America stands ready to welcome them and to permit them to pursue their work in their respective fields. Therefore. I call upon Soviet officials to issue exit visas to the scientists without delay. Granting them exit visas would be fully consistent with the emigration rights guaranteed in the Helsinki accords. of which the Soviet Union is a signatory. This action would also be perceived as a significant gesture of good will and a sign that the Soviet Union desires to improve scientific and educational relations with the United States. relations which have suffered in recent years. Further. it is my fervent hope that Moscow will reverse the horrendous downturn in the number of emigration visas it is issuing to the Jewish community. In 1979. Jewish emigration from the U.S.S.R. reached a high of 51.320. Tragically. this total plummeted drastically to 2.688 in 1982. And figures for January to April of this year are a dismal 421. The granting of visas to the seven scientistsas well as to other refuseniks and all those who wish to emigratewould be a constructive step that would do much to lessen the strained relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. It is also my hope that the Reagan administration will redouble its efforts on behalf of Soviet Jewry.
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