Speech #980137691

This is one thing that we are trying to do. to make sure that that does not continue in the future. Mr. Speaker. another committee amendment offered by Congressman FIsH provides statutory authority for pilot projects designed to operate as alternatives to welfare for refugees who have been in the country less than 18 months. A range of innovative suggestions for encouraging refugee selfsufficiency can be tested under the terms of this provision. This legislation includes a number of other changes in current law. No. 1. the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is placed within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in response to the concern that ORR presently is buried in the Social Security Administration. This change underscores the importance this Congress attaches to the refugee resettlement efforts. This is one area where there is dispute by some. but I would suggest that both Republicans and Democrats on the subcommittee and the full committee understood the importance of trying to make sure that that office receives some primacy. so we can make some of the changes that we think are necessary to break this welfare cycle. Second. the legislation confers statutory authority on the Secretary of Education to make grants and enter into contracts for special educational services to refugee children. The present arrangement with the Secretary of Education. pursuant to an interagency agreement. exercising authority conferred by statute on the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. unnecessarily delays the direction of funds. This is one change that was suggested to us by a number of local educational entities around the country who have to deal with the handson training of these children. and I think it is a good one. Third. the bill added greater specificity to the requirement of audits of resettlementrelated grants and contracts by stating that the Comptroller General "shall directly conduct an annual financial audit." Fourth. new reporting requirements have been imposed on agencies inJSE 32469 volved in resettlement. Both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will receive copies of annual reports providing details on refugee placements. expenditures. and proportions of refugees receiving cash or medical assistance. We felt that in this situation. this is not unnecessary bureaucracy or paperwork. This is to help us in our responsibilities of oversight to make sure we are not wasting our money on the refugee programs. Fifth. the legislation authorizes the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement to make targeted assistance projects grants to facilitate refugee employment and selfsufficiency. There is a belief that in some areas that are impacted more heavily than others that such targeted assistance will do more than just generally dispensed additional dollars would do and in fact allow us to work with the particular problems we find that occur in those areas that have most been impacted by refugee resettlement. Those areas are rather few in number in this country. and nonetheless. they get the greatest impact in tremendous percentage of numbers of all the refugee flow into this country. Sixth. the bill prohibits the use of block grants. Although I supported initially the administrations efforts to move toward block grants. I must confess that the recently proposed consolidation of refugee cash and medical assistance. social services. target assistance. and education impact assistance into a single grant award does not appear justified on the basis of information currently available. I feel that we gave the administration ample opportunity to provide us with the information in that regard. and we did not receive the information necessary to persuade a sufficient number of Members on the subcommittee and committee. It is something I think we ought to look into in the future.