Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said that during the EB-5 visa scandal, he was merely trying to “speed up the [visa] process,” in effort to save job creating projects, and had no interest in reaping political favors, according to the Washington Post.
Speaking about the inefficiency of the program, the former governor claimed that “the program was a mess and disorganized, with different standards in different regions.”
In addition, Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, claimed that his intervention in the process was just an attempt to address problems with the programs operation.
Rendell, who not long after leaving office in 2011 became a paid consultant to a group seeking to fund film projects in Los Angeles using the visa program, said that the program’s slow process was jeopardizing funding from sources, necessitating Mayorkas’s intervention.
In addition, Rendell mentioned that he the inspector general never reached out to him. “It’s a little strange to me,” he said, “never reached out to me in any way.”
Rendell also offered a solution to the problem: shifting the visa program from the Department of Homeland Security to the Commerce Department.
His reasoning for the proposed switch is because of the fact that the visa program is designed for economic development, and that “[Homeland Security officials] have no understanding of economic development projects.”
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4 Responses
Ed Rendell is appreciated for his well-thought out progressive views and ability to counteract right wing ideologies.
He is one of the best at countering the nonsensical positions of Republicans who like to spin the facts to fit their partisan narrative.
That’s what Democrats do, DENY!
When it comes to matters related to national security, Ed, please stay out…
Yet another reason why Fast Eddie’s moniker is quickly turning into “Politicial Poison” Rendell. That, and the fact that every candidate he endorses does worse than expected.