Mr. Speaker. there is no need to enumerate the human rights violations which compel so many people to leave Indochinese regimes. The refugee figures speak all too clearly for themselves. The point which I wish to underline here is that the United States has a moral obligation to help rectify the tragedy of the "boat people" with every reasonable resource at our disposal. In a welcome display of sound leadership and initiative. the President has already taken the lead in organizing refugee assistance. Our monthly refugee quotas have temporarily been doubled and the 7th Fleet is now rescuing "boat people" at sea. I applaud these actions. but the harsh reality of the situation is that these are merely shortterm solutions to a longterm problem. Mr. Speaker. it is my firm belief that we must take a direct and decisive course of action. Our refugee assistance appropriations must reflect the enormous magnitude of the refugee problem. and our immigration legislation must be reexamined to insure that refugee admission policy is both responsive and just. Mr. Speaker. the world community looks to the United States to take the lead in meeting with the critical needs of these beleaguered peoples.
Keywords matched
immigration refugee