May 16, 1975
Page 14840
Mr. SPARKMAN. Mr. President, hopefully, passage of the bill before the Senate, and the implementing appropriation bill will mark the end of the legislative path of our involvement n Indochina. For many years Congress’ actions relative to U.S. policy in Southeast Asia have been negative and restrictive, designed to curb the President's authority and, finally, to draw the purse strings against any further action there by U.S. Forces. The bill represents a positive step, a situation where the President and the Congress are working together to meet the last remaining commitment – if I may use that much abused word – our Nation incurred in that conflict.
In the last days before the fall of South Vietnam, tens of thousands of Vietnamese, including relatives and friends of Americans, employees of U.S. agencies, and others associated with U.S. interests, fled their homeland in fear of their lives. Whether those fears were well founded remains to be seen but, nevertheless, they were real. The United States encouraged and facilitated this mass movement. As of today, some 127,000 refugees from Indochina have placed themselves in the hands of the United States.
This bill will authorize the funds needed to help them resettle into new lives.
One of the great strengths of our country is the diversity of its people. We are a nation of immigrants and refugees. It is fitting that Congress is considering refugee assistance as we approach the bicentennial of our Nation's birth. Help to those who fled from Indochina is in the finest tradition of America. I can think of no better way for Americans to reaffirm what this country stands for than to give them a warm and friendly welcome.
Last Thursday, by a vote of 91 to 1, the Senate passed a resolution, which I quote:
Be it resolved that the senate reaffirms that the Statue of Liberty is, as Emma Lazarus called her, the Mother of Exiles; that the Senate reaffirms that the lesson of the parable of the Good Samaritan lives on in the minds and hearts of the American people and is a part of their character; and that the Senate welcomes warmly the latest exiles to our shares – the refugees from South Vietnam and Cambodia.
S. 1661 will implement the sentiment of that resolution. Let me summarize the provisions of the bill.
It would authorize the appropriation of $405,000,000 for refugee relief and resettlement. The committee expects that additional funds will be requested for the 1977 fiscal year.
The President is directed to retrieve any foreign aid funds in the pipeline for South Vietnam and Cambodia. If these funds are used for refugee purposes, the amount must be deducted from the overall $405,000,000 authorization. If not used for refugee purposes, they are to be returned to the Treasury. This provision is consistent with the thrust of Senator HATFIELD's bill, passed by the Senate last Thursday. Later, I will propose an amendment to update this provision.
Assistance would be provided under the statutory framework of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962.
The programs authorized would include such activities as transportation of refugees to reception centers in the United States; care of refugees n the reception centers; onward transportation to areas in the United States for resettlement; vocational training, reimbursement to State and local governments for services performed in behalf of refugees; and return transportation for those who wish to return to their homeland.
The President must keep Congress fully and currently informed concerning the refugee program.
The President requested an open-ended authorization and the appropriation of $507 million to cover costs for an estimated 150,000 refugees for the next 14 months. The committee approved an authorization of $405 million, a reduction of $102 million in the appropriation request. There was a strong feeling among the members that the cost estimates, particularly those for reimbursement to the Defense Department, were inflated and doubts that the total number of refugees is not likely to reach 150,000, the figure on which the administration's cost estimates were based.
Additional funds are likely to be required to cover the final stages of the program, which expires on September 30 1977. The committee will give careful consideration to any request that may
be submitted by the President next year The success of the resettlement of the Indochinese refugees depends in large measure on the voluntary agencies, not the U.S. Government. They are the key to the resettlement effort. The committee expects that Government officials will
render all possible assistance to these agencies. The committee will monitor the program closely to insure that this is done.
The President has called for speedy action by Congress on this legislation Executive branch witnesses told the committee that there are no funds available to help expand the work of the voluntary agencies and, that, as a consequence, bottlenecks are developing in the processing centers.
Costs of the evacuation of the Vietnamese and initial care to date have been met thus far by using $98 million in funds previously appropriated for economic aid to Indochina. Those funds are
now either exhausted or nearly exhausted, much for reimbursement to the Department of Defense. But of critical importance is the fact that these funds are not available to pay for the services of voluntary agencies in resettling the refugees outside of the processing enters.
