Speech #880197665

Mr. Chairman. so that the position of +he Committee on Appropriations will be clear in this RECORD today. I insert the explanation appearing on pages 7 and 8 of the committee report on this bill: The committees action on the enlarged request from the chairman of the Joint Committee on Immigration and Nationality Policy requires some explanation. $160.460 was requested last fall as an Immediate supplemental for fiscal 1964 but after consultation it was deferred for consideration in the regular bill this session. The accompanying bill carries $20.000. identical to the level of appropriation in every year since the joint committee was created. The joint committee was created by section 401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. June 27. 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1106). It is a committee of 10--5 from the House appointed by the Speaker and 5 from the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate. Membership must come from among members of the respective Judiciary Committees of the two Houses. These are the standing legislative committees having continuing jurisdiction of immigration and naturalization matters. The joint committee elects its own chairman. prior to election of the present chairman last July. it had been vacant since 1956. The committee has never really functioned. The appropriation of $20.000 was nominal. was always regarded as such. and except for a small portion several years ago. was never used. It is now being used. a staff director has been employed. The Committee on Appropriations would prefer not to presume to initially decide the question of whether a joint committee is the most suitable mechanism through which the two Houses of Congress should discharge their legislative responsibilities in the Immigration and nationality policy fields. and especially so in view of the 12 years the matter of joint committee activation has been left to languish. It is a question directly involving the two Judiciary Committees and ultimately. of course. the- two Houses themselves. The Committee on Appropriations has maintained the status quo in the bill without prejudice to the proposition and leaves it for such further resolution as may be decided. There are. however. several considerations which strike the committee as pertinent to the question: 1. The two Judiciary Committees--with continuing responsibilities for immigration and naturalization legislation given to them by their respective Houses--each have subcommittees on immigration and naturalization. Nine of the ten members of the joint committee are currently drawn from those two subcommittees. The chairman of the full committee in the other body is also chairman of its subcommittee on the subject and. in addition. ranking from that body on the joint committee.