Speech #920194505

Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of H.R. 9615 which would remove two inequities which have developed since the passage of amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965 and oppose the socalled Dennis amendment. One problem created by the new law is the unfortunate situation which has been created for formerly privileged countries. When the 1965 act was first formulated. a 5year phaseout period was contemplated in order to give the privileged countries a realistic opportunity to adjust to the new system. The phaseout period instead was reduced to 3 years and. as a consequence. immigration from former high quota countries has been affected adversely. For example. immigration from Ireland has dwindled from an average of 5.000 before 1965 to little more than 1.000 at present. To correct this inequity. immigrants from previously undersubscribed countries would be allocated additional visas. The second problem that the 1965 act failed to correct is the huge backlog in some oversubscribed preferences. Contrary to the intent of the proponents of the 1965 legislation. these backlogs in the fifth preference in particular have been reduced by an insignificant amount. Under the legislation we are now considering. this problem would be remedied somewhat. with the issuance of additional visas for this category. Primary beneficiaries would be Italy. Greece. Poland. and Portugal. The need for corrective legislation is clear. This bill would only accord to those countries immigration benefits intended for them but which were denied them because of the amended version of the 1965 legislation. I earnestly hope that my colleagues will join me in approving this temporary measure which will eliminate some of the inequities in our present immigration policies. Thank you.Mr. Chairman.