Speech #830062980

Mr. President. this bill provides for the establishment of the Office of Commissioner of Refugees which shall be headed by a Commissioner of Refugees appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Commissioner so appointed would serve at the pleasure of the President. Under the terms of the bill. the Commissioner would act only on behalf of the President and would be subject to the direction of the President. In consultation with the Secretaries of State and Defense and with other appropriate agencies of the Government. the Commissioner would have primary responsibility for (a) the development and administration of programs of assistance to refugees. (b) liaison between the Government of the United States and foreign governmental and intergovernmental agencies and organizations concerned with refugees or with migration and resettlement of people. and (c) accumulation and collation of information concerning migration possibilities of people from areas in which refugees are temporarily located to areas of potential reception. The bill defines the term "refugee" to mean a person (a) who is out of his usual place of abode because of persecution. fear of persecution. natural calamity or military operations. and (b) who is in urgent need of assistance for the essentials of life or for transportation. Present and former members of Communist. Nazi. or Fascist organizations or movements are specifically excluded from the provisions of the bill unless the membership was involuntary or while under the age of 16 years. The bill provides specifically that nothing contained therein shall be construed to modify or supersede in any way any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The act would expire 3 years after the date of enactment. In attempting to cope with the refugee problem. there are. in general. three methods of approach. none of which is exclusive and each of which complements the others. namely. relief. integration. and migration. There are numerous governmental. intergovernmental agencies. and organizations actively engaged in seeking a solution of the refugee problem. I believe that altogether there are eight of them. However. one fact stands out. namely. that there is no uniform overall policy of the United States Government with reference to approaching the problem of the refugees through relief. integration. or migration. It cannot be doubted that the United States Government has a keen interest at stake in reaching a permanent solution of the problem. The millions of dollars which have been appropriated to sustain various programs clearly demonstrate the interest of our Government in dealing with these problems. but this interest has not been centered in a single agency. with a single responsibility and a single policy. This confusion of efforts and policy is evidenced by the great number of agencies and organizations presently concerned with the refugee situation in Europe. as well as the agencies concerned with the Palestinian refugees. the refugees in Korea. and. I might say. the refugees in Egypt. It is the purpose of the bill to provide a means for the development by: this Government of a uniform overall policy in the field of refugee problems through the establishment of an Office of Commissioner of Refugees. to be headed by a commissioner who would be appointed by the President. and who would act on behalf of the President. subject to his direction. and in consultation with the Secretaries of State and Defense. and with appropriate agencies of the Government.