By preventing drastic cuts in these funds. we will save the lives of tens of thousands of children and give them a better chance to lead healthy and productive lives. Our country has also long been a haven for those suffering from persecution. oppression. and the ravages of war. Due to continuing tight budgets. we were unable in this bill to supply all the funds necessary to meet the growing needs of the programs serving the worlds refugees. This bill. however. is a good first step toward meeting many of these important needs. We provide $10 million to help ethnic Turkish refugees from Bulgaria who are fleeing an orchestrated and oppressive campaign against them in their own country. I also fought to earmark funds for Iraqi Kurds seeking refuge in Turkey. These are people who have suffered chemical warfare attacks by their own government and who have fled to Turkey to escape the cruel repression to which they had been subjected. Unfortunately. Turkey does not have sufficient resources to care for these refugees and many will die during the harsh winter months if additional help is not made available. While the conferees did not heed my plea to earmark $5 million for the Iraqi Kurds. I did succeed in inserting language in the conference report stating that the administration will make this money available from unearmarked funds.
Keywords matched
refugees