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• Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing House Concurrent Resolution 119, in an effort to bring to the attention of the highest levels of the State Department, as well as the American people, the deplorable conditions that exist in our State Department overseas visa processing system in preventing terrorists and other criminal elements from gaining visas to travel freely to the United States.

• Recent terrorist events in New York, from the Trade Tower bombing, to the thwarted plot to blow up the U.N. complex and New York City commuter tunnels and attacks on our political leaders, make it clear that international terrorism has come home to America's own soil. It is no longer a problem just in the Middle East, or on the continent of Europe, it is a serious and real threat on the streets and in the offices and buildings of America's very own cities.

• My concurrent resolution simply calls for preparation of a emergency plan by the Secretary of State in 60 days to improve the visa process, and report to the Congress on his plan. The Secretary's plan should set out what can be done to immediately close the glaring hole in America's front line defense against terrorists, and other criminal elements that would enter the United States and mean this Nation harm, on visas obtained at our overseas U.N. Embassies and consular posts. Antiquated microfiche records of possible terrorists in overseas high threat posts that process visa applicants, is totally unacceptable in this day and age of modern communications and computer technology. The neglect of our visa processing system at the State Department has gone on long enough.

• Quite frankly, when the conditions I have outlined in my concurrent resolution are examined by my colleagues, they will readily agree I am confident, that the visa control system is badly broken, outdated, and needs immediate high level attention. From outdated and inefficient microfiche equipment and lack of basic information sharing, both within the State Department itself, and among U.S. law enforcement agencies and others, the visa lookout system intended to deny potential terrorists, and other criminal elements, easy access to the United States, is badly in need of repair.

• With America's very safety at stake, the Secretary of State himself needs to take personal charge of the problem and bring the visa processing situation under control. My resolution intends to bring about change, which the American people will surely demand once they realize the extent of the hole in our national defenses against terrorism at our U.S. Embassies and consular posts that issue visas to travel to the United States.

• The unbelievable bungling reflected in the mistaken issuance of the visa to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman while he was on the State Department's own visa lookout list, can only be addressed by a top-to-bottom reform of the entire system under the personal and direct supervision of the Secretary of State.The Secretary must drain this swamp himself.

• My resolution will hopefully bring about an emergency plan and appropriate response from the Secretary of State within 60 days, that will help make the visa lookout system at the Department of State the front line defense against terrorists that the America people expect from our State Department.

• Accordingly I ask my colleagues to join with me in cosponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 119, and helping to bring public pressure to bear on the State Department and those responsible for administering our overseas visa processing function.

• The bill follows:

Whereas recent terrorist acts in the United States have made it abundantly clear that terrorism has come to American soil, and now threatens the very security of the Nation;

Whereas it is evident from recent revelations that the State Department's current visa operations and procedures are not adequate to provide a modern front line defense to prevent terrorists from entering the United States under visas provided by United States embassies and consular posts around the world;

Whereas many overseas State Department posts are still using outdated and inefficient microfiche systems to maintain visa lookout and watch lists for known or suspected terrorists who may seek United States visas to travel to the United States;

Whereas the lookout list microfiche system is outdated, not easily maintained or updated in a timely fashion, is labor intensive and easily subject to human error, and is totally inadequate and outmoded in this era of modern communications and travel;

Whereas many United States embassy and consular posts are still on the outdated microfiche system in many areas of the world where the threat is great from terrorists and drug dealers or narcotics traffickers who may desire visas to enter the United States;

Whereas the microfiche visa lookout system has already resulted in the unfortunate and mistaken entry of radical Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman into the United States on a United States visa, despite his links to known terrorist activities prior to issuance of the visa;

Whereas the mistaken issuance of the visa to Sheik Rahman in error in Khartoum in 1990, despite the fact he was on the State Department's lookout list on microfiche at this post for possible terrorist links, has created numerous and serious problems for the United States, including his possible inspiration and encouragement of terrorism following his entry into the United States, both here and in Egypt by his followers;

Whereas several of Sheik Rahman's followers have been arrested in connection with the New York Trade Tower bombing or relating to a terrorist plot to attack the United Nations complex, New York City commuter tunnels, the Secretary General of the United Nations, and political leaders in the United States, and many of those arrested entered the United States with visas issued by the State Department;

Whereas the entry of Sheik Rahman into the United States by the mistaken issuance of a visa by the State Department has even reportedly strained our relations with the Government of Egypt;

Whereas it is also evident that the necessary information sharing within the State Department, and with other United States law enforcement and intelligence agencies on possible terrorists or other criminal elements, is not being conducted on an appropriate basis to make the visa lookout system current and effective enough to prevent possible terrorists from entering the United States with visas;

Whereas the shortcomings and failures in the current visa processing system at the Department of State have been well known by the Department for many years and no major overhaul, improvements, or recommendations to overhaul the system are forthcoming from the Department of State, the Inspector General, or the General Accounting Office for several months;

Whereas a 1991 Department of State Inspector General audit of the visa referral system at the Department found serious shortcomings in the automated visa lookout system (AVOLS), including `Information regarding foreign nationals with serious grounds for visa ineligibility' was not always in the automated visa lookout system even though government agencies had this information available;

Whereas the same 1991 audit also found that `At one post visited it was determined that not all convicted drug traffickers in the Drug Enforcement Agency local data base were in AVOLS';

Whereas the same 1991 audit went on to find that `The absence of this information (law enforcement data) poses a serious problem to the nonimmigrant visa process since it can result in the issuance of visas to dangerous and undesirable individuals.';

Whereas the Department of State, on the basis of the 1991 audit, has been on notice of the shortcomings in the visa lookout system for more than 2 years, and apparently little or no progress has been made to improve the system;

Whereas recently the Secretary of State has personally acknowledged the need to modernize the visa system to meet the new threat of terrorism directly targeted at the United States;

Whereas the American people demand and expect the Department of State to maintain an effective and modern system to prevent terrorists from obtaining visas to travel to the United States and threaten property, institutions, and lives in the United States;

Whereas the current visa processing system and procedures at the Department of State are totally incapable in meeting the new threat of international terrorism to the United States and threaten the very security and safety of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State, within 60 days after the date of adoption of this resolution, should submit a report to the Congress setting forth an emergency plan to improve visa issuance procedures and equipment and to modernize the visa processing system including--

(1) short-term and immediate plans to modernize high threat United States posts around the globe now currently on outdated microfiche;

(2) plans to improve information sharing within the Department of State itself to keep the visa lookout system current and updated on possible terrorist who might seek visas to travel to the United States;

(3) plans to improve information sharing with other United States agencies to provide timely and efficient exchange of information for inclusion in the visa lookout system to prevent terrorists and other alien criminal elements from gaining access to the United States under visas issued by United States embassies and consular posts overseas;

(4) a date certain when the Department of State will resume checking the criminal record histories of visa applicants with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, prior to issuance of any visa, as was the case prior to 1991; and

(5) long-term plans to make the visa lookout and watch system a modern and effective tool to prevent terrorists, and other criminal elements, from gaining easy access to the United States under visas issued by United States embassies or overseas consular posts.

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