Speech #960183795

would strike title III from the bill and substitute language very similar to that already approved by the other body and similar to that requested by the administration in its executive communication dealing with this matter. This amendment does not involve the creation of any new bureaucracy within the Department of HEW or elsewhere but merely authorizes the expenditure of funds for job training. language training. and cash and welfare assistance. It is. in other words. a continuation of programs now existing for Indochinese refugees but applicable to all refugees entering the United States. The present assistance to refugees to facilitate their resettlement in the United States is fragmented and enacted on an ad hoc basis. The purpose of this bill is to establish one program to assist all refugees. However. we do not need to establish yet another bureaucracy to accomplish this purpose. In submitting a refugee bill to the Congress. the administration saw no need for an additional statutory office to administer domestic resettlement aid. By letter of March 7. 1979. which is found on page 33 of the committee report. the Secretary of State describes the administrations proposal. and this is what he says: Title III makes few substantive changes from current administrative practice under the Act. Instead. it clarifies the purposes for which assistance will be furnished. reflecting experience gained in the administration of refugee assistance since 1962. Mr. Chairman. right now there is no "E" in HEW." Half of the programs are in Education. and half of them are in Labor. We do not need a new bureaucracy in HEW. All of the good things that this coordination and consolidation is supposed to accomplish by creating this new office in HEW can be done administratively. The State Department has a coordinator for refugees with ambassadorial rank created by Presidential order. I might point out that there are private voluntary agencies that want to continue to work with the State Department. with whom they have a good working relationship. and under this proposal they would not have to deal with HEW or its successor agency. This amendment provides for the same programs we have now. the basic resettlement programs. but conforms them to the new definitions of "refugee" in the bill. We just do not need a new bureaucracy. We would rather use the money for the refugees and not for bureaucrats. Mr. Chairman. I might also point out that later on in the bill the distinguished subcommittee chairwoman has a provision to create an Office of Refugee Policy in the White House. and that certainly ought to suffice. EJ 1550