Speech #980078122

Mr. Speaker. after 8 years of social and political turmoil in Southeast Asia over 70.000 refugees remain in camps along the Thai border without adequate food. shelter. or health care. In addition. there are almost 200.000 refugees living in wretched squalor outside the camps. I recently met with representatives from the Cambodian Crisis Committee who traveled to Southeast Asia to assess the increasing problems of Kampuchean refugees living in camps along the Thai border. Members of the committee described the plight of these refugees and the administrative bottlenecks which have prevented their expeditious and orderly processing and relocation to less troubled countries of the world. including the United States. While the recent National Security Directive from the President (No. 93) is encouraging. there is growing concern that the guidelines it included will not be enforced on the field level and that administrative problems will continue to mount. The directive: One. instructed the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to follow established guidelines when considering refugee applications for relocation. two. called for central guidance in refugee processing. and. three. established a Senior Interagency Group for Refugee Policy. designed to "insure that important refugee policy issues receive full. prompt and systematic consideration." I include the full report of the Cambodian Crisis Committee in the RECORD today and urge my colleagues to Join in efforts to ameliorate the plight of these Kampuchean refugees. including the letter I shall send to President Reagan next week.