|
|
MRS > Migration Policy and Public Affair Office > Action Alert: FY 2005 Budget: Office of Refugee Resettlement
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assists refugees and other special populations in obtaining economic and social self-sufficiency in the United States. ORR oversees several programs which assist refugees in integrating in the United States; provides aid to victims of torture and trafficking; and helps care for and place unaccompanied alien children in appropriate settings.
The Bush Administration has requested $473.2 million for ORR for FY 2005. This would include $399.2 million for refugee assistance, including transitional assistance and medical services; preventative health; targeted assistance grants; and social services. $54.2 million was allocated for unaccompanied alien minors and $10 million each for victims of torture and trafficking.
MRS/USCCB has requested $650 million for ORR, including $545 million for refugee assistance; $60 million for the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children; $25 million for victims of torture; and $20 million for trafficking victims.
Contact your representative/Senator and urge them to support $650 million for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the FY 2005 Labor and Health and Human Services appropriations bill. You can mail your letter to U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515 or U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. Fax numbers can be obtained by calling 202-224-3121 and asking for the office of your Senator/representative. Attached is a list of appropriation committee members and Labor-HHS subcommittee members. Below is a sample letter:
Dear Senator/Representative:
I write to ask for your support of an appropriation of $650 million for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the FY 2005 Labor-HHS appropriations bill. ORR provides assistance to refugees resettling in the United States, unaccompanied alien children, and victims of torture and trafficking.
The amount requested would provide refugees transitional assistance and medical services, preventative health services, and social services at a level sufficient to meet their needs. It also would provide the necessary funding to care for unaccompanied alien children who enter the United States, victims of torture, and victims of trafficking.
ORR serves extremely vulnerable groups who require care and assistance. Without appropriate funding, these vulnerable persons will be unable to access needed services to help them to integrate into their communities.
Sincerely,
Background
Senate Appropriations Committee (* member Foreign Operations subcommittee)
House Appropriations Committee (* Foreign Operations subcommittee member)
3211 4TH Street, NE Washington, DC 20017-1194
Tel: 202-541-5402 Fax: 202-722-8805
The Refugee Act of 1980 established the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services. ORR’s mission is to assist refugees and other special populations in obtaining economic and social self-sufficiency in the United States. ORR funds several programs that offer employment services, English language skills training, citizenship classes, cash and medical assistance, and aid for victims of torture and trafficking.
The Refugee Council USA is requesting a total of $650 million for FY2005, $ 176.8 million over the Administration’s request of $473.2 million.
|
RCUSA ($s in
millions) |
Administration |
Difference |
| A. Transitional Assistance and Medical Services |
$ 300 |
$ 193.6 |
+ $106.4 |
| B. Preventative Health |
$ 6.0 |
$ 4.8 |
+1.2 |
| C. Targeted Assistance Grants |
$ 52 |
$ 49.5 |
+2.5 |
| D. Refugee Social Services |
$ 187 |
$ 151.1 |
+ $ 35.9 |
| E. Children's services transferred from INS to
ORR through the Homeland Security Act of 2002 |
$ 60 |
$ 54.2 |
+ $ 5.8 |
| F. Torture Victims Programs |
$ 25 |
$ 10 |
+ $ 15 |
| G. Trafficking Victims Programs |
$ 20 |
$ 10 |
+ $ 10 |
| TOTAL |
$ 650 |
$ 473.2 |
+ $ 176.8 |
This line item funds the Matching Grant, Refugee Unaccompanied Minors, Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance, and State Formula Social Services Programs.
This program provides funds which are matched by private sector contributions of cash, goods, and volunteers which, together, help newly arriving refugees become self-sufficient without entering the welfare system. The Matching Grant program is subject to the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) and has had impressive self-sufficiency and job retention results nationwide. The program provides short-term cash assistance, intensive job development and employment services, and case management. Altogether, the Match Grant program will leverage more than $45 million in private sector contributions in support of refugee resettlement. Refugee Council USA recommends an allocation of $90 million for the Matching Grant program in order to serve 40,000 refugees, entrants and asylees during the fiscal year.
ORR funds foster care for unaccompanied refugee minors placed through a network of specialized refugee foster care programs. This is a hallmark of the U.S. resettlement program and an internationally recognized model of good practice with unaccompanied refugee children.
Refugee Social Services Program (RSSP) funds are allocated to States using a funding formula that takes into account, by state, the number of clients served over the previous three years. Each state designs its own refugee service delivery system that emphasizes job training and placement, English language acquisition, and citizenship services. States also use these funds to grant awards to direct service providers using a competitive bid process.
Refugee Council USA recommends that the Transitional and Medical Services line should be funded at $300 million.
The purpose of these grants is to provide services to refugees in counties where, because of factors such as high refugee concentration, there exists and can be demonstrated a specific need for supplementation of resources for services to this population. Targeted Assistance funds must be used to assist refugee families in achieving economic independence and are used primarily for job placement, job training, and employment retention services.
Refugee Council USA supports an allocation of $52 million in Targeted Assistance Grants.
Through this program, ORR ensures outreach and access for newly arrived refugees to health screenings. The cost of the actual refugee health screening is billed either to Medicaid or Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA), depending on eligibility and time of screening. In some areas, interpretation, follow-up, treatment, and informational services are also provided through the preventive health funds.
Refugee Council USA supports an allocation of $6.0 million for Preventative Health programs.
