Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2014
Latest action · Oct 28, 2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 15, 2014
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include terrorism risk as a factor the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) shall consider under the electronic system for travel authorization (ESTA) in determining the eligibility of an alien to travel to the United States.
Directs the Secretary to report to Congress regarding: (1) the number of individuals, identified by their countries of citizenship or nationality, who were denied eligibility to travel, or whose eligibility was revoked, under ESTA because the individual was determined to be a U.S. security threat; (2) steps to strengthen ESTA; and (3) foreign government compliance with information sharing agreements concerning passport theft or loss and whether a country's citizens or nationals traveling to the United States pose a U.S. security threat.
Authorizes the Secretary to suspend a country from the visa waiver program without prior notice if the country fails to comply with an agreement to share information regarding whether its citizens and nationals traveling to the United States pose a U.S. security threat.
Cosponsors 17
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 15, 2014 to Sep 19, 2014; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | Original | Sep 15, 2014 |
| R-TX | Michael T. McCaul | Original | Sep 15, 2014 |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Original | Sep 15, 2014 |
| D-AZ | Ron Barber | Original | Sep 15, 2014 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Sep 15, 2014 |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Original | Sep 15, 2014 |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Sep 16, 2014 | |
| R-FL | Curt Clawson | Sep 16, 2014 | |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Sep 16, 2014 | |
| R-CA | Paul Cook | Sep 16, 2014 | |
| R-IN | Susan W. Brooks | Sep 16, 2014 | |
| D-HI | Tulsi Gabbard | Sep 16, 2014 | |
| R-PA | Keith J. Rothfus | Sep 17, 2014 | |
| R-PA | Patrick Meehan | Sep 17, 2014 | |
| R-NY | Peter T. King | Sep 17, 2014 | |
| R-TX | John Abney Culberson | Sep 18, 2014 | |
| D-CA | Maxine Waters | Sep 19, 2014 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Sep 15, 2014 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Oct 28, 2014 | |
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Sep 15, 2014 |
| Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Sep 18, 2014 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 28, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
- Sep 18, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.
- Sep 15, 2014Introduced in House
- Sep 15, 2014Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H7529.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To clarify the grounds for ineligibility for travel to the United States regarding terrorism risk, to expand the criteria by which a country may be removed from the Visa Waiver Program, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a report on strengthening the Electronic System for Travel Authorization to better secure the international borders of the United States and prevent terrorists and instruments of terrorism from entering the United States, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2014
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 15, 2014Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
