Visit our News page LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND ACTION ALERT!! ACT! for America Adds The Secure Visas Act of 2010 to Its List of “High Priority Legislative Proposals” We want to stop future “Underwear Bombers” from flying into the U.S. By Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations After 9/11, and in response to the fact that several of the 9/11 terrorists had obtained U.S. visas, Congress created the Visa Security Program (VSP) to increase the security of the visa process at U.S. embassies and consulates. Today, Visa Security Units (VSU) are operating in several foreign cities, such as Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Islamabad, Pakistan. At these posts, 100 percent of visa applicants receive additional screening. Unfortunately, the Obama administration does not appear to see the importance of increased visa screening—even though the “Underwear Bomber” had a U.S. visa. Incredibly, there is no visa security presence in high risk locations such as London, Yemen, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, or Nigeria. How does all of this affect U.S. security? At posts without a Visa Security Unit less than 2% out of 5.8 million applications receive additional screening. That’s a lot of potential terrorists missed! Representative Lamar Smith (TX-21) and Senator John Cornyn (TX) recently introduced legislation to improve the security of our nation’s visa issuing process. The Secure Visas Act of 2010 (H.R. 4758 in the House and S. 2944 in the Senate) mandates not only that the Department of Homeland Security maintain U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Visa Security Units (VSU) at the 14 consular posts that already have them, but that such units are created at the 16 other posts that have been designated by ICE as “highest risk.” ACT! for America has added both of these important proposals to our list of “High Priority” legislation—legislative initiatives that we feel will help protect our nation and its citizens against the many threats of radical Islam. We hope you will become familiar with the Secure Visas Act of 2010 CLICK HERE, as well as the other legislative proposals on the list, and do your part to protect our nation by taking the action noted below. Forming and maintaining relationships with your elected officials, and their staff, is critical to winning the fight against radical Islam and to protecting our nation for our children and grandchildren. This battle cannot be won without the voice and action of our grassroots citizen action network. THE FOLLOWING ACTION IS NEEDED FROM YOU, OUR ACT! FOR AMERICA GRASSROOTS ADVOCATE! The U.S. Congress is in spring/Easter recess for the next two weeks (March 29th through April 12th). That means they are back at home in their districts…close to you, their constituents! Please take a moment today to schedule a brief meeting with your elected official (Click Here) in his/her district office. You can attend by yourself or with other members from your local Chapter. INTRODUCE yourself as a member of ACT! for America and make your elected officials aware of the Secure Visas Act of 2010, as well as the other legislative proposals that are on the ACT! for America High Priority List Click Here. ASK your elected officials to support these common sense proposals by signing on to the legislation as a CO-SPONSOR. If they have already done so, be sure to thank them! They’ll remember that you did! For tips on making the most of your face-to-face meeting, as well as tips on letters and phone calls to your elected officials, Click Here. Finally, we love FEEDBACK! Feel free to let us know how your meeting went, so our Director of Government Relations can follow up when your elected officials return back to Washington, DC. Send all feedback to: info@actforamerica.org. REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS! IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website. HOW CAN I TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Send a personalized version of this message to your friends. HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Click here to give an online donation.