Mr. President. I should like to discuss a subject that has been much discussed in recent days involving South Vietnamese refugees. It has been reported that the mail to Members of Congress is running heavily against providing assistance to the tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees arriving in this country. I know that in my own office mail has run about 70 percent against providing assistance. However. I should point out that the total mail received in my office on this issue has amounted to only about 250 letters per week. which is not a great number. Actually I am receiving more than twice as many letters on the issue of handguns alone. I should also point out that the letters on handguns are. like those on refugees. heavily negative. These letters are running 90 percent against handgun controls. despite public surveys which show that 70 percent of the American population favor some type of control over handguns. Statistics of mail received by Congress do not always reflect the broad range or consensus of public opinion. I cannot believe that the American people are overwhelmingly hostile to assisting the new immigrants to our country. In regard to the arrival of. the Vietnamese at a time of economic hardship in our country. special problems are created. For this reason I have urged that other nations. particularly in Asia and the Pacific. share in accepting these refugees. In the comments the Senator from Illinois made yesterday. I expanded on that thought and on other ways we should approach this problem. not putting everyone in the same category. but making value judgments in individual cases.
Keywords matched
immigrants refugees