Speech #960255995

First. whether or not we want these people. they are here and must be dealt with. And it is not the responsibility of local communities which happen to be near the Florida Straits or certain military bases. or which happen to have existing exile communities. to bear the entire burden of caring for people the Federal Government permits to enter the country. Second. this is not cash benefits to refugees. It is intended as emergency assistance for communities struggling to cope with a staggering human problem. more than many socioeconomic systems can bear. There has been no formal administration budget request for these purposes: I understand that a request is coming. but it will be too late for this bill. The affected communities cannot afford to wait until fiscal 1981 for relief. Finally. one crucial point. There is no authorization in existing law for resettlement and social services for entering aliens who have not been admitted as or determined to be refugees. Other Federal programs--including the ones we expect f the administration to request funding forcan provide certain services. such as t health screening. and reimburse local governments for certain costs. such as transportation. but in terms of the necessary social. educational. medical. and plain living support local communities must provide. only the Fascell amendment provides authorization. and only this amendment provides funds. Mr.