Speech #960205005

I do not want to question the efforts that have been made in our behalf by the conferees. on the part of the House. However. I think that the legislation before us is deficient and does not meet the standards that we should demand on this important and urgent issue of refugees. In the first place. we are making permanent. a refugee program which is going to provide for the admission of large numbers of refugees. which is inconsistent with any past policy we have had. This is being done in a very abrupt way. at a time when we have a National Commission on Refugee Policy. which was established by the President. and which has not had an opportunity to report. It would seem to me that all we should be doing at the present time is to provide some kind of interim legislation which would authorize a program for the present accommodation of refugees from Southeast Asia. To suggest that we should here and now establish a new mechanism for receiving refugees in large numbers over a relatively long period of time seems to me to be a most unfortunate step for the Congress to be taking at this time. C1 1510 Furthermore. Mr. Speaker. while this legislation establishes legislatively that we should admit 50.000 refugees as a basic number. that number can be increased upward and there is no top limit suggested in the legislation. The increase can be made by the President by merely arranging a consultation with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. An amendment was offered in my behalf when the measure was before the House to require that the Committee on the Judiciary of the House should approve any increased number of refugees beyond the 50.000 figure specified in the bill. Such an increase represents legislative action that should require legislative approval. and It seems to me at a minimum that approval by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House would be in order. So I think the legislation is deficient in that respect. Also I think it is most unfortunate that we are establishing in the Department of HEW. or whatever they call it now. a prime role. a major role. with regard to resettlement assistance and all kinds of benefits for refugees. It seems to me that again we are establishing on a permanent basis a role and a function which has never existed and which is going to enlarge the bureaucracy of HEW in a way which I think we are going to live to regret. I think the existing authority in the State Department is much the more appropriate place for us to handle this responsibility.