The use of these funds is controlled by the legal parameters of the Foreign Assistance Act. It would be a gross distortion of that Act to use foreign aid funds for resettling refugees in the United States. Refugee relief and resettlement comes under the framework. of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act and the funds authorized by this bill are essential to implementing programs for the refugees from Indochina. Until new funds are provided, the bottlenecks in the processing centers will stagnate the refugee flow.
The committee is impressed with the need for urgent consideration of the authorization and appropriation bills. As a consequence, it has brought this bill to the Senate floor without the detailed examination it normally gives to a bill involving such a large sum of the taxpayers' money. But the urgency of the funding problem, coupled with the lack of hard information due to the incomplete picture of the dimensions of the problem, have persuaded the committee to temper its traditional caution with a liberal dose of humanity.
I cannot assure the Senate that a few persons with unsavory backgrounds may not slip in with those who are truly deserving our sanctuary. There is no practical way to avoid this possibility. It is a part of the price to be paid for offering asylum. But we must assume that the immigration officials will, in cooperation with our intelligence agencies, do everything reasonable to minimize problems of this nature.
I might add there, Mr. President, that we have had assurance from the immigration service that every effort will be made to take care of this problem.
Mr. President, this bill is in keeping with the best traditions of America. Americans are a warm and generous people who have traditionally responded with open hearts to those who have fled from oppression abroad. Since World War II, the United States has welcomed more than 1.3 million refugees, including 675,000 Cubans and 31,000 Hungarians. Each year some 400,000 immigrants join our melting pot society to add to the richness of our culture.
The Vietnamese and the handful of Cambodians who may join our people will constitute only about one-sixteenth of 1 percent of our Nation's population, hardly a ripple on this vast and diverse pond of Americans.
I hope that the Senate will give this bill an overwhelming vote of approval.
I ask unanimous consent, Mr. President, to have printed in the RECORD at this point a copy of the text of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, excerpts from the committee report, certain tables concerning cost estimates for the refugee program, and a letter received by the committee signed by 28 Members of the Senate supporting assistance for the refugees.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
MIGRATION AND REFUGEE ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1962, AS AMENDED
(Public Law 87-510 [H.R. 8291], 76 Stat. 121; 22 U.S.C. 2601, approved June 28; 1962, as amended by Public Law 88-634 [H.R. 11812;, 78 Scat. 1021, approved Oct. 7, 1964)
An act to enable the United States to participate in the assistance rendered to certain migrants and refugees.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962."
SEC. 2. (a) The President is hereby authorized to continue membership for the United States in the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration in accordance with its constitution approved in Venice, Italy, on October 19, 1953. For the purpose of assisting in the movement of refugees and migrants and to enhance the economic progress of the developing countries by providing for a coordinated supply of selected manpower, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary from time to time for the payment by the United States or its contributions to the Committee and all necessary salaries and expenses incidental to United States participation in the Committee.
(b) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary from time to time–
(1) for contributions to the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for assistance to refugees under his mandate or in behalf of whom he is exercising his good offices;
(2) for assistance to or in behalf of refugees designated by the President (by class, group, or designation of their respective countries of origin or areas of residence) when the President determines that such assistance will contribute to the defense, or to the security, or to the foreign policy interests of the United States;
(3) for assistance to or in behalf of refugees in the United States whenever the President shall determine that such assistance would be in the interest of the United States: Provided, That the term "refugees" as herein used means aliens who (A) because of persecution or fear of persecution on account of race, religion, or political opinion, fled from a nation or area of the Western Hemisphere; (B) cannot return thereto because of fear of persecution on account of race, religion, or political opinion; and (C) are in urgent need of assistance of the essentials of life;
(4) for assistance to State or local public agencies providing services for substantial numbers of individuals who meet the requirement of subparagraph (3) (other than clause (C) thereof) for (A) health services and educational services to such individuals, and (B) special training for employment and services related thereto;
(5) for transportation to, and resettlement in, other areas of the United States of individuals who meet the requirements of subparagraph (3) (other than clause (C) thereof) and who, having regard for their income and other resources, need assistance in obtaining such services; and
(6) for establishment and maintenance of projects for employment or refresher professional training of individuals who meet the requirements of subparagraph (3) (other than clause (C) thereof) and, who, having regard for their income and resources, need such employment or need assistance in obtaining such retraining.
