Speech #980230600

I wish to bring to the attention of my colleagues the exciting work being achieved each and every day by the Committee for the Absorption of Soviet Emigrees [CASE]. CASE has developed an exhaustive program to aid in acclimating new Soviet emigrees. CASE believes that for a resettlement program to be successful it has to address all the needs of the human personality and. as a result. has become involved with the physical. mental. emotional. and spiritual needs of the recently arrived and usually traumatically uprooted Soviet immigrant. I feel that the success of this approach can be used as a model for other immigrant groups. easing their transition into our society. and enabling them to become productive. contributing citizens. CASE first came to my attention last summer. when. in my capacity as- cochairman of the congressional human rights caucus. I sponsored a major exhibit in the Capitol rotunda of unofficial art from the Soviet Union. I learned then that the dissident artists were not only engaged in producing outstanding abstract art. but were also dedicated to finding new answers to the ageold problem of disoriented and cultureshocked immigrants seeking to survive in an alien society. Since its founding in 1974. CASE has sponsored a wide variety of programs to provide lowcost housing for the newly arrived refugees. CASE has become involved in rebuilding a rundown part of Jersey City. and helped in the restoration of the famous brownstones. It also extends lowcost loans to the refugees through a federally chartered credit union.