The Senate introduced bipartisan legislation on Wednesday to provide 2,500 additional visas for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program. The program allows Afghan interpreters who supported the US mission in Afghanistan to apply for visas to live in the US. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “In recent years, Congress has reneged on the promise we made to protect these brave individuals by failing to authorize the appropriate number of Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan translators and interpreters,” McCain said in a statement. “It’s imperative that Congress act quickly to approve more visas,” said Shaheen. “This is a matter of life and death for interpreters and other support staff. As we speak, many of them are being hunted down by the Taliban and other terrorists.”
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.