Mr. Chairman. I offer an amendment which would ensure that reception and placement grants for refugees resettling in the United States will receive adequate funding. It is my understanding that this amendment has the support of the Committee on the Judiciary and. indeed. was drafted in coordination with Judiciary Committee staff. Mr. Chairman. the Committee on Foreign Affairs requested and received referral of H.R. 1452 due to a provision dealing with reception and placement grants for refugees resettling in the United States. Funding for refugee resettlement has traditionally been shared between two agencies: The Departments of State and Health and Human Services. As this legislation contains specific language regarding such services. and which may involve additional responsibilities for one of these agencies. the committee wanted to make certain that funding for these programs not affect other. critical programs of the Department of State. In the House version of the State Department authorization bill which passed the House on May 9. section 108 limits the amount of funds which may be used for enhanced reception and placement services for refugees resettling in the United States. Under this section. the Department may spend up to $2 million in additional funds under the migration and refugee assistance account to facilitate new types of refugee resettlement programs. The committee felt that this limitation on funding was necessary to ensure adequate funding for the Departments traditional and crucial refugee responsibilities. These include funding for African refugees. refugees resettling in Israelincluding Ethiopian Jewsand funding for refugees in Southeast Asia. among others. Mr. Chairman. this amendment would ensure that. should the Departments resettlement and placement responsibilities be expanded in the future. funding will be provided to support these responsibilities. and will not be transferred to the detriment of traditional programs.
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refugee refugees