Speech #990050254

H.R. 1452. and its purpose. Mr. Chairman and my colleagues. is threefold: First. to provide authorization of funds to continue refugee resettlement. which is in our national interest as well as fulfilling our Nations honorable role to offer succor and relief to people who need it. Its second purpose is to make programmatic changes necessary to reduce refugee dependence on welfare and public assistance. Its third point Is to improve the accountability of all the agencies who use our taxpayer dollars in providing this work of refugee resettlement. After its introduction in March. Mr. Chairman. the Subcommittee on Immigration held hearings on H.R. 1452. The subcommittee heard from Federal agencies. from State and local government agencies. and from representatives of volunteer agencies which are historically and have been historically involved in refugee resettlement. All the witnesses. to a person. felt that there needed to be legislative reauthorization of this program. They urged the reauthorization for certain periods of time. We in this bill have settled on a 2year extension. In addition. the witnesses discussed prospects for improving refugee selfsufficiency. reducing the refugees rate of welfare dependency. and to that end they offered many suggestions which we have incorporated in this bill which are aimed at reducing welfare dependency. Improvement has been made since the bill was originally passed. but more improvement is needed. With that obJecitve in mind. the subcommittee developed the bill. H.R. 1452. whose specifics I will now briefly outline. The bill reauthorizes a refugee program for an additional 2 years. through fiscal year 1987. It provides for such sums as might be considered necessary for the purpose of reimbursing States and local governments for the cost of cash assistance and for medical assistance and educational assistance to the refugees. In addition. the bill. H.R. 1452. provides reimbursement to States for costs incurred from the incarceration of the Marlelito Cubans who have committed crimes in the country and are currently. as I have said. in jail. Section 2 of the bill provides specific authorization for three other programs: $100 million for social service programs which are primarily English language training and job training programs. $14 million for reimbursements to State and local governments for costs incurred in medical screening and initial medical treatment for arriving refugees. Of course. we know that the health difficulties of the entering refugees. tuberculosis. parasitic diseases. is rampant and that States and local governments have had a difficult task in trying to overcome these health problems. so we provide a $14 million specific authorization. Finally. a third specific authorization of $50 million for a carefully controlled. targeted assistance program which is directed at those communities and areas which have been heavily impacted by refugee resettlement. The provision. Mr. Chairman. of social services is in the estimate of the subcommittee the fundamental element by which refugees can acquire the skills. the language skills. the workrelated skills. which they need in order to obtain gainful and longterm employment and. therefore. to extricate themselves and their families from welfare dependency. To that end. the bill provides that social service funds are to be allocated to the State on the basis of the total refugee population. The current allocation formula only includes adult population refugees. and then only those who are in the country for 3 years. which is what we call the time eligible. The committee version. H.R. 1452. changes that allocation in order to accommodate the true needs of the localities where most of the refugees have settled. In a related provision. H.R. 1452 allows for flexibility in the allocation of these funds within a State. The Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Department of Health and Human Services can receive. at the instance of the local government and State. a plan which would demonstrate that the local conditions require a different allocation than the current 8515 allocation and if that plan is accepted. then the local government and the State can use a more flexible different percentage plan for the use of these social service funds. Section 3 of H.R. 1452 moves the Office of Refugee Resettlement. as I have said. currently in the Office of Social Security. to the Office of the Secretary of HHS to improve its stature and perhaps give the Director additional leverage in obtaining what he. or perhaps eventually she. would need to get the job done and to -.ore adequately resettle refugees. In addition. H.R. 1452 requires the Office of Refugee Resettlement to consider factors such as. but not exclusive of. population. availability of employment in the local areas. and secondary migration. which means the movement of refugees once they have been initially settled in the country in making decisions about the placement of further refugees. The idea is to try to have a more even dispersement of refugees around the country. who tend to congregate in certain areas of the Nation. We hope that by these new factors that the dispersal will be more even. Section 5 of the bill tightens the initial reception and placement process under which voluntary agencies receive grants from the Federal Government to settle refugees in the United States. First. the bill provides for audits by the General Accounting Office of funds spent on domestic resettlement by these voluntary agencies which receive money from the State Department in their grants. The committee believes that these audits are necessary to ensure that refugee resettlement programs are run efficiently. effectively. and cost effectively from the standpoint of the U.S. taxpayer. Second. for the further accountability. the bill requires that each voluntary agency be responsible for the basic needs of the refugees in their charge. which basic services would include food. shelter. clothing. transportation to jobs or to job interviews after arrival. and for developing early employment skills. This provision for the first time. Mr.