I want to thank my distinguished colleague and friend. the chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of the Appropriations Committee. the Senator from Vermont . He has tried to fashion a compromise that would take care of a humanitarian obligation that we have. A centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy for years was JaoksonVanik. which said to the Soviet Union: we are not going to do any business with you. in terms of commerce or trade. unless you observe the most basic of human rights. and permit people to emigrate or travel as they choose. So it has been more than 15 years of pursuing the issue of freedom to emigrate. particularly for Soviet Jews. and also for other religious groups in the Soviet Union that wanted to go to freer lands. So we are now faced with a situation where the debate. as I see it. Is going to enlarge substantially. unfortunately. I have a resolution that is going to be offered that simply confirms the fact that we have. for years. believed that it is a responsibility of the United States to try and help one of our most Important allies absorb a population growth of about 20 percent of its base popu1%tion. Can you imagine what would happen if the United States were suddenly called upon to absorb 50 million immigrants in a year? It would strain our system totally and would cause chaos In our society. Well. the Israelis are apparently willIng to do that.
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emigrate immigrants