|| LIRS || Washington Update -- March 2004

Washington Update
March 2004

Bush Administration Budget Proposal Underfunds Key Refugee Programs
By Lynette Engelhardt Stott, LIRS Director for Government Relations

Last month, the Bush administration released a budget proposal for fiscal year 2005 that provides only enough funding to admit an estimated 45,000 refugees in fiscal year 2005, and slashes spending for humanitarian assistance to refugees.

The administration says it remains committed to refugee protection, assistance and resettlement, yet in all three of these areas its budget proposal falls far short. The administration’s proposal underfunds the Department of State’s Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account by $197 million and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) account by $177 million.

These shortfalls come as humanitarian assistance and protection needs around the world are increasing and when the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is being called upon to strengthen its protection mandate. Underfunding programs that assist millions of refugees—the majority of whom are women and children—at this historic moment is unconscionable and fails to uphold America’s values of fairness, compassion and generosity.

Proposed funding shortfalls would hamper ORR in meeting its ever-expanding mandate, including the new duty of caring for the more than 6,000 unaccompanied children who come into federal custody each year.

The administration’s budget proposal is nonbinding, but sends a clear message to Congress about the president’s priorities. Over the next several months Congress will determine how much funding refugee programs receive as it drafts its own budget and provides funding through the annual appropriations process.

LIRS is urging Congress to make sufficient funding available to enable our country to resume its role as a compassionate leader in caring for people who have been persecuted because of their race, ethnicity, religion, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Specifically we urge Congress to fund 90,000 refugee admissions, restore our overseas assistance funding to historic levels and provide sufficient funding to ORR to allow it to meet all of its responsibilities.

Contact your senators and representative now and urge them to support U.S. assistance to refugees. To find contact information for your members of Congress, enter your ZIP code in the blue box in the right-hand column on this page. Let them know that the entire world looks to the United States for leadership on refugee assistance and protection. While there are numerous competing needs, the needs of the world’s refugees must be given high priority by the United States. Urge your members of Congress to support the following allocations:

at least $927 million for the Department of State’s Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account
at least $50 million for the Department of State’s Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account
at least $650 million for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) account

A sample letter (MS Word doc) is available to help you write your own. The delivery of mail to congressional offices remains suspended because of the Ricin incident earlier this year. However you can still e-mail or fax your members of Congress, or send your letters to our Washington, D.C., office and we will deliver them for you.

Your gift to help us continue our advocacy for vulnerable refugees would be greatly appreciated. Click on "Give Now!" in the red box in the right-hand column or mail your check to