Washington
Update
March 2003
Federal Budgeting Process
Provides Opportunity, Prompts Concern
By Lynette Engelhardt Stott, LIRS
Director for Government Relations
Nearly halfway through fiscal year 2003, which
began October 1, Congress has finally completed and sent to
the president an omnibus spending bill for most federal funding
for the year. President Bush signed the bill into law on February
20. Congress is expected to debate a supplemental spending bill
before the Easter recess, which begins April 14. While this
bill is expected to include additional funding for U.S. military
operations in Afghanistan and for an invasion of Iraq, it will
also provide an opportunity to seek any additional funding that
may be needed for refugee and immigration programs. We will
keep you informed of any action you can take to advocate for
additional funding for programs that support refugees and immigrants.
With the 2003 funding finalized, Congress
will now turn its attention to the fiscal year 2004 budget.
The first step in this process is always the release of the
president’s budget proposal, which occurred February 3.
LIRS and the other national resettlement agencies are concerned
with the president’s proposed 2004 funding levels for
refugee admissions and assistance. The budget would provide
$760.2 million for the Department of State’s Migration
and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account—nearly $22 million
less than the level President Bush just signed into law for
fiscal year 2003. This level is far short of what is needed
to maintain the United States’ role as a leader in refugee
protection, assistance and resettlement. The MRA account funds
overseas assistance to refugees in camps as well as refugee
admissions to the United States.
The 2004 presidential determination that sets
the allocations for refugee admissions for the year will not
be announced until sometime this fall. However, the White House’s
budget proposal for MRA imposes budget constraints on how many
refugees can be resettled in the United States for the fiscal
year. Using current cost estimates, the president’s budget
proposal would provide funding to resettle only 45,000 refugees
in fiscal year 2004.
Contact your senators and representatives
immediately and tell them that you are deeply concerned about
the government’s faltering commitment to the U.S. Refugee
Admissions Program. Urge them to push for higher funding levels,
and thus more resettled refugees, for refugee assistance in
the budget resolution that Congress will take up over the next
month. Stress that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is already
in crisis, with only 3,823 refugee arrivals in the first quarter
of fiscal 2003 out of the year’s allocation of 70,000.
Tell them that at this rate, even if admissions pick up significantly
as the year progresses, fewer than 30,000 refugees will be resettled
in the United States in 2003. Remind them that the United States
is a nation built by immigrants, that we have a proud tradition
of welcoming newcomers, and that America should have a refugee
admissions program as generous as her people. Ask them not only
to contact their party leadership in support of a generous U.S.
Refugee Admissions Program, but also to express concern with
the White House over the current admissions levels.
Instructions
and a sample letter are available for your convenience.
To find your elected officials’ contact information, enter
your ZIP code in the blue box at the top of the right-hand column
on this page. Don’t forget to give your name and address
when you call or write.
As always, if you have questions, please contact
me—lstott@lirs.org
or 202/626 7934!
Read
past Washington Updates.
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