Speech #1040067461

Sometimes they just dragged them into airplanes. sometimes literally kicking and screaming. If they know someone is going to resist. they may tranquilize him or her before putting them on the plane. So the CPA has become a looking glass world in which refugees are not refugees and voluntary repatriation is not voluntary. Yet the United States has given over $1& million during the last 6 years. The language now in section 2104 that has been put there by myself and my good friend. the gentleman from New York . the chairman of our committee. and other members of our subcommittee. would cut further funding to the CPA unless the United Nations and other countries involved agree to fix the program. to provide resettlement opportunities for a limited number of highrisk refugees. again the old soldiers. the nuns and others with compelling cases. within existing refugee allotments. Mr. Chairman. the amendment I am offering today is a perfecting amendment to meet the objections raised by some. making it absolutely clear that this language in the bill would not mean the admission of large numbers of immigrants or even refugees. It provides explicitly that the provision should not be construed either to require or to permit an expansion of the numerical limitation on refugees beyond the number that it was allocated for 1995. It gives the State Department more flexibility in its refugee budget by eliminating separate authorization of funds for resettlement of people. The State Department has been lobbying very hard against this provision. But after my perfecting amendment. the only thing to say to the State Department is take a hard look at these people in highrisk categories. If they are refugees under U.S. law. we should not hide behind an inadequate third country screening to pay for them to be forced back to persecution. second. no more money for the repatriation program until you can certify that it has been fixed and everyone has been given a fair screening and everyone that should be resettled has been resettled. Mr. Chairman. I do hope that Members will support the Smith amendment to the Bereuter amendment. It has the support of a number of organizations in the refugee communities who are adamantly opposed to the Bereuter amendment and have come out as such within the last couple of days. the list of which I will talk about further.