Speech #830107421

Second. In Italy. Greece. and the Netherlands the numbers to be allocated are divided so that there will be an apportionment of the visas to some persons in those countries who are not strictly in the refugee category but who are eligible under the Immigration Act as relatives of citizens or lawfully resident aliens in the United States but who have not been able to immigrate to this country because visas have not been available. At this point. may I emphasize that the conference bill does not amend or alter the Immigration and Nationality Act. nor does it seek to circumvent that act. but it merely attempts to meet an emergency situation with emergency legislation. Third. Specific provision is contained in the conference bill for the Anders Poles. who were not specifically provided for in the bill as it passed the Senate but who were specifically provided for in the House bill. Likewise. provision is made in the conference bill for the issuance of visas to 2.000 refugees in the Middle East who would be eligible for relief by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. This provision was in the House bill but was not in the Senate bill. Fourth. Because of a cutoff date in the definition of "escapee" as it appeared in the Senate bill virtually none of the former displaced persons would be eligible to compete for visas in the escapee category. The House bill contained a specific provision for a number of the former displaced persons. We compromised our differences on this issue by removing the cutoff date in the Senate definition of "escapee" so that a certain number of the former displaced persons might be eligible to compete for the visas available to the escapee category. In addition to the classes and numbers which I have just discussed. I should like to invite the attention of the Senate to one other principal basic difference between the Senate and House bills which was worked out by the conference committee. The Senate bill provided for a coordinator who was to perform certain administrative housekeeping functions in connection with the refugee program. The House bill provided that these housekeeping functions should be performed by the Administrator of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs established in the Department of State pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. The conference bill accepts the House provision.