Speech #840153672

Mr. Speaker. I have today introduced a bill to amend the Refugee Relief Act of 1953. Liberalization of the act. and of the program established by it. has been sought by interested civic and political leaders for some time. The current Refugee Relief Program is due to expire at the end of this year. It will be terminated with approximately 40.000 of the visas earmarked by Congress for issuance to refugees. unused and unusable. Thus. it appears necessary to lengthen the life of the program and to facilitate its administration. In my bill. I have provided for the extension of the Refugee Relief Program until December 31. 1960. Visas not allocated on the termination date of the current law. December 31. 1956. are to be reallocated on a proportional basis to any prospective entrants covered in the original act. The current law provides for the issuance of 205.000 refugee visas. I feel that this number is unnecessarily small and fails to tap the true potentialities of the United States as a haven for victims of oppression and natural calamity. Thus. the bill I have introduced provides an additional 15.000 visas for allocation under the program. One of the great problems in the current law is that entrance is denied to victims of -tuberculosis. In the United States. this disease is no longer the scourge it is elsewhere. It can. and has. been treated. Yet. because of the bar against its victims. numerous refugee families. in dire. need of resettlement. refuse admission rather than leave behind a relative who has been found to have tuberculosis. My bill provides for the admisson of 1.000 such sufferers. providing that they are members of a family group being admitted under the act and will not endanger the public health or become public charges. It has been currently estimated that from 6 to 9 months are required to process each alien applying for admission under the act. Such a delay brings hardship to the refugees waiting to come to this land. and to the persons in the United States who are sponsoring them. Thus. I have suggested several administrative changes to eliminate the complicated and timeconsuming procedures now operative.