Speech by Rep.
Zoe Lofgren (D-California), June 9, 2006
Ms. ZOE
LOFGREN of California. Mr. Chairman, not only as the co-chair of the
Refugee Caucus, but as a member of the Immigration Border Security and
Claims Subcommittee, which has oversight over U.S. refugee programs,
I am a strong supporter and, indeed, cosponsor of this amendment.
Members have said they would like to give a message to Colombia. Well,
I would like to send a message to the refugees who are sitting in camps
in Darfur who have been notified that their pathetic rations have been
cut in half to the point where they do not have enough food to actually
survive. I would like to focus in on where the funds are going.
The ERMA account is authorized, has a permanent level of authorization
of $100 million. So this amendment, which would put ERMA at $60 million,
would only bring ERMA to 60 percent of the authorized level. It is worth
noting that we are at $24 million today in the ERMA account. That is
the lowest level at this point in the fiscal year over a decade, and
because a drawdown is in the works, our refugee program is going to
start the new fiscal year with close to zero funds.
It has been noted by others that the funds to Colombia are not being
slashed, they are being authorized at above what the President has requested.
But we need to take a look at what not funding refugee programs does
not only for the people who are suffering, but for stability in the
world.
We know if refugee situations completely get out of control, that we
create little pockets of instability around the world that can then
form areas where al Qaeda can move in and organize terrorist training
camps. So to form an argument that somehow funding our moral obligation
to the refugees of the world is also adverse to our security interests
is a false analysis.
I was struck about 2 years ago when the Darfur crisis really hit the
public consciousness. We had an ad hoc meeting, and it was liberals
and conservatives. And I thought this is a unique situation where Members
of this body who ordinarily do not agree on anything have come together
out of a sense of moral obligation to refugees around the world. I would
hope that that morality that led us to stand together facing the Darfur
situation will join us once again when this vote comes up, to take a
stand for morality and to help those who are helpless around the world
who are refugees that we, as moral people, owe a debt to.
As of June
13, 2006 this page was also available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r109:FLD001:H53648
