Speech #1100051422

We have 4 million Iraqis who have been driven from their homes and tens of thousands who are at risk because they helped the United States. not just as translators but as drivers and construction workers. NGO support staff. We are. sadly. failing Iraqii refugees. We have allowed into the United States fewer than 800 since 2003. 69 since this fall. only 1 last month. The Swedish prime minister told me last week that Sweden is going to admit 25.000 Iraqi refugees this year. I introduced. last week. bipartisan legislation H.R. 2265. the Responsibility to Iraqi Refugees Act to address this ongoing humanitarian crisis by using all of the tools at our disposal. admitting refugees. providing assistance to the region and using diplomacy to ensure their wellbeing. It would allow not 50 or 500. but 15.000 Iraqis who are at risk because they helped the United States to come to this country. along with their families. It would establish a special coordinator for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people. and requires the United States to develop. finally. plans to ensure the wellbeing and safety of these Iraqi refugees. It increases the number of persecuted Iraqis who can be admitted as refugees. This legislation has been endorsed by Amnesty International. Church World Service. the International Rescue Committee. Refugees International. the Jubilee Campaign. the Truman National Security Project. and many others. I strongly urge that we adopt this bill today. But I would implore the Members of this House. regardless of how they feel about the war in Iraq or its future. to join and cosponsor my legislationbroad. ambitious. a comprehensive response to the Iraqi refugee crisisbefore its too late. too late for people whose only crime was working with Americans. It is also clear that it is not just these Iraqis that we ought to be concerned about. If we cannot keep faith with refugees that the United States has a responsibility for. it sends a very unpleasant message about the reliability of working with us. and. sadly. it sows the seeds for additional instability in the region. With 1 million Iraqis in Jordan. it creates an untenable situation for the longterm stability of that country. I strongly urge passage of this bill. but I do hope that each of my colleagues will look at the comprehensive legislation that I introduced and determine what they are going to do to stop the fastestgrowing humanitarian crisis in the world today.