The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“J-1 VISA WAIVER” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2144 on May 7, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
J-1 VISA WAIVER
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor this evening to express my opposition to the termination of the J-1 visa waiver program.
Currently, foreign medical graduates are allowed to come to the United States on a J-1 visa for up to 3 years to train in accredited residency programs in rural underserved parts of the country. The impetus behind accepting physicians from other countries, foreign medical graduates, and training them in American residency positions is to attract physicians to provide care to the medically underserved who live in rural areas where doctors trained in the United States do not want to practice.
Mr. Speaker, the law states that once a residency program is complete, the doctors are required to return to their country of origin for 2 years. However, the government has the authority to waive the requirements if it is in the United States' interest to keep the physician here. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Branch was thrilled by the waiver because it provided the opportunity to retain medical trainees who would continue to serve in typically medically underserved communities in rural America.
But, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, in the past few weeks, the USDA has indicated an intention to stop granting such permission under the J-1 visa waiver program. Although it is clear there is a lack of sufficient health care in rural America, and although it is clear that qualified physicians from abroad are willing to come to the U.S. to serve in these medically lacking communities, nevertheless, the government has proposed to end this program entirely.
Mr. Speaker, since September 11, national security concerns have taken hold and new extensive background checks have been put in place. The USDA claims the extra money required to implement background checks on foreign medical graduates would be too burdensome and therefore the program must end. Currently, there are approximately a little more than 80 applications for the waiver that are still pending, and after these applications have been processed, the program is slated to end.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that there is not justification for the cessation of the J-1 visa waiver program. Terminating this program and preventing qualified physicians from serving communities in America that lack sufficient health care does our country a great injustice. Mr. Speaker, stopping the granting of these waivers is unacceptable, and I would ask that the USDA reconsider, and that we do whatever we can, myself and my colleagues, to prevent this valuable program from ending because it is so important to rural America and to the health care of Americans in rural areas.
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