Speech #1040191450

Mr. Chairman. it is not often that I rise in opposition to the position taken by my colleague from California. But I am opposed to the Dreier amendment. which would alter the current allocation of targeted refugee assistance. The issues here are insufficient Federal funds and geographyand the proper response of the Federal Government to the disruption that has been caused by the failure of Federal immigration policies. Mr. DREIER proposed dividing up 90 percent of the funds for refugees assistance among all impacted counties. On its face. that might seem reasonable. But the problem is that the Dreier amendment instead of seeking additional justified fundingrobs areas that are already hurting badly from lack of funds. The amendment ignores todays reality. as well as the recent past. attempting to treat all regions of the country as if they were starting at the same place when it comes to refugee policy. The fact is that certain regions of the country have suffered a systemic disproportionate and cataclysmic impact from Federal refugee programs. Thats why we have in place currently the practice of targeting portions of the refugee assistance funds to deal with specific refugee crises. such as those in recent years that have substantially affected Florida. Although the program as it stands was set up to deal with the massive refugee flows of the Mariel boatlift. the last few years of United States policy in Cuba and Haiti have meant that Floridas need for special refugee assistance has not subsided. Florida counties have done their part through the ups and downs of successive administrations policies in the Caribbean by welcoming refugee influxes from places like Cuba and Haiti. We have willingly done so. and at a very great cost to our State. However. Floridians have consistently argued that the Federal Government must be made to facilitate the resettlement of those refugees in our State. We are. after all. talking about the direct result of Federal immigration and foreign policies. As such. we support the current program because it recognizes the Importance of distributing funding to areas with the greatest need. The Dreier amendment would reverse this policy.