(c) Whenever the President determines it to be important to the national interest, not exceeding $10,000,000 in any fiscal year of the funds made available for use under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, may be transferred to, and consolidated with, funds made available for this Act in order to meet unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs.
(d) The President shall keep the appropriate committees of Congress currently informed of the use of funds and the exercise of functions authorized in this Act.
(e) Unexpected balances of funds made available under authority of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, and of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended and allocated or transferred for the purposes of sections 405(a), 405(c), 405(d) and 451 (c) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, are hereby authorized to be continued available for the purposes of this section and may be consolidated with appropriations authorized by this section.
SEC. 3. (a) In carrying out the purpose of this Act, the President is authorized–
(1) to make loans, advances, and grants to, make and perform agreements and contracts with, or enter into other transactions with, any individual, corporation, or other body of persons, government or government agency, whether within or without the United States, and international and intergovernmental organizations;
(2) to accept and use money, funds, property, and services of any kind made available by gift, devise, bequest, grant, or otherwise for such purposes.
(b) Whenever the President determines it to be in furtherance of the purposes of this Act, the functions authorized under this Act may be performed without regard to such provisions of law (other than the Renegotiation Act of 1951 (65 Stat. 7) ), as amended, regulating the making, performance, amendment, or modification of contracts and the expenditure of funds. of the United States Government as the President may specify.
SEC. 4. (a) (1) The President is authorized to designate the head of any department or agency of the United States Government, or any official thereof who is required to be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to perform any functions conferred upon the President by this Act. If the President shall so specify, any individual so designated under this subsection is authorized to redelegate to any of his subordinates any functions authorized to be performed by him under this subsection, except the function of exercising the waiver authority specified in section 3(b) of this Act.
(2) Section 104(b) of the Immigration. and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 2104(b)), is amended by inserting after the first sentence the following: "He shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate."
(b) The President may allocate or transfer to any agency of the United States Government any part of any funds available for carrying out the purposes of this Act. Such funds shall be available for obligation and expenditure for the purposes for which authorized in accordance with authority granted in this Act or under authority governing the activities of the agencies of the United States Government to which such funds are allocated or transferred. Funds allocated or transferred pursuant to this subsection to any such agency may be established in separate appropriation accounts on the books of the Treasury.
SEC. 5. (a) Funds made available for the purposes of this Act shall be available for–
(1) compensation, allowances; and travel of personnel, including Foreign Service personnel whose services are utilized primarily for the purpose of this Act, and without regard to the provisions of any other law, for printing and binding, and for expenditures outside the United States for the procurement of supplies and services and for other administrative and operating purposes (other than compensation of personnel) without regard to such laws and regulations governing the obligation and expenditure of Government funds as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act;
(2) Employment or assignment of Foreign Service Reserve officers for the duration of operations under this Act;
(3) Exchange of funds without regard to section 3651 of the Revised Status (31 U.S.C. 543), and loss by exchanges;
(4) Expenses authorized by the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), not otherwise provided for;
(5) Expenses authorized by the Act of August I, 1956 (70 Sta.. 890-892), as amended; and
(6) All other expenses determined by the President to be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(b) Except as may be expressly provided to the contrary in this Act, all determinations, authorizations, regulations, orders, contracts, agreements and other actions issued, undertaken, or entered into under authority of any provision of law repealed by this Act shall continue in full force and effect until modified, revoked, or superseded under the authority of this Act..
SEC. 6. Subsections (a), (c) and (d) of section 405 of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, subsection (c) of Section 451 of the said Act, and the last sentence of section 2(a) of the Act of July 14, 1960 (74 Stat. 501), are hereby repealed.
SEC. 7. Until the enactment of legislation appropriating funds for activities under this Act, such activities may be conducted with funds made available under section 451(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.
INDOCHINA MIGRATION AND REFUGEE ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1975
May 12 (legislative day, April 21) 1975.Ordered to be printed.
Mr. Sparkman, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, Submitted the following report [to accompany S. 1061].
COMMITTEE COMMENTS
American military involvement in South Vietnam and Cambodia has now ended. The committee hopes that the divisiveness created by this long and tortuous involvement will also be ended and that Americans will unite in opening their arms and their hearts to the refugees who fled from South Vietnam and Cambodia in fear of their safety.
