A program to assist the Cambodian people implies no recognition of the regime imposed upon the country by Vietnam. It is a purely humanitarian measure. If successful. it will not only save Cambodian lives. but reduce the number of Cambodian refugees who will flee into Thailand. Second. the ability of the world to deal with the Indochinese refugee crisis depends upon the cooperation of many nations. The ability of the United States to persuade other countries to accept larger numbers of refugees for resettlement is dependent on our willingness to increase our own efforts. as authorized by this bill. I want to emphasize how much progress has been made in getting other countries to increase their financial contributions and their provision of new homes for the refugees. Japan has agreed to fund 50 percent of the cost of the Southeast Asian program of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. At the Geneva Conference on Refugees held in July of this year. other countries pledged to increase their refugee resettlement quotas from an annual rate of about 36.000 to nearly 124.000. The funds provided in S. 1668 represent the U.S. contribution to this worldwide response to the human tragedy we are witnessing in Southeast Asia. We should be aware that despite the difficulties refugees face in adjusting to a new life in a new land. over threefourths of the Indochinese refugees have become basically selfsupporting within 2 years of their arrival. This is a welcome development. But it should not lead to complacency on our part. We must continue to monitor the impact of the refugees on the job and housing markets. We must continually devise imaginative programs. so that these new immigrants will contribute to our economic strength rather than threaten the economic security of American citizens. We have met such challenges many times in our history. and we can do so again. Mr.
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Refugees immigrants refugee refugees