Mr. President. I am not going to oppose this amendment. but I think it is important to understand that. while we are cutting school lunch programs for indigent children. we are cutting back job training programs. we are reducing assistance to the elderly and lo3king forward to cutting back on social security benefits for citizens of this country. the administration is proposing no substantial reduction in the refugee programs and other immigration programs of this country. which are costing the taxpayers of the United States somewhere close to $3 billion total. with that amount of money that is going into the Indochinese refugee program. I hope our Members will realize that the program we have there started out as a humanitarian program to rescue citizens fleeing from persecution. It has long since passed. That is not what is happening there now. What is happening there now is gigantic recruitment program by the United States. using radio. using voluntary agencies. to bring people into this country at our expense who are not fleeing persecution but are looking for a better way of life. a better economic situation. I hope that. in the coming weeks. we shall have an opportunity to give more consideration to this overall immigration program that the country is involved in. I hope to bring to my colleagues attention additional information relating to that specific situation so that we can address this problem and can put the priorities where they ought to be and can restore to the Congress. or at least to the executive branch or to somebody in this country. control over the policies relating to refugees and immigration. We do not have that at this time. I thank the Senator.
Identified stereotypes
The speaker claims that Indochinese refugees are not fleeing persecution but are looking for a better way of life.