Speech #1140050291

Mr. President. I am always a little more than awed and inspired to be here on the floor of the United States Senate. a place that my father never could have predicted that I would be when he came here in 1935. an immigrant. fleeing persecution in Germany at 17 years old with not much more than the shirt on his back. speaking no English. and knowing virtually no one. This country gave him a chance to succeed. This great country opened its arms to him. much as the Statue of Liberty did. when he entered this country through Ellis Island. We are a nation of immigrants and of refugees. It has given us strength. Our diversity is what makes America the greatest. strongest country in the history of the world. Sadly. the kind of displacement that caused him to come to this country is far from unprecedented. This country has opened its arms again and again and again. generation after generation. to provide for refugees displaced by war and oppression. Inhumane dictators. territorial disputes. environmental degradation. all are contributing now more than ever to the largest refugee crisis since World War II. We are going through a humanitarian crisis in this country. Part of it is due to the brutality and inhumanity of the Assad regime in Syria. the horrors unleashed by ISIL in Syria and Iraq. Neighboring countries have been overwhelmed by fleeing refugees. During my Middle East trip in July 2013 with Senator MCCAIN and others. I visited a refugee camp in Jordan that houses many of these refugees and. since my visit. the situation has only worsened significantly. Syria alone has produced an estimated 4 million registered refugeesthose are the individual ones countedin addition to the 7.6 million internally displaced people. Turkey bears the brunt of this refugee crisis. housing nearly 2 million of them. Lebanon shelters over 1.1 million refugees. while Jordan has taken 600.000 or more. and Egypt recently exceeded the 130.000 mark. These numbers are abstract. For every one of them. there is a human voice and a face. Many are children barely able to comprehend the fate that has befallen them. This year alone. Germany is expecting 800.000 asylum seekers. a marked increase from 626.000 in 2014 and 431.000 in 2013. Again. these numbers have impact on those countries. on their populations. We met this morning with the Ambassadors of the European countries to hear about that impact on them and about their plans to do even more. The Atlantic Ocean separates us from this crisis physically. but morally we have no separation at all. The destabilizing effect of that massive displacement ultimately affects us as well. our national security. and the stability of regions where we have a vital economic stake and a moral obligation. I strongly support a policy of American generosity and humanitarian relief toward those refugees seeking to escape the untenable and unlivable conditions in Syria and Iraq. Exactly what steps this Nation should take will be a matter of contention and continuing debate. but clearly. we have obligationsmoral obligations. selfinterested obligations. economic obligationsto the men. women. and children who have walked hundreds of miles in search of safety and security and to the countries currently searching for ways to accommodate them. Our obligation is multifaceted. First. we have provided $4 billion in aidwhich is real moneyto countries where those refugees now live temporarily in camps. But humanitarian aid is desperately needed in greater amounts and rising magnitude in countries where refugees are flowing fast. Regional countries. including Turkey and Jordan. as well as the European Union. must be able to provide refugee camps that provide basic necessities for people to live. with adequate food. water. shelter. clothing. education. and other elements of a safe and stable life for adults but also for children who can be seen running. laughing. playing in these camps in the most rudimentary of conditions. The United States must show international leadership as well in ensuring the availability of resources from other nations that. frankly. have failed to meet the test of moral and political obligation. Saudi Arabia is one.