To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend for an additional 5 years the special immigrant religious worker program.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2152) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to

extend for an additional 5 years the special immigrant religious worker program.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2152, the bill currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I have a rather lengthy statement on this bill which in the interest of saving time and allowing the Members to leave Washington before the hurricane shuts everything down, I will not read extensively. I will insert it into the Record pursuant to the leave just granted.

However, I will say that this bill extends an immigrant visa program for religious workers that is set to expire. The current visa program allows American religious denominations to sponsor and bring in religious workers from overseas for both ministers and non-ministers. The program is highly restricted and many religious denominations have taken advantage of this program in the years past basically to provide additional personnel to do not only their religious work but some of their charitable work as well. It is a program that has not been abused. It is a program that has been found extremely useful and necessary by many of the religious denominations. It is set to expire on September 30. The passage of this bill will extend the authority for this program an additional 5 years. I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, the immigrant visa program for religious workers allows American religious denominations to benefit from the assistance of both ministers and non-minister religious workers from overseas. However, the two visa categories authorized under program for non-minister religious workers are set to expire at the end of this fiscal year and must be extended for these benefits to continue.

Under the immigrant visa program, an alien (along with spouse and children) can qualify for a special immigrant visa if they are a member of a religious denomination closely associated with a bona fide nonprofit, religious organization in the United States.

To be eligible, they must seek to enter the United States to serve either as a minister or in a religious vocation or occupation at the request of the associated organization. Additionally, they are required to have been carrying out such work continuously for at least the preceding two years.

The two non-minister religious worker categories were added by the 1990 immigration act. Because of the fear of fraudulent or excessive use of these categories, a maximum of 5,000 visas a year was allowed for the two categories. However, the number has stayed well below the cap as 1,413 religious workers (and 1,714 spouses and children) received these visas in fiscal year 2002.

The non-minister religious worker categories were originally set to expire in 1994. After two extensions, the categories now will lapse on October 1st of this year. H.R. 2152, introduced by Representative Barney Frank, would extend the special immigrant visas for religious workers until October 1, 2008.

The Judiciary Committee has received a letter signed by organizations representing many religious denominations supporting an extension of these visas. The letter provided a number of examples of how various religious denominations rely on the religious worker visas. For example, ``Catholic dioceses rely heavily upon religious sisters, brothers, and lay missionaries from abroad. . . . Some fill a growing need in the Catholic Church for those called to religious vocations. Others provide critical services to local communities in areas including religious education, and care for vulnerable populations such as elderly, immigrants, refugees, abused and neglected children, adolescents and families at risk.''

In addition, ``Jewish congregations, particularly in remote areas with small Jewish communities, rely on rabbis, cantors, kosher butchers, Hebrew school teachers, and other religious workers who come from abroad through the religious worker program. Without them, many Jewish communities would be unable to sustain the institutions and practices that are essential to Jewish religious and communal life.''

And, ``[o]ther religious denominations, such as the Baptist Church, the Church of Christ Scientist, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Lutheran Church, and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, also rely on the visas to bring in non-minister religious workers, who . . . work in areas as diverse as teaching in church schools, producing religious publications, sustaining prison ministries, training health care professionals to provide religiously appropriate health care, and performing other work related to a traditional religious function.''

These visas serve a valuable role and contribute to Americas' vibrant religious life. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, this House bill is identical to S. 1580, the Religious Workers Act of 2003, of which I am a proud cosponsor. The bill extends for 5 years provisions of our immigration law that provide for special immigrant visas for religious workers sponsored by religious organizations in the United States. These visas allow religious denominations or organizations in the United States to bring in foreign nationals to perform religious work here. This modest program--which provides for up to 5,000 religious immigrant visas a year--was created in the Immigration Act of 1990, and has been extended ever since.

These religious workers contribute significantly not just to their religious communities, but to the community as a whole. They work in hospitals, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. They help immigrants and refugees adjust to the United States. In other words, they perform vital tasks that all too often go undone.

I have worked on this issue over the years, and cosponsored bills in 1997 and 2000 that would have made this program permanent. I still believe that it should be permanent but fully support a 5-year extension as the next best thing. Time is now of the essence as we have entered Fiscal Year 2004 and allowed this program to lapse.

The House passed this bill last month by voice vote. I urge the Senate to follow suit by approving this extension and sending it to the President without further delay.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2152, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.