S.Amdt. 5786

SA 5786. Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ___. SUPPORT FOR NATIONALS OF AFGHANISTAN APPLYING FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS OR REFUGEE STATUS.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United States should increase support for nationals of Afghanistan who--

(1) aided the United States mission in Afghanistan during the past 20 years and are now under threat from the Taliban, specifically such nationals of Afghanistan who--

(A) are special immigrant visa applicants; or

(B) have been referred to the United States Refugee Admissions Program, including through the Priority 2 designation for nationals of Afghanistan; and

(2) remain in Afghanistan or are in third countries.

(b) Requirements.--The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the head of any other relevant Federal department or agency, shall further surge capacity, including by increasing consular personnel at any United States embassy or consulate in the region that processes visa applications for nationals of Afghanistan--

(1) to better support nationals of Afghanistan who--

(A)(i) are special immigrant visa applicants who have been approved by the Chief of Mission; or

(ii) have been referred to the United States Refugee Admissions Program, including through the Priority 2 designation for nationals of Afghanistan; and

(2) to reduce application processing times for such nationals of Afghanistan while ensuring strict and necessary security vetting, including, to the extent practicable, by enabling such nationals of Afghanistan who have been referred to the United States Refugee Admissions Program to initiate application processing while still in Afghanistan.

(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed to require the Secretary of State to decrease the capacity to process visa applications at United States embassies or consulates worldwide.