One of the great strengths of this country is the diversity of its people. It is a nation of refugees. It is fitting that Congress is considering legislation to assist refugees in resettling in the United States as we approach the bicentennial off our nation's birth. Help to those who fled from Indochina is in the finest tradition of America. There is no better way for Americans to reaffirm what this country stands for than to give them a warm and friendly welcome.
On May 8 by a vote of 91 to 1, the, Senate adopted the following resolution:
[S. Res. 148, 94th Cong., 1st Sess.)
RESOLUTION: TO WELCOME THE LATEST REFUGEES TO OUR SHORES
Whereas ours is a Nation of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, many of whom fled from tyranny and bloodshed in their native lands where they were scorned, hated and hunted; and
Whereas they came here because they know they could find in America safety, freedom and opportunity; and
Whereas they found all those things and more, for they also found America to be a land of compassion as well as affluence, magnanimity as well as wealth; and
Whereas Americans welcomed these fellow, less-fortunate human beings not only for their sake but for our own, knowing that they strengthened our national vitality, constantly renewing the diversity and richness of our lives and the pluralism and dynamism of our society; and
Whereas this periodic influx of refugees and exiles can serve to keep us humble, saving us from the sins of arrogance, pride and self-righteousness by reminding us of our origins, of the misery that abounds elsewhere in the world, and of the destiny that may also befall us should we betray our heritage: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate reaffirms that the Statute of Liberty is, as Emma Lazarus called her, the Mother of Exiles; that the Senate reaffirms that the lesson of the parable of the Good Samaritan lives on in the minds and hearts of the American people and is a part of their character; and that the Senate welcomes warmly the latest exiles to our shores – the refugees from South Vietnam and Cambodia.
The purpose of S. 1661 is to implement in practical terms the sentiments expressed in that resolution.
As of May 12, approximately 115,000 refugees from Indochina are under United States protection, all but about 1,000 – 1,200 of them Vietnamese. Executive Branch officials estimate that a total of 130,000 will eventually be brought to the United States and an additional 10,000 – 15,000 refugees will be settled in third countries. Of the refugees in U.S. control, 60,935 remain afloat on vessels or are at Pacific restaging sites such as Guam and Wake Island. Some 54,300 have arrived in the continental United States and of this number nearly 15,000 have been processed and released under private American sponsorship. The remainder are in processing centers in California, Arkansas, and Florida.
The transportation and initial care of the refugees under United States protection have been provided by the Department of Defense at the request of the President's specially designated Task Force. Initial costs of the evacuation and basic needs of the refugees have been met by use of $98,000,000 in funds originally provided for economic aid to Indochina. Those funds have been used to reimburse the Department of Defense for sea lift and airlift and basic facilities at the staging and processing areas.
The only other funds available for assistance to the Indochinese refugees under existing law are those which have been made available under the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, as amended.
The Department of State/USIA Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1975 (Public Law 93-475) authorized the appropriation of $9,420,000 for all migration and refugee programs of the Department of State for the current fiscal year. An appropriation of $8,420,000 under this authorization was contained in the Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriation Act, 1975 .(Public Law 94-11). In addition, $10 million in funds made available under the Foreign Assistance Act has been transferred to the Migration and Refugee Assistance account as authorized by section 2(c) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2601). All except $5 million of the funds thus appropriated or transferred were committed to existing refugee programs prior to the evacuations from Cambodia and South Vietnam.
Executive Branch witnesses stress that there are no additional funds available under existing law for meeting essential refugee needs. The problem is especially acute, the Committee was told, because no funds are available to finance resettlement efforts by the voluntary agencies and, as a consequence, bottlenecks are being encountered in moving refugees out of the processing centers.
The principal responsibility for resettlement lies with the following nine voluntary agencies: U.S. Catholic Conference, American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees, Church World Service, Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service, United HIAS Service, Inc., Tolstoy Foundation, Inc., International Rescue Committee, American Council for Nationalities Service, Traveler's Aid-International Social Services. Voluntary agencies have assisted in the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of refugees over the past thirty years. Basically, the voluntary agencies which are represented in the three reception centers identify sponsors, geographically distributed across the country.
