Georgia’s Congressional delegation has teamed up in a bipartisan effort to remove obstacles they say are “impeding Georgia’s post-pandemic economic recovery.” At least 10 members of Georgia’s delegation sent a letter to President Biden urging him to make changes to the National Interest Exception (NIE) travel waiver program — specifically asking him to reinstate the NIE waiver process at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ensure that waiver requests are handled in a timely and consistent manner.
“This red tape is making it difficult for employers to begin new projects that would bring critical investments and jobs into the state,” said Congressman Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03), one of the signers of the letter.
The NIE waiver program requires business travelers from certain countries to obtain a waiver before entering the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Ferguson, the Administration shifted the responsibility for processing these waiver requests last month from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to U.S. Department of State consulates and embassies abroad. State Department facilities are still operating at reduced staffing levels due to the pandemic, and as a result, NIE waiver applicants have experienced increased delays and unpredictability.
In their letter, Georgia lawmakers called on the Administration to reinstate an efficient and uniform system to speed up processing and avoid further delays to filming projects in Georgia.
“The production of films and television series is costly and losing a single day can cost productions hundreds of thousands of dollars, rendering them uneconomical and costing U.S. jobs and revenues,” the letter states. “With strong safety protocols in place and COVID-19 cases continuing to trend downward, the television, film, entertainment, and fashion production industries—and the jobs and local investment they support—are poised for a strong rebound. We urge you to support Georgia’s economic recovery by reinstating an efficient and uniform NIE waiver system at CBP.”
The letter goes to the say, “While production ground to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic, the industry is beginning to rebound. That recovery, however, has been hampered by the obstacles faced in trying to bring essential cast and crew into the U.S. for filming when such cast and crew are located outside of the country. The production of films and television series is costly and losing a single day can cost productions hundreds of thousands of dollars, rendering them uneconomical and costing U.S. jobs and revenues.”
Georgia is one of the top filming locations worldwide. In 2019, before COVID-19, television and film production in Georgia injected $2.9 billion in direct production spending into the U.S. economy—a record-breaking impact—and supported over 150,000 jobs and $8.9 billion in wages in the state.
The letter is signed by Congressman Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03), Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Congressman Buddy Carter (R-GA-01), Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA-04), Congresswoman Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), Congresswoman Lucy McBath (D-GA-06), Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA-07), and Congressman Austin Scott (R-GA-08).
