I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman. as a Californian and a strong supporter of this bill and our countrys efforts to resettle Indochinese refugees. I am very interested in the success of this amendment which has been so ably offered by my colleagues DANIELSON and LUNGREN. But the success of this amendment should not be solely attributable to Californians who do not want the responsibility of supporting the majority of the refugees in the United States. It should be passed as an affirmation of the willingness of the whole country to accept responsibility for the 260.000 refugees who have accepted our invitation to resettle in the United States. It is a national responsbilitythe United States is a magnet to all who seek freedom. That is why they are coming here. As I am sure most of you are aware by now. California has been chosen as a final haven by nearly half of our refugee population. Their wish to join other family and village members. together with a desire for a warm climate and favorable economic conditions. has led to this reality. In fairness to both the population of California and the refugees. the DanielsonLungren amendment is needed. In order to head off a shift of millions of dollars in relief funds from the U.S. Government to California taxpayers and bring this bill in line with the Cambodian relief bill which was just signed into law. this proposal must be adopted. If such a shift did occur. it could result in anger and resentment toward the refugees. Unfortunately. there is some of this resentment already. Since the refugees will be needing our support for some time. we must not shirk this responsibility. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for the DanielsonLungren amendment.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees