Speech #960322706

Speaker. I rise in opposition to H.R. 7859. Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980. on the grounds that it further complicates the Federal policy toward refugees and other emigrees to the United States and tries to find solutions to problems created by such immigration by throwing money at the problem instead of dealing with the hard issues. The use of the word "refugee" in the title of this bill is indicative of the confusion that exists in our immigration policy. This bill does not provide assistance to States and local educational agencies for educating refugees as defined under the Refugee Act of 1980. The children for which assistance is provided in this bill are primarily entrants whose status is pending with the Immigration and Naturalization Service or are applicants for asylum or have been granted asylum in the United States. Cuban and Haitian emigrees have not technically been extended "refugee" status under the Refugee Act of 1980. My colleagues may think that I am making a very technical distinction which is unimportant in deciding whether to support this legislation or not. I believe just the opposite. we must somehow prevent the continuous piecemeal approach to establishing immigration policy in this country. Early this spring. the President signed into law the Refugee Act of 1980 (Public Law 96212). a bill which amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the procedure for the admission of refugees and to provide general authority for Federal assistance for refugee resettlement in the United States. This comprehensive piece of legislation was hailed as the best omnibus approach to deal with immigration policy on a national basis. The ink from the signature of President Carter to the public law had not had time to dry before provisions of the Refugee Act of 1980 where being ignored in order to contend with the influx of Cuban and Haitian entrants to the United States. Even those colleagues who are most friendly to the Carter administration must admit that the Presidents refugee policy since April of this year has been one of confusion and bending of the law. Most of the decisions made by President Carter regarding the new influx of Cuban and Haitians were politically motivated. As recently as yesterday. the newspapers were reporting decisions by the President regarding the location of refugee resettlement camps in the United States in order to maximize the possibility of gaining electoral votes in Florida. Unfortunately. the Congress has not been much more discerning in Its grasp of the refugee problem and the approaches it has taken to address that problem. The last 5 months have been characterized by a potpourri of legislative solutions to satisfy the needs of State and local governments who are im-