President. on July 10. the Finance Committee reported the trade agreement between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Romania. This was the first such agreement negotiated pursuant to the Trade Act of 1974. and as such must be approved or disapproved by the Senate within 15 legislative days. a period which will expire approximately on July 31. In taking this action. the President exercised his option to waive sections 402 and 409 of the act. the sections referring to emigration. In effect. he was certifying to Congress that he was satisfied that the purposes of encouraging freer emigration would be fulfilled. even though the requirements of 402 and 409 were not strictly met. On July 8. administration witnesses reported a dramatic improvement in the number of exit permits issued in the preceding weeks. The Assistant Secretary of State for Eastern European Affairs. Arthur A. Hartman. said: There are only a few cases of divided family members and dual nationals who have indicated a desire to come permanently to the U.S .... Since this Trade Agreement was sent to the Congress we have seen encouraging signs that the Romanians are seeking earnestly to solve the family reunification problems that concern us. They have approved the passport applications of a substantial portion of the several hundred people I referred to earlier who want to join their families in the U.S. Because section 409 in particular deals specifically with the reunion of very close relatives.
Keywords matched
family reunification emigration