Mr. President. this amendment should be familiar to the managers of the bill. They have seen it before. the last time the Senate considered immigration reform legislation back in May 1983. At that time. the managers recognized the need for such an amendment and graciously agreed to accept it without objection. Since the language of the amendment is identical and since the situation is the same. I hope that we can reach an similar accommodation on this goround of the immigration bill. The purpose of the amendment is to establish a $35 million contingency fund to be available in the event of a immigration emergency. such as Florida experienced in 1980. The Mariel immigration emergency was a management disaster. The Federal Government could not makeup its mind whether it wanted to welcome the Marielitos with open arms. or whether it wanted to prevent Castros illegal display. This wavering was reflected in the bureaucracy by chaos and confusion. As if the sheer magnitude of helping 120.000 people arrive and be assimilated into American society in a period of months were not grave enough. these problems were compounded by ambiguity over which Federal agencies has what powers to act. and a reluctance in some agencies to reprogram previously allocated funds for this new and expected contingency. While we did it the hard way. we have gained some valuable experience from the Cuban boatlift. Over the last couple of years the administration has been developing a contingency plan to deal with immigration emergencies. That plan was completed several years ago. It outlines the options and authorities of those agencies called on in event of an immigration emergency. Although the plan draws on the experience of the 1980 boatlift. it has been drafted so that it applies to any other kind of an immigration emergency. I have had an opportunity to review this plan. and while I believe that the President needs additional authority to handle such emergencies. the current plan will greatly enhance the ability of the Federal Government to respond to such situations in a timely and effect manner. While I would prefer to prevent such emergencies in the future. this kind of a plan is a good ideajust in case.
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immigration