The United HIAS Service. Third. The USRP program is the instrument through which the United States can assist the greatly increasing numbers of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union expected to be about 40.000 in 1972. The assistance presently being given would cease just at a time when the plight of these refugees is in the forefront of national attention. Fourth. There are 19.000 refugees in the pipeline right now who are in various stages of processing for resettlement. United States assistance through the voluntary agencies would cease immediately. and it is doubtful that necessary assistance would be forthcoming from the private sector. which is already heavily burdened financially. The image of the United States as a country with humanitarian interests would no doubt be sullied if these refugees who have been registered with the program were suddenly dropped. Fifth. While the numbers of nonJewish refugees from Eastern Europe has declined since the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. there are still expected to be over 12.000 such escapees from Eastern Europe in 1972. They will need resettlement counselling and documentation assistance. Sixth. Abolishment of this program would mean that United States is assisting seventh preference and other refugees from Communist China. but not from the Communist countries of Eastern Europe. This would be discriminitory and eventually could lead to the abolishment of such assistance now provided under the Far East refugee program. Seventh. Curtailment or abolishment of the USRP program would probably result in a reordering of priorities and a consequent reduction of funds now goingto other programs such as the IntergoVi-. ernmental Committee for European Migrationwhich assists in loaris and. transportation to European and Chin&se refugeesfor language training. and so forth. Contracts with voluntary agencies have already been signed for the period covered by the continuing resolution. With European legal requirements to give employees notice of dismissal and pay termination costs. abrupt termiflation of the contracts would place the vol-. untary agencies in an extremely difficult financial position. -
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refugee refugeesfor refugees