Speech #970191040

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5879 and I commend the gentleman from Kentucky . and his subcommittee members for bringing this important legislation to the floor in such a prompt fashion. As originally introduced the administration bill. H.R. 5879. did little more than extend the reauthorization of the Refugee Act for 3 years. The assumption. I suppose. was that all was well with our refugee resettlement program. But the fact of the matter. Mr. Chairman. is that all is not well with the program. We have seen welfare dependency rates rise steadily in recent years. we have heard the General Accounting Office characterize the overseas medical screening process as being cursory and inadequate. and we have found that refugee placement decisions do not take into account the ability of State and local governments to effectively absorb those refugees. When the Refugee Act of 1980 was passed. there were some who thought the act was too explicitthat it imposed too many requirements on the executive branch in resettling refugees. We have found. however. that if anything. the Refugee Act may not have been explicit enough. Avenues and options which Congress left open to executive branch officials have in many cases been either ignored or pursued halfheartedly. At times. decisions have been made without a proper understanding of their consequences. At other times. when clear and decisive leadership was required. no decisions have been forthcoming at all. H.R. 5879. as amended by the committee is intended to correct these problems. It mandates the development and implementation of a refugee placement policy. It mandates consultations between Federal and local officials and voluntary agencies. It mandates communication between voluntary resettlement agencies and local welfare offices. And it mandates that fulltime college students and those who reject appropriate job offers be precluded from receiving public assistance. In closing. I would like to say that I share the concern of many of my colleagues who are troubled by the incarceration of Haitians in the United States and by their almost blanket exclusion from refugee or asylum status. I. too. believe that it is vitally important that Congress examine the decisionmaking process that leads to a determination that a certain individual is or is not a refugee. At the same time. however. I believe that this matter requires the development of a complete committee record. since it involves a complex combination of political. social. legal. and economic factors. In fact it is precisely because such important issues remain outstanding that the committee opted for a reauthorization of only 1 year. so that these issues will. by necessity. be closely examined at the earliest possible time. Mr. Chairman. this bill clearly recognizes the continuing Federal responsibility to care for refugees for 3 years after their arrival here. as well as the need to assure State and local governments that they will not be forced to pick up resettlement costs during that period. I urge my colleagues support for this worthwhile legislation.*