong economy, citizens of | ||||||
2 | Poland who have visas do not overstay them; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Admitting Poland into the visa entry program would | ||||||
4 | bring more Polish tourists to Chicago; additionally, both | ||||||
5 | Chicago and the Polish city of Warsaw are major financial | ||||||
6 | centers; easing restrictions for travel between the two cities | ||||||
7 | would benefit both economies; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Polish President Komorowski has recently reached | ||||||
9 | out to President Obama to encourage him to resurrect | ||||||
10 | negotiations easing restrictions for Polish citizens to travel | ||||||
11 | to the United States; President Obama has pledged to work on | ||||||
12 | the issue; therefore, be it
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | ||||||
14 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the President | ||||||
15 | of the United States to lift the restrictions currently in | ||||||
16 | place that prevent Poland from being admitted to the visa | ||||||
17 | waiver program; and be it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
19 | delivered to President Barack Obama.
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