Speech #940050176

Mr. Speaker. there has been a growing concern about the several thousands of Vietnamese refugees evacuated from the war zone over the past several days. and especially about what is to become of these new wards of the United States for whose welfare we have suddenly become responsible. Whatever our own views might have been about the merits of the evacuation of those refugees who fall into the category D of our bill H.R. 6096that Is those who are not immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or permanent residents or who have no immigration preference categorythe evacuation is now an accomplished fact. In view of this. we must now move forward with all due haste to resettle these people who have been taken from their homelands. and with a total commitment to their wellbeing. I expressed this concern and this view in a telegram to the President and other administration officials which sought answers to some of the questions surrounding the evacuees and their futures in this country. and some assurances that our State and local governments would not be required to foot the bill for these refugees. A State such as my own. with limited resources at hand to accommodate the housing. health and educational needs of any significant additional number of people on an emergency or a continuing basis. simply cannot allocate funds for these purposes without seriously endangering other State programs operated for the welfare of Hawaiis own citizens. I have received a somewhat limited reply to some of the points I raised in my telegram. Mr. Speaker. and I would like to share the information with my colleagues. Chief among the points made by the administration is that appropriate agencies of the Government are seeking authority for 100 percent Federal support for refugee assistance in this country. Including child care. health services and screening. and bilingual education funds. The telegram reply which I received this week said that any financial impact on the States would be "minimal." Another aspect of the problem has to do with the impact of large numbers of