The Committee was assured that voluntary agencies, working together with the Department of State and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare will make every effort to disperse refugees throughout the United States. Sponsors for refugees include individuals, families, parishes and community organizations. These sponsors assume a moral obligation to receive the refugees and their families and to find housing, employment, and educational opportunities for them.
In addition to the need for authorization of additional appropriations, new authority is required to provide assistance with respect to refugees who have entered the United States.
The authority of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act for certain assistance to or in behalf of refugees located in the United States is applicable only to those refugees who have fled from a nation or area in the Western Hemisphere. An extension of the authorities contained in the 1962 Act to refugees from Indochina is necessary in order to permit assistance to state and local public agencies providing services to substantial numbers of refugees, for transportation to and resettlement in other areas of the United States of refugees presently at reception centers, and for vocational training to facilitate the assimilation of the refugees in the United States into our society.
S. 1661 meets the need for additional authorization of appropriations and substantive authority by authorizing the appropriation of funds for a temporary program of relief and resettlement of Indochinese refugees under the authorities contained in the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962.
The Committee has recommended an authorization of $405,000,000 to be available until the refugee assistance program terminates on September 30, 1977. It is anticipated that additional funds will be required for FY 1977. The Committee has also authorized use for refugee relief purposes of any funds which may be recovered from amounts previously appropriated for foreign assistance to South Vietnam and Cambodia. Any amounts retrieved from the old assistance programs must either be deducted from the overall amount authorized for refugee assistance or returned to the Treasury. The Committee's action is in line with the policy incorporated in S. 1696, a bill to authorize amounts available but not committed for military assistance to South Vietnam and Cambodia to be used for humanitarian assistance for refugees from South Vietnam and Cambodia, passed by the Senate on May 8.
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE,
Washington, D.C.,
May 9, 1975.
Hon. JOHN J. SPARKMAN,
Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Dirksen Senate Office Building.
DEAR Mr.. CHAIRMAN: Within the next few days the Committees on. Appropriations and Foreign Relations will be considering the question of aid for refugees of the Vietnam war.
We feel it is unfortunate that the climate for consideration of this important issue is being shaped by the fears of some who are exaggerating the costs and ignoring the responsibilities of the United States in providing help to the victims of the war.
We believe and think that the President is right in asserting that the overwhelming majority of Americans feel an obligation toward those who have been forced to flee their homes, in many cases because of their loyalty toward the United States.
It would be a tragedy if our response to the plight of the refugees was determined by a few vocal opponents while the majority remained silent in their support for the refugees. In the eyes of other nations, we might be wrongly perceived as a people who were unwilling to make even this small sacrifice to help our friends.
We recognize that the Committee will want to carefully examine the dollar amount that has been requested by the White House. There may be other problems associated with resettlement, including the necessity of assuring that no undue burdens are placed on individual states and communities. Many Governors and local officials have already contacted the White House to express their willingness to cooperate in placement efforts.
Furthermore, a maximum effort should be made by our government to enlist the help of other countries in providing aid and asylum to refugees who would be willing to live elsewhere.
Nevertheless, these problems should not be permitted to obscure the larger issue of whether the United States is prepared to act with the same generosity and goodwill we have always shown toward those seeking freedom from oppression. To do less would be to underestimate the strength and character of the American people and to dishonor the highest traditions of our nation.
We are confident that when faced with this choice, the Senate will overwhelmingly approve the legislation necessary to find homes, jobs and a fresh start for those whose lives have been shattered by the fall of South Vietnam. We urge your full support in this effort.
Sincerely,
Walter F. Mondale, Philip A. Hart, Robert B. Morgan, Bob Packwood, Adlai E. Stevenson, John. C. Culver, Thomas J. McIntyre, Hiram L. Fong, Dale Bumpers, Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., William. V. Roth, Jr., Dick Clark, Abraham A. Ribicoff, Patrick J. Leahy. Henry M. Jackson, William D. Hathaway, Daniel H. Inouye, E. J. Jake Garn, John V. Tunney, Carl Curtis, James L. Buckley. Hubert H. Humphrey, Gaylord Nelson, Edmund S. Muskie, Dewey F. Bartlett, Alan Cranston, Robert T.Stafford, Gale McGee.