Speech #940054080

The fact is that the executive branch. with congressional acquiescence. did permit this to happen in the pursuit of the war. We cannot now slough off the consequences without doing violence to our finest traditions. The administration has indicated that the funds which have been transferred from the foreign aid program to sustain the relief of the refugees to date are just about exhausted. as the Senator from Oregon indicated earlier. Congress is now asked to appropriate $500 million to continue the effort. I trust that this request will be given careful and serious consideration. Time for thought and deliberation are essential if we are to understand what we are about in this situation and how best to handle it. To be sure. the Vietnamese refugees must be fed and clothed and housed in the meantime. In a government spending $300 billion a year. however. I must say in all candor that I would find it little short of amazing if there were not a few million uncommitted dollars to carry on the relief work a little longer. to the end that Congress may have adequate time to design appropriate legislation. The distinguished Senator from Oregon was thinking along the same lines. Perhaps the President can draw several million dollars from the current Defense Department budget of $85 billion to cover the short time it will take to consider the refugee program fully. Again. the distinguished Senator from Oregon has gone to the source and found out where there is something in excess of $100 million available. After all. contingent defense needs for Indochina for which. I should think. past appropriations have provided have been changed drastically by recent events. If the President lacks legal authority to transfer such funds to take care of the refugees. what may be needed in the first instance on an urgent basis from Congress is a grant of authority to make such transfers. In the meantime. it is my hope and expectation that the Senate will move expeditiously on the Presidents broader request for $500 million for refugee assistance. In my judgment. however. this is a larger question than merely housing. feeding and shunting thousands of people around the United States. We need to look beyond the immediate tasks. It is entirely possible. for example. that other countries may be prepared to welcome some of these people and offer them better opportunities than can be found here. In view of the sudden collapse of the previous government in South Vietnam. moreover. it is entirely possible that many refugees left Vietnam in panic. even though they may not have been personally endangered. Indeed. there are reports that some were compelled by superiors to leave. as. for example. Vietnamese Air Force support personnel who were required to fly to Thailand. Another group was one which wound up in Guam. Reports indicate that a wave of homesickness and second thoughts is passing through the refugee camps--a natural reaction. In any event. any Vietnamese wishing to move to another country or to return to Vietnam should be given. in my judgment. not only that opportunity but every reasonable financial assistance not only for transportation but for resettlement and rehabilitation. To make this possible. a suitable general understanding must be reached with other governments and. notably. at an appropriate time. the successor government in Saigon and Phnom Penh. I trust that this possibility will be fully examined by the committees considering the administrations request for appropriations. Perhaps. it will be necessary to enlarge the authority which the President sesks in the refugee bill. It may be that what will be needed is a somewhat larger appropriation than has been sought for the refugees. with the understanding that a substantial part of the total will be reserved for a program of resettlement and rehabilitation in their homeland. What would be involved here. of course. is working out arrangements with the new government in Saigon and the engagement in the work of a mutually acceptable private international body. such as the International Red Cross. I must emphasize. too. that I am referring to those refugees who. voluntarily. wish to return but their number may be far greater than is now apparent. provided there are appropriate safeguards. I reiterate. too. that while the legislation is being devised. if necessary. a special grant of authority to the President should be sought which would permit him to transfer some unobligated funds from elsewhere in the budget. perhaps. from the Defense Department to sustain the refugees. to the end that Congress will have adequate time to consider the principal measure fully. I commend the distinguished Senator from Oregon on finding these possibilities and for being able to present to the Senate a proposal which should prevent any lapse in taking care of these refugees throughout this country and on American islands in the Pacific. and thereby allowing the committee. which will start hearings on Monday morning. to go into this carefully. cautiously. and thoroughly. and in that way to make absolutely certain of what we are doing. The Senator. I think. has done the Nation a service.