Madam President. I am so pleased that Chairman LEVIN included in the conference report a critical component of the original Iraq Refugee Crisis Act. which would defray the cost of transportation and provide prearrival admissions assistance and up to 8 months of postarrival resettlement assistance to those Iraqis who come here on Special Immigrant Visas or SIVs. SIV holders are those individuals whose lives may be in jeopardy because of their support for the American mission. My staff has learned that there is an effort by the administration to limit the scope of the assistance provided to these brave Iraqis. I know when Senator SMITH and I introduced similar language as an amendment to the fiscal year 2008 Labor. Health & Human Services. and Education appropriations bill. we certainly intended to provide Iraqi SIVs with the full array of benefits normally provided to refugees by the U.S. Government. the State Departments Bureau of Population. Refugees. and Migration as well as the Health and Human Services Departments Office of Refugee Resettlement. With this effort in mind. I want to be sure the conferees and the author of the Iraqi Refugee Crisis Act. the Senator from Massachusetts. had the same intent when including the provision in the conference report accompanying H.R. 1585. the Department of Defense authorization bill. I would also ask my colleague from Oregon if he agrees with me.
Keywords matched
Refugee refugees Visas Refugees Immigrant