Mr. Speaker. I am deeply dismayed and disturbed by the tone of remarks by some elected public officials. in and out of the Congress. concerning Vietnamese refugees. I am equally disturbed that the recent House action on the refugee bill has been interpreted by some as a further expression of antirefugee feeling. That. simply. is not the case. The House action was essentially a vote against extending powers to the President to use troops. It was not a vote against humanitarian aid. as will be proven when the House votes such aid shortly. as I am sure we will. We are a nation of immigrants. We have always prided ourselves on the generosity with which we have opened our doors to those in need. We cannot now let the accumulated frustrations of 20 years of war in Vietnam. a war which I consistently opposed. deaden our sense of decency and compassion or decay the moral fiber which has kept us one nation. a grand melting pot. these past 200 years.
Keywords matched
immigrants refugee refugees