Costa: “Not Appropriated Funds” — Kennedy: “24 Million Backlog! Larger Budget Than Ever”

Senator John Kennedy pressed witness Costa during a June 2023 hearing on the visa backlog. Kennedy: “We got a backlog of 24 million applications.” Costa qualified: visa processing depends on category — H2B visas are processed quickly, but “work permits, they’ve been slower. And I think the problem is that Congress has not appropriated funds for them. They have this fee-based structure.” Kennedy pushed back on the appropriations framing: “If we now have a larger federal budget adjusted for inflation than we’ve ever had in the history of the United States of America. But with all due respect? Always the money.” The exchange dramatized the visa backlog blame.

The 24 Million Backlog

Kennedy framing: “Backlog of 24 million applications.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned massive backlog.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Depends Framing

Costa framing: “It depends on which visa you’re talking about.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned category-specific analysis.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The H2B Quick Processing

Costa framing: “USCIS prides themselves on how quickly they process those visas.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned specific category as fast.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Work Permits Slow

Costa framing: “Work permits, they’ve been slower.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned specific category as slow.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Congress Not Appropriated

Costa framing: “Congress has not appropriated funds for them.”
Editorial reach: The framing blamed Congress.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Fee Based Structure

Costa framing: “They have this fee-based structure.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned USCIS funding model.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Always The Money Reference

Kennedy framing: “But it’s always money.”
Editorial reach: The framing dismissed funding excuse.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The Larger Budget Reference

Kennedy framing: “A larger federal budget adjusted for inflation than we’ve ever had.”
Editorial reach: The framing positioned record federal spending.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The History Of United States Reference

Kennedy framing: “In the history of the United States of America.”
Editorial reach: The framing dramatized historical scale.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The All Due Respect Framing

Kennedy framing: “But with all due respect? Always the money.”
Editorial reach: The framing dismissed appropriations excuse.
Hearing record: The framing is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The framing fed broader debates.
Long arc: The framing remained central to coverage.

The USCIS Layer

Editorial reach: USCIS handles legal immigration processing.
Hearing record: The USCIS context is now in the formal record.
Long arc: USCIS continued through 2024.
Long arc: USCIS shaped subsequent debates.
Long arc: USCIS fed broader debates.

The Visa Backlog Layer

Editorial reach: Visa backlogs created multi-year waits.
Hearing record: The backlog context is now in the formal record.
Long arc: Backlogs continued through 2024.
Long arc: Backlogs shaped subsequent debates.
Long arc: Backlogs fed broader debates.

The Federal Budget Layer

Editorial reach: Federal budget was at record levels.
Hearing record: The budget context is now in the formal record.
Long arc: Budget continued through 2024.
Long arc: Budget shaped subsequent debates.
Long arc: Budget fed broader debates.

The Appropriations Process

Editorial reach: Appropriations process shapes federal spending.
Hearing record: The appropriations context is now in the formal record.
Long arc: Appropriations continued through 2024.
Long arc: Appropriations shaped subsequent debates.
Long arc: Appropriations fed broader debates.

The Fee Based Funding

Editorial reach: USCIS is largely fee-funded.
Hearing record: The fee funding context is now in the formal record.
Long arc: Fee funding continued through 2024.
Long arc: Fee funding shaped subsequent debates.
Long arc: Fee funding fed broader debates.

The Costa Witness Posture

Costa framing: Costa positioned Congress as obstacle.
Editorial reach: The posture reflected expert opinion.
Hearing record: The posture is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The posture continued to be referenced.
Long arc: The posture fed broader debates.

The Kennedy Public Posture

Senator Kennedy: Senator Kennedy uses pointed questioning.
Editorial reach: Kennedy’s style became central to confirmation hearings.
Hearing record: Kennedy’s style is now in the formal record.
Long arc: Kennedy continued to question witnesses through 2024.
Long arc: Kennedy shaped subsequent debates.

The Republican Strategy

Backlog framing: Republicans cite visa backlogs.
Public-facing posture: The strategy is designed for clip distribution.
Editorial reach: The strategy shaped Republican messaging.
Long arc: The strategy remained central to Republican messaging.
Long arc: The strategy continued through 2024.

The Democratic Defense

Editorial reach: Democrats cite appropriations needs.
Hearing record: The Democratic defense context is now in the formal record.
Long arc: The defense continued through 2024.
Long arc: The defense shaped subsequent debates.
Long arc: The defense fed broader debates.

The Public Communication Layer

Soundbite design: The exchange was structured for clip distribution.
Documentary value: The hearing record now contains a clean Republican framing.
Media uptake: The clip moved on conservative media as a Republican response argument.
Audience targeting: Kennedy’s style is built for retail political distribution.
Long arc: The framing remained central to Republican messaging through 2024.

The 2024 Implications

Election positioning: Both parties used immigration for 2024 positioning.
Immigration salience: Immigration became a defining 2024 election issue.
Long arc: The episode will shape immigration politics through 2024 and beyond.
Hearing legacy: The hearing record will be cited in future immigration debates.
Long arc: The framing remains in circulation.

Key Takeaways

Kennedy pressed Costa on 24 million visa application backlog.
Costa cited fee-based structure and Congress not appropriating.
Kennedy dismissed funding excuse: “always the money.”
Kennedy cited record federal budget.
The exchange dramatized visa backlog blame.
The framing fed broader Republican messaging.

Transcript Highlights

The following quotations are drawn from an AI-generated Whisper transcript of the hearing and should be considered unverified pending official transcript release.

“We got a backlog of 24 million applications” — Sen. Kennedy
“It depends on which visa you’re talking about” — Costa
“For H2B, for instance, the USCIS prides themselves on how quickly they process those visas” — Costa
“Work permits, they’ve been slower” — Costa
“Congress has not appropriated funds for them. They have this fee-based structure” — Costa
“If we now have a larger federal budget adjusted for inflation than we’ve ever had in the history of the United States of America” — Kennedy

Full transcript: 117 words transcribed via Whisper AI.