Speech #990194297

Speaker. as one who has consistently advocated the right of free movement of people as so correctly and categorically stated in the Helsinki agreement. As one who was instrumental in developing the initial program in 1971 to allow for the admission into the United States of Jews fleeing persecution from the Soviet Union. As one who was instrumental in the enactment of the Refugee Act of 1980 which stands today as a vehicle for accepting Soviet Jews in the United States as refugees. and As one who participates each year in the consultations with the administration on the refugee admissions program for each fiscal year and have made sure that sufficient numbers are made available for the reception of Soviet Jews who may be allowed to emigrate. I applaud the Soviet Unions recent action of allowing 244 of their nationals to leave the country to join their relatives in the United States. This action partially resolves a dividedfamily caseload which the United States has been pressuring for resolution for many years. As I understand there are still 60 additional dividedfamily cases on the agenda which are still a matter of negotiation. It is my hope that the completion of this family reunion caseload can be resolved immediately and that the United States and Soviet Union come to an agreement which will provide immediate family reunification in all prospective cases. Family reunification has been and continues to be the basic premise of our immigration policy. While we applaud this action on the part of the Soviet Union and recognize the Presidents intervention on behalf of these persons. we. nonetheless. are concerned and seek resolution to the present status of the 400.000 Soviet Jewish hostages who are still seeking permission to leave. but are being held against their wills without any conditions for release. These people. because they seek to emigrate. are without jobs. means of livelihood. or opportunities for education. Still others are harassed. imprisoned or tortured because of their religious beliefs and attempts to exercise their fundamental rights. Unless things have radically changed. which I very much doubt. historically. the Soviet immigration policy has always been determined by both foreign and domestic policy considerations. Emigration opportunities have clearly fluctuated in response to foreign policy objectives. particularly the overall state of East/ West relations. Repression and violations of human liberties have been used by the Soviets in a callous and deliberate fashion to elicit desired responses from the West. In periods marked by favorable trade and credit arrangements and successful bilateral negotiations. emigration dramatically improved. Conversely. conditions markedly deteriorated in times of Soviet terrorism and aggressionwitness the invasion of Afghanistan. and grain embargo. the restriction of hightechnology sales. and the criticism of interventions in Angola. Central America. and the Middle East. I mentioned at the beginning that I participated in the development of the Soviet Jewish refugee program to the United States in 1971. Our efforts. small as they were at the outset. opened the way for large scale Jewish movements to free countries. which peaked in 1979 when over 51.000 persons left the Soviet Union. Tragically. in spite of this most recent action. emigration from the Soviet Union has been unilaterally reduced to a trickle. In 1985. only 1.140 exit visas were issued. Thus far this limitation on numbers of exit permits continues with only 72 issued in April. If the tone of these remarks seems to be pessimistic. I am nevertheless heartened by recent developmentsin addition to these recent actions in family reunifications. the fact of the recent release of Anatoly Shcharansky raises hope for others in his plight. the partial ties and air link between Poland and Israel. undoubtedly with Moscow approval. and the various visits to the Soviet Union by the World Jewish Congress president in the spirit of negotiations and understanding for future emigration possibilities. Mr. Speaker. concerned individuals. communities. and nations must redouble their efforts to exert all influence possible on the Soviet Union to abide by the spirit of the Helsinki Accords. accelerate pending and future family reunification and above all renounce the oppression of their Jewish citizens and allow them to emigrate freely according to their individual desires. We. on the other hand. must continue the work to make certain that there will always be a haven in the United States for Soviet Jews. I shall join any and all efforts to work toward the release of the 400.000 Jewish hostages now being held.