Speech #980000901

Mr. Speaker. I want to share with my colleagues the tragic statistics on the drop in Soviet Jewish emigration. As 1982 recedes from our memory. and the 98th Congress begins. we must not forget Soviet intransigence on this important issue. In 1982. the number of Jews leaving the Soviet Union plummeted to roughly onethird that of the previous year. 1981. The magnitude of this drop is underscored by the fact that 1981 was a year in which fewer Jews left the Soviet Union than any year in recent memory. The following table charts the tightening Soviet grip on Jews: Jews permitted to emigrate from U.S.S.R. Year: 1982 .................................................... 2.692 1981 .................................................... 9.447 1980 .................................................... 21.471 1979 .................................................... 51.320 This precipitous drop in emigration figures must be reversed. The U.S. Government must make clear in all its dealings with the Soviets that it will not countenance what is clearly a betrayal of the freedoms guaranteed in the Helsinki Final Act. We must press the emigration issue with the Soviets again and again until the gates open