Clearly there are. But I believe these can be achieved under the existing statute without major amendments. This is because from the outset the Refugee Act was designed to be flexibleto allow administrative modifications of our resettlement programs to meet changing needs and conditions. It was deliberately framed to encourage innovation. better coordination. and strengthened management. The voluntary agencies. as well as State and local agencies. have all made extraordinary progress in recent years in dealing with the continuing resettlement needs of refugees. especially Indochinese refugees. While there have been problems. we must not ignore the many success stories. And if we reflect upon the last 5 years. it is nothing short of a miracle that working together we have successfully resettled over a half a million Indochinese refugees since 1978and another 200.000 before that. Mr. President. this bill will further strengthen our ability to resettle refugees by: First. giving the voluntary agencies statutory responsibility for early case management and planning for the refugees they resettled. Second. unlike last years bill. we would give the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services additional authority for more effective resettlement of refugees by ending the socalled 100hour limitation and separating in the process cash and medical assistance. Our amendment also simplifies case management and State and local recordkeeping by authorizing all welfare and medical assistance through the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Finally. we continued "targeted assistance" with "such sums as may be necessary" to help several State and local communities deal with refugees who are no longer qualified for timerestricted Federal reimbursement. but who are still in need of some assistance. Again. Mr. President. this bill is essentially the same as we reported out of the Judiciary Committee last year. and I believe it meets the needs and concerns of the voluntary agencieswhich remain a crucial link in our ability to resettle refugeesas well as authorizing needed funds to help State and local governments. It clearly deserves the support of the Senate and I will work for its expeditious passage.* By Mr. ROTH:
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Refugee refugeesas refugees