Speech #1010146874

Mr. President. as the Senate continues debate on the supplemental appropriations bill. I want to take this opportunity to discuss refugee resettlement programs. I am extremely pleased this supplemental provides additional funding to make up for shortfalls in the State Departments overseas refugee assistance and processing programs. Clearly. the United States must continue in its humanitarian mission and provide assistance to refugees worldwide. Since 1980. when the Refugee Act of 1980 was enacted. we have resettled over 1.3 million refugees in this country. The Appropriations Committee deserves great credit for working to this end. But frankly I am disappointed by the failure of HHS and OMB to request supplemental funds for domestic refugee programs. We must remember that refugee policy does not end with the actual processing and admissions into the United States. That is only the beginning as the long resettlement process begins. Most. if not all refugees. enter the United States with minimal English skills. competitive job training. or education. For this reason. programs were enacted through the Refugee Act to help promote selfsufficiency so that refugee families could become functioning and contributing members of society. Without the training and services these programs provide. there is. in all likelihood. little hope that these individuals can become productive members of society. which is truly unfortunate given the tragedies and persecution these people have already endured and from which they escaped. Despite the intent of the Refugee Act which says that States be reimbursed for the cash and medical programs they provide to refugees during the first 36 months of resettlement. we are finding that funding is inad. equate to the point that this reimbursement period has dropped to just 4 months. This means that instead of paying the costs associated with public assistance programs beginning in the 37th month as the act provides or even in the 25th month as was the case last year. States and local governments are having to pick up the tab beginning after the 4th month. When a refugee is unable to attain selfsufficiency and thus provide for a family. the refugee must rely on public assistance. which the States must pay. Unfortunately. Mr. President. it is extremely difficult for a refugee family to become selfsufficient in Just 4 months. Sadly. Instead of seeking an appropriate level of fundingone that is linked in some responsible manner to refugee admissionsthe administrations response has been to reduce the reimbursement period despite rising admissions. Effective January 1. 1990. that fell from 24 to Just 4 months. which means a cost transfer of over $85 million to the States. Let me underscore the point that other States are not immune to these funding transfers. While California. Florida. and New York. to name but three. are home to the largest concentrations of refugees. other States such as Illinois. Oregon. Massachusetts. Pennsylvania. and Minnesota are having to shoulder. increasingly. the financial responsibility for refugee programs even though refugee policy is a Federal responsibility driven in large part by foreign policy considerations. We know this for a fact: States have little say in the policy. but they are being forced to pay more and more of the costs. That is patently unfair.