Mr. President. first I want to commend the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts for his leadership on the refugee problem. which I think is becoming more and more apparent to more and more Americans as a serious problem. not only for the world but for this country specifically as we attempt to shoulder a larger piece of the whole problem of the refugees. particularly from the Southeast Asian region. One of the problems that have surfaced particularly in the State of Colorado is the fact that as more and more refugees have arrived. and a number of thousands of them have arrived from Southeast Asia in the Denver area. conflicts have arisen between those refugees and the people native to the area. many of whom are minority people. There is great conflict over housing accommodations. which are still a considerable problem in the Denver area. particular between Vietnamese refugees and the Chicano community. There is a strong feeling. particularly on the part of the Governor of Colorado and I think many of his colleagues in other States. that it would be one measure of considerable help to the State governments in this country in planning to accommodate the increasing numbers of refugees if they had information available about the longrange plans of the Federal Government to take in refugees. the numbers. character. and size of families involved. and any other data that the State Department or any other agency of the Federal Government may have. That information is made available to Congress. It is essentially the same information that this amendment would require be made available to the State Governors of this country. so that they can make planning arrangements and housing arrangements. working with the cities and the local communities. to accommodate the refugees that are arriving. It is a commonsense amendment. which assures that the States will have the same information available to them that the Federal Government and Congress have. I am hopeful that the Senator from Massachusetts will accept this amendment and that it will become a part of this very important bill.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees