Speech #960146285

Mr. President. the purpose of this bill is to authorize additional appropriations for fiscal years 1980 and 1981 in the amounts of $207.290 million and $203.610 million respectively for the Department of State to finance the migration and refugee assistance program. These amounts will raise the total figures authorized for migration and refugee assistance to $456.241 million for fiscal year 1980 and $457.798 million for fiscal year 1981. Although the United States provides assistance for refugees throughout the world. the additional funds authorized by this bill are necessary chiefly because of the dramatic upsurge in refugees in Southeast Asia. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese have fled Vietnam. War and government repression in Laos and Kampuchea have created a refugee population of about 200.000 people in Thailand. whose plight is sometimes obscured because of the less dramatic nature of their flight. Another quarter of a million estimated people have fled to the Peoples Republic of China since early 1978. With 60.000 refugees a month arriving in the Southeast Asian countries early this summer. these countries began turning away new arrivals and threatening to expel others unless the international community demonstrated a willingness to accept more refugees for permanent resettlement. I think Senators can appreciate the dilemma these small. in some cases impoverished. countries were faced with in trying to absorb a flood of needy people from outside their own borders. President Carters announcement at the Tokyo summit that the United States would raise its monthly quota from 7.000 to 14.000 provided the impetus that was needed to deal with this tragic situation. Other countries strongly criticized Vietnams harsh actions. and Vietnams increasing isolation and growing economic problems led it to reassess its position and policies. Hanoi curtailedat least for a timethe mass expulsion of its own citizens. The refugee flow dropped to about 10.000 persons in August. Unfortunately. we cannot count on such restraint continuing into the future. In addition. a Vietnamese military offensive has been launched against the guerrilla forces under Pol Pot in Cambodia. The effect of renewed war and famine in Cambodia could be to stimulate a large new influx of refugees into Thailand. We must be prepared for such an eventuality even as we try to do what we can to prevent it. This bill authorizes $84 million of additional funds to support the Southeast Asian program of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. and it authorizes $105 million more to pay the costs associated with the doubling of the U.S. refugee quota. What are the essential elements of an appropriate U.S. policy in this tragic situation? First. the United States must update its laws dealing with all refugee matters. and not just those from Southeast Asia. S. 643. the Refugee Act of 1979. which has passed the Senate by a vote of 85 to 0. does this by creating more realistic and regular procedures for dealing with refugee matters. Second. the United States must continue to press other countries to respond more generously to the needs of the Southeast Asian refugees. Our efforts along these lines have already had beneficial results. for other countries pledged at the Geneva Conference in July to increase the number of refugees they would accept for resettlement from about 36.000 during the previous 12 months to nearly 124.000 during the following year. The Southeast Asian countries must not turn away those who have risked so much for freedom. but must continue to provide a place of first asylum. and yet they cannot be expected to accept unlimited numbers of refugees unless they have confidence that other nations will in time provide places of resettlement. Refugee processing centers are urgently needed in Southeast Asia. and renewed efforts to establish those centers are essential. An internationally supervised program providing food and medicine to the people of Cambodia is also essential. If this is not doneand.