I have joined the distinguished Senators from Florida in this matter because I feel that the Congress has a specific moral obligation to the State of Florida and to the Cuban refugees. At the time the entire Cuban refugee problem hit the Florida area. I was Secretary of Health. Education. and Welfare in the Kennedy administration. After the Bay of Pigs disaster. it became obvious that the United States had an obligation to the Cuban refugees who sought the United States as a refuge. I recall that President Kennedy asked me to go to Florida where most of the refugees settled to set up a program to meet their needs. We had never had anything like this before. but a program was established quickly and effectively. President Kennedy felt. and I believe every Member of Congress felt. that there was a specific moral obligation. owed to the Cuban refugees. and the States which received them. We recognized that Florida was unique. because of its proximity to Cuba.
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refugee refugees