Speech #870293373

President. I wish to speak in support of the amendment offered. and later modified. by the Senator from Connecticut. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Refugees and Escapees of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. I think the action of voluntary agencies in Algeria already suggests that great good has been done and strongly recommends that this Nation espouse the cause and participate in that effort. . Mr. President. our news media remind us daily of the flow of refugees and escapees on every continent of the globe. Communist oppression. political upheaval. economic disorder. and military action inevitably produce their toll of uprooted and homeless people. Sometimes this toll comes in a steady trickle of people. At other times it comes in flood proportions as it did in Hong Kong earlier this year. or Berlin and the Congo last year. or most dramatically. in East Central Europe during the Hungarian revolution in 1956. To demonstrate our sincere belief in the principles of democracy. to show our concern for the oppressed and homeless. and to help ease tensions in areas of critical importance to the attainment and preservation of world peace. the American people have traditionally supported the Government and voluntary agencies in their work among the refugees of the world. And this is as it should be. Mr. President. We should share our benefits of freedom. I note with particular pleasure that the Committee on Appropriations saw fit to recommend the full budget estimate of the Cuban refugee program. an increase of $15.110.000 over the House allowance. The House allowance for general migration and refugee assistance was also increased by $2.300.000. And I commend my colleagues on the Committee on Appropriations for taking this course of action. But I am mystified. Mr. President. as to why the budget estimate to assist those refugees uprooted by the Algerian conflict has been disallowed specifically by the House and the Committee on Appropriations. This number of homeless Algerians includes some 2 million persons displaced within the country itself. and over 200.000 refugees who have been voluntarily repatriated from Morocco and Tunisia. Although our Government and private relief agencies have been active among Algerian refugees since 1957. the major relief operation got underway in 1959 by the League of the Red Cross Societies and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. American leadership and contribution in this international effortand I would include here the very efficient and fruitful efforts of American voluntary agencieshave been instrumental in giving them a friendly presence in the Algerian complex. and in maintaining political and economic stability in the countries of asylum. I can say with certainty. Mr. President. that a good record has been established by the American people in the Algerian refugee situation. And I commend those in Government and the private sector for helping to make this record possible. Now that Algeria is independent. however. the League of Red Cross Societies estimates that some $16 million will be needed during the coming year to meet the needs of Algerian refugees. The Algerian Government has appealed directly to representatives of the United States for assistance in this situation. although France and other free world countries are expected to bear the major burden. We would be remiss in not responding favorably to the appeal of our friends In Algeria.