Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is reportedly pushing for a provision to decrease the number of available Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans in exchange for his vote on the continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government over a six-month period.
Special Immigrant Visas, administered by the U.S. Department of State, were created in 2009 as a pathway to permanent U.S. residence for Afghan nationals who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan.
Ogles, according to Politico, is among a group of House Republicans who are pushing for a provision in the continuing resolution to withdraw an anticipated increase to the number of available Afghan visas and cancel a planned two-year extension to the program.
“It’s a sticking point for me,” Ogles said, according to the outlet.
On Monday evening, the House Freedom Caucus, of which Ogles is a member, released a statement in support of the continuing resolution to fund the government over a six-month period, calling the temporary spending bill a “paradigm shift.”
“This bill will reduce and then freeze spending for the next six months to allow President Trump and his Administration to continue their critical work within the Executive Branch to find and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse,” the House Freedom Caucus said. “It entirely kills the prospect of a budget busting, pork filled omnibus this fiscal year, and it breaks the longstanding practice in the Swamp of handcuffing increases in defense funding with increases to the non-defense bureaucracy.”
President Donald Trump also endorsed the continuing resolution on Saturday, encouraging Republicans to vote in favor of the spending bill.
“Great things are coming for America, and I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country’s “financial house” in order,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The House is expected to vote on the continuing resolution, H.R.1968, on Tuesday.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Rep. Andy Ogles Meets with President Rump” by Rep. Andy Ogles.
