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budget. Put most bluntly, the cumulative effect of these reductions will be devastating on our ability to meet our responsibilities and commitments.
Today is not the day to discuss our overall foreign affairs budget in any great detail. But it is essential that we all recognize that the lack of the resources necessary to support constructive American leadership in the international community will inevitably have a negative impact on the management of global refugee problems.
Proposed FY 1987 Admissions
Mr. Chairman, it is with this perspective that I now turn to the refugee admissions ceilings that the president is recommending for Fiscal Year 1987. For simplicity I will present them in tabular form, as follows:
FY 1987 REFUGEE ADMISSIONS CEILING
Region
Africa
Admission by Region
3,500
+500
East Asia/First Asylum
32,000
5000
East Asia/Orderly
Departure Program
8,500
Eastern Europe/Soviet Union
10,000
+500
Latin America and the Caribbean
4,000
+1000
Near East and South Asia
8,000
+2000
Subtotal
66,000
60000
-1000
Unallocated Reserve for Refugee
Admissions Needs
4,000
TOTAL
70,000
I should point out that this total is the same figure that the administration proposed for FY 1986.
The Unallocated Admissions Reserve
This year, for the first time, the president's recommended admissions ceiling includes an unfunded and unallocated reserve of 4,000. This reserve is not tied to any geographic region it would give the administration the capability to respond to contingent regional admissions needs. The reserve is similar to the admissions reserves used by the other two major resettlement countries, Canada and Australia. Should it be necessary to use the admissions reserve, we would cover the associated costs within existing agency budget requests, and would inform the Congress as to the reserve's allocation.
In addition, given the difficult fiscal situation we are facing, we will be undertaking a study to explore the possibility of a private sector funded admissions program.
EAST ASIA ADMISSIONS
Indochinese Refugee Panel Report
A year ago I informed the committee of my intention to commission a distinguished independent panel to visit Southeast Asia with a broad mandate to assess the refugee situation and to make recommendations on necessary changes in U.S. policy. I am pleased to report that the panel carried out its mission with great compassion, skill, and judgment. It was chaired by the Honorable Robert D. Ray, the former governor of Iowa, a state that achieved an admirable record in refugee resettlement under Governor Ray's leadership. Other members of the panel were Mrs. Irena Kirkland, former Senator and Ambassador Gale McGee, the former Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. Edward Schmults, and Jonathan Moore, who has just ended his leadership of the Institute of Politics at Harvard to join us as the new U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs.
a
The panel's report is a comprehensive document, with some 44 specific recommendations. One of its main points is that U.S. admissions for Indochinese should move forward along two tracks: refugee program for those continuing to flee the Indochinese states to escape persecution; and an immigration program for those seeking to come to the United States on the basis of their family relationships Close to 800,000 Indochinese have come to the United States as
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