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Thus, the assistance portion of our refugee program is of great importance. I am pleased to say that, with the support and cooperation of the Congress, we have steadily increased the resources going to meet these basic needs even as we have reduced

through various streamlining measures

-

the costs

of our admissions program. In fiscal year 1991, our refugee assistance budget, including drawdowns from the President's Emergency Refugee and Migration account, increased by

$90 million over fiscal year 1990. In fiscal year 1992, we expect a further increase, especially in the basic support programs and for repatriation of refugees to their respective homelands. Recent history has certainly taught us that wars, aggression, and persecution will continue to produce new refugees, and that we must be prepared to assist in meeting their basic needs.

One year ago, when I appeared before this Committee to review with you the President's fiscal year 1991 refugee program, foremost on our minds was Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. It was not then possible to predict what the next few months would hold and how that conflict would be manifested in refugee movements and humanitarian assistance needs. In the first ten weeks of that conflict, more than one million people of numerous nationalities fled Iraq and Kuwait. A truly extraordinary international effort was mobilized to ensure the

6

physical well-being of these people and to arrange repatriation However, this was not the end.

to their home countries.

In March, one month after the war ended, nearly two million

minorities

Kurds, Shias, Turkomens, Assyrians, and other

-

fled Saddam Hussein's repression in a matter of weeks. Both their sheer numbers and the compressed time frame of this massive movement stunned the world.

Only the unprecedented action of President Bush to

The

authorize the Department of Defense to perform critical relief, supply, and transportation functions averted catastrophe. U.S. military and our coalition partners performed this humanitarian relief effort brilliantly until overall coordination could be transferred to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I should add, however, that the

total U.S. expenditure on the Iraqi refugee crisis may exceed $600 million.

Out of that experience, we are developing ways to improve greatly the United Nations' capacity to respond to such situations so that such unilateral action is not required. We expect that several proposals along these lines will be discussed in the UN General Assembly. We will participate actively to see that the most promising proposals are approved

Emigration from the Soviet Union

Recent developments in the Soviet Union, specifically with regard to emigration, have had a direct impact on the U.S. refugee admissions program that we are considering here today.

In May of this year, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR passed far-reaching emigration legislation which we expect to be followed by new, less burdensome exit procedures. We continue to monitor implementation of this legislation at union and republic levels. We have received a few disquieting reports recently that some local emigration authorities are reverting to the restrictive practices which pertained prior to implementation of the new law. Embassy Moscow is investigating these reports. If such a trend develops as republics take over more responsibility for emigration from the central government, it will adversely affect U.S. relations with those republics that follow such restrictive practices. Secretary Baker made clear during his recent visit to Moscow that the United States will expect CSCE human rights standards to prevail in the republics and at the union level, regardless of the final shape of the new union structure agreed upon by the Soviet peoples.

The dramatic events in the USSR since the failed coup have not impeded Soviet emigration to the United States.

Indeed,

8

the number of refugees departing the Soviet Union for the United States rose during the past few weeks with almost no

complications.

With regard to emigration to the United States, we intend in fiscal year 1992 to address the backlog which developed in fiscal year 1991 prior to the passage of the Soviet emigration Many individuals approved by INS for U.S.

legislation.

admission were unable to depart due to their inability to obtain Soviet exit permission.

We hope that implementation of

the new Soviet law will solve this problem. We have been encouraged by the steady rise in the numbers of persons departing since July 1. The President's proposal, therefore, is to add the fiscal 1991 Soviet shortfall to the 50,000 admissions which had been planned for in the President's budget request for next year. I am pleased to report that in recent weeks many more Soviet refugees than expected have travelled to the United States and we will be reducing the fiscal year 1991 shortfall from 13,000 as earlier estimated in the

President's proposal

-

to 11,000. We are optimistic, from

action taken so far by the authorization and appropriations committees, that the necessary funds will be available.

Refugee Admissions from Vietnam

In addition to the impact of developments in the Soviet

9

report to the Committee on the situation in Southeast Asia.

Unfortunately, because Vietnam has thus far retained its

communist regime, thousands of people continue to leave due to current or past persecution.

More than two years have passed since I led our delegation to the Geneva conference at which more than 50 countries

adopted an agreement

the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA)

designed to resolve the many issues surrounding Vietnamese asylum seekers in Southeast Asia. For the most part, the CPA has worked remarkably well.

Except in Hong Kong, new boat

arrivals are a fraction of what they were a year ago. In most

countries, first asylum has been maintained and progress in screening continues.

However, we remain distressed by

Malaysian pushoffs, and we are concerned with the slow progress in addressing the needs of unaccompanied minors.

The United States continues to oppose involuntary repatriation to Vietnam. We firmly believe that efforts are better focused on increasing the pace of voluntary returns, which has shown hopeful signs in recent months. Voluntary repatriation is critical, because the screened-out will not be offered resettlement.

Resettlement of persons approved as refugees continues as a central element of the CPA. For the United States, our fiscal