Speech #990221740

Mr. Speaker. we find ourselves today in a rather strange situation. We are to consider House Resolution 475. disapproving the Presidents action extending the emigration waiver for Romania. This waiver extension allows Romania to continue to receive mostfavorednation trade status for 1 more year. The procedure for considering this resolution. better known as the oneHouse veto. has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in a 1983 decision. Immigration and Naturalization Service versus Chadha. Yet. although passage of the resolution would have no legal effect. the House rules require this body to follow the procedure until the statute is repealed. So. we must take the time to go through the motions. however meaningless. We could ask ourselves whether. if this discharge motion is passed and we move to 20 hours of debate. and if this resolution were constitutional. would the merits of the situation demand that we end mostfavorednation status for Romania. I believe we should not. The administration. and many business and human rights groups. believe that mostfavorednation status has been an important tool in gaining increased emigration from Romania. The Council of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations. including Bnai Brith and the American Jewish Committee. the Christian rescue Effort for Emancipation of Dissident. and the International League for Human Rights all support a continuation of mostfavorednation status along with continued pressure for further liberalization of emigration procedures. Over the last 10 years. the number of emigrants from Romania to all parts of the world has risen from 6.975 to more than 17.000 persons. Legal emigration from Romania now far exceeds the combined emigration from the Soviet Union. Bulgaria. and Czechoslovakia. I believe. as do the organizations I have mentioned. that there is a clear relationship between the numbers of emigrants and the commercial and political leverage provided by mostfavorednation status. We have heard of the travails of Father Calcin. He was treated in an inhuman way.