Speech #1010120930

Israel has a 100 percent debt repayment record. and we need have no concern about full servicing of the commercial loans Israel would contract under this program. Mr. President. our bill does not address the sensitive question of the settlement of Soviet Jewish refugees in the West Bank or Gaza. This is because I have been categorically assured by administration representatives that longstauding United States policy is to include in every assistance agreement with Israel a clause prohibiting the use of any United States assistance outside the pre1967 borders of Israel. Continutation of this longstanding policy should. obviate any necessity to include language in the bill prohibiting the use of United States assistance to provide housing for the Soviet Jewish immigrants in the West Bank or Gaza. However. should. in the course of hearings on this issue. any question arise about the intention of the administration to insist on this standard clause. I would have to reconsider the need to include a statutory prohibition. I would. as the administration has. oppose the use of any of the assistance for housing in the West Bank or Gaza. As chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee. it is my intention to include this bill or a variant of it as a provision in the refugee supplemental appropriation for fiscal 1990 that the President has Just submitted to Congress. I want to emphasize for Senators the need for urgent action on that refugee supplemental. At the current rate of refugee admissions into the United States. the State Departments refugee budget will be virtually exhausted in about 3 or 4 months. perhaps even sooner. Now. with the addition of this HIG Program for Israel. the need for rapid action by the Congress is even more apparent. Israel should be initiating housing construction right now. Deputy Prime Minister Peres told me that if Israel can receive the loan guarantees by about April. it should be able to initiate a massive housing program that should be able to absorb this initial wave of immigrants. I should also point out to Senators that this Is only a loan guarantee program with no budget Impact. No direct appropriation of budget authority is necessary. I see no reason we cannot move expeditiously on this program. as well as on the refugee supplemental itself. Mr. President. once again I want to thank my good friend and ranking member on the Foreign Operations Subcommittee.