Mr. Speaker. over the last several years. Oregon has opened its doors to more than 15.000 refugees from Southeast Asia. About 10.000 of these refugees rely on services provided through the Indochinese refugee group assistance program. Its services include the teaching of English and employment training. This program is a lifeline to refugees and their families who are struggling to adjust to a new culture and overcome the hurdles that lie between them and productive. independent lives. Sadly. this program has been handicapped by unpredictable and inconsistent management by the Reagan administration. State program administrators in Oregon have no assurance from one quarter to the next that Federal allocations will be receivedeven though Oregon welcomed refugees from Southeast Asia on the basis of assurances that the Federal Government would share in the costs of resettlement. adjustment. and education. One out of every four calendar quarters the Government has been so tardy in meeting its commitments that Oregon has had to turn to its congressional delegation for help. I am acutely aware of the problems because I have had to prod the Department of Health and Human Services time and time again. Whether it is ineptness at HHS or a begrudging attitude toward refugee assistance. I really cannot say. As recently as May. I wrote to Secretary Schweiker asking for his personal attention to the State of Oregon and the overall management of the refugee assistance program. I pointed out that the shortsighted policy of limiting and delaying funds would have severe consequences. Meanwhile. Oregons thirdquarter allocation for this fiscal year was unaccountably postponed. Under law. program administrators in Oregon ultimately were forced to send out termination notices to refugees. The Department of Health and Human Services needs to know that it is manipulating people. not just numbers. Its accounting practices create uncertainty and have grave human consequences. In the case of Shue Long Vue. a 62yearold refugee from Laos. the conse-
Keywords matched
refugee refugees