Madam Chairman. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2022 to provide relief for certain Soviet and Indochinese refugees. This bill creates an important presumption that certain categories of emigrees from the Soviet Union and certain parts of Indochina are persecuted at home and should be granted refugee status. This is the correct move to make in this situationSoviet Jews and Evangelical Christians are classes of individuals subject to persecution. So are the categories of Vietnamese. Laotians. and Cambodians included in the bill. The bill is limited in scopethis special status applies only through September 30. The bill does not change the requirement that refugee status be granted on a case by case basis. it simply shifts the burden of proof. This bill solves one part of the refugee crises we are currently facing. Much more needs to be done by the Congress and by the administration. We cannot ignore the flow of refugees exiting the Soviet Union. We cannot ignore the need to provide for them. In this regard I must note that the administration budget requests for funding refugee activities of the State Department and in the Department of Health and Human Services are not realistic nor adequate. Madam Chairman. for years the United StatesCongress and administration togetherhave banged on the door of the Soviet Union demanding the release of Christians and Jews who wish to leave. With glasnost. these persons finally are being allowed to leave in increasing numbers.
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