At present there is no prescribed format for these consultations nor is there any statutory requirement mandating that such consultation even be held. This legislation corrects both of these deficiencies by specifically providing for consultations and describing in detail the information required to be submitted by the executive branch at these consultations. Similar to the issue of admitting refugees. decisions on the level and nature of Federal assistance to be provided to refugees upon arrival continue to be resolved on an ad hoc piecemeal basis. This bill would eliminate that problem by establishing for the first time a permanent and dependable program to fund refugee resettlement and such assistance is made available to all refugees regardless of their national origin. It is indeed imperative that we take immediate positive steps to rectify this chaotic state of affairs by enacting this major refugee reform legislation which will permit us to respond in a timely. orderly. and humane manner to refugee situations. I would like to cite briefly from a letter I received from the Department of Justice earlier this week on this legislation and at the appropriate time I will ask unanimous consent to insert it in the RECORD of this debate. In the letter. Acting Attorney General Wade McCree expressed the Departments "strong support" of the bill and he noted that the administration believes its enactment "is necessary to regularize the procedures and decisional processes by which the United States responds to refugee problems. recognizing both our long humanitarian tradition and the limits on our available resources." In conclusion. I urge my colleagues to give this legislation your wholehearted support and I firmly believe its passage will demonstrate to the world that our country continues to be deeply concerned by the plight of persons uprooted from their homeland by tyranny. racial persecution. and the threat of political reprisals. Mr.
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