Speech #940044524

There are several areas covered in this act wllich need clarification. and amendments will be offered today to cover these questions. However. one main area remains to be mentioned. As it stands. the bill covers the cost of removing Vietnamese nationals from their home country. but there are no provisions for the refugees after they arrive in this Nation. Mr. Speaker. I find this an incredible oversight. Apparently. we are concerned with the welfare of these people prior to their arrival in this Nation. but are not concerned with them after they reach our shores. Most of these refugees are expected to arrive in the port cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. There are no provisions in this bill for their care or who picks up the tab after their arrival. There is even confusion as to the number of Vietnamese refugees arriving here. Attorney General Edward Levi says he is prepared for 130.000 refugees. Yet Los Angeles County Supervisor James Hayes. a responsible public official. says that Federal Government offlcials have contacted him and told him to be prepared for an influx of 600.000 to 1 million Vietnamese refugees. We are talking about a major immigration of persons who are unfamiliar with this Nation and our way of life. This will result in a strain on the local and State communities where these people will be settled. And to date. the American taxpayer has not been informed of the eventual cost of this effort. It is for these reasons that I intend to offer two amendments to H.R. 6096. The first will call for the Secretary of Health. Education. and Welfare. after consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State. to provide Congress with an estimate for the cost of providing for Vietnamese refugees in this Nation within 48 hours of enactment of this bill. The second amendment will call for the Federal Government to provide for all costs incurred in the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in this Nation for a period of at least 5 years after enactment. I strongly feel that it is the duty of Congress to take these actions. and to inform the taxpayer of the total eventual cost involved in the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in this Nation.