This line item funds discretionary programs such as Services for Refugees with Special Conditions, Unanticipated Arrivals programs, Preferred Communities programs, and Ethnic Community Capacity Development programs that provide assistance to Mutual Assistance Associations (MAAs). RCUSA recommends a $35.9 million increase for Social Services.
More than 25 percent of all refugees resettled in the United States have special needs. They include at-risk women and children, unaccompanied minors, amputees, and other victims of trauma. Groups of special interest to the United States, including the Sudanese “Lost Boys and Girls” and the Somali Bantu, also have special needs. The Refugee Council USA expects that the Somali Bantu refugees will be in need of program funding for specialized services, such as community orientation to the refugees and to the receiving communities, enhanced case management, and other intensive integration services.
In order for refugees to integrate successfully into their new communities, strong ethnic community self-help organizations, also known as Mutual Assistance Associations (MAAs), are needed. ORR provides capacity development funds for both national and local MAAs.
MAAs are grassroots, nonprofit organizations managed primarily by and for resettled refugees. They typically provide their constituents economic, cultural, and social adjustment services, education and English language training, community representation services, integration promoting services, leadership cultivation, and family-strengthening services including the promotion of positive communication between parents and children. MAAs have been instrumental in the widespread attainment of economic self-sufficiency and overall community health among resettled refugees.
Refugee Council USA recommends that the Social Services be increased from $153.1 million to $187 million.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) assigns to ORR some services to unaccompanied minors previously provided by the INS. In FY 2004, Congress appropriated approximately $54 million for this function, which provides appropriate shelter and care to these vulnerable children. ORR should require an additional $6 million in FY2005 to serve more children and to pay for medical care, transportation of children to areas where they are receiving needed services, services related to ensuring the attendance of children at INS proceedings, and services related to family reunification.
Refugee Council USA recommends an allocation of $60 million for unaccompanied alien minor services.
The Torture Victims Relief Act needs to be reauthorized in 2003. ORR is responsible for services to victims of torture as described in the section on Refugee and Entrant Assistance, Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services. The number of these programs in the United States have more than doubled since enactment of the Torture Victims Relief Act in 1998, however, many of these programs are under funded in relation to the demand for services. In addition, new funding would allow HHS to fund torture victim programs in several currently unfunded metropolitan areas, such as Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Cleveland, New Orleans, Houston, Hartford, and Seattle.
Refugee Council USA recommends that a line item of $25 million be made available for victims of torture.
ORR has a new mandate to serve victims of trafficking – men, women and children whose migration to the United States is the result of forced labor, involuntary participation in the sex industry, or some other industry. Increased funding is needed for services to victims or trafficking as well as for additional outreach, training, and research. With the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2003, which provides more mechanisms for the identification and referral of victims to services, ORR should serve a higher number of victims than in years past.
This new mandate deserves at least $20 million in a special line item to serve these at-risk populations and to ensure that steps are taken to deal with perpetrators of trafficking crimes.
| Republican Members |
Democratic Members |
| Ted Stevens, Alaska, Chairman |
Robert C. Byrd, W. Virginia, Ranking |
| Thad Cochran, Mississippi |
Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii |
| Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania |
Ernest F. Hollings, South Carolina |
| Pete V. Domenici, New Mexico |
Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont |
| Christopher S. Bond, Missouri |
Tom Harkin, Iowa |
| Mitch McConnell, Kentucky |
Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland |
| Conrad Burns, Montana |
Harry Reid, Nevada |
| Richard C. Shelby, Alabama |
Herb Kohl, Wisconsin |
| Judd Gregg, New Hampshire |
Patty Murray, Washington |
| Robert F. Bennett, Utah |
Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota |
| Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Colorado |
Dianne Feinstein, California |
| Larry Craig, Idaho |
Richard J. Durbin, Illinois |
| Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas |
Tim Johnson, South Dakota |
| Mike DeWine, Ohio |
Mary L. Landrieu, Louisiana |
| Sam Brownback, Kansas |
|
|
|
| Subcommittees |
Foreign Operations |
| Labor, HHS, Education |
Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Subcommittee
Chair
|
| Arlen Specter (R-PA), Subcommittee
Chairman |
Arlen Specter (R-PA |
| Thad Cochran (R-MS) |
Judd Gregg (R-NH) |
| Judd Gregg (R-NH) |
Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) |
| Larry Craig (R-ID) |
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT) |
| Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) |
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) |
| Ted Stevens (R-AK) |
Christopher S. Bond (R-MO) |
| Mike DeWine (R-OH) |
Mike DeWine (R-OH) |
| Richard Shelby (R-AL) |
Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), Ranking Minority
Member |
| Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Minority
Member |
Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) |
| Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC) |
Tom Harkin (D-IO) |
| Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) |
Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) |
| Harry Reid (D-NV) |
Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) |
| Herb Kohl (D-WI) |
Tim Johnson (D-SD) |
| Patty Murray (D-WA) |
Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) |
| Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) |
|
| Republican Members |
Democratic Members |
| C.W. Bill Young, FL, Chairman |
David R. Obey, WI, Ranking Member |
| Ralph Regula, OH |
John P. Murtha, PA |
| Jerry Lewis, CA |
Norman D. Dicks, WA |
| Harold Rogers, KY |
Martin Olav Sabo, MN |
| Frank R. Wolf, VA |
Steny H. Hoyer, MD |
| Jim Kolbe, AZ |
Alan B. Mollohan, WV |
| James Walsh, NY |
Marcy Kaptur, OH |
| Charles H. Taylor, NC |
Peter J. Visclosky, IN |
| David L. Hobson, OH |
Nita M. Lowey, NY |
| Ernest J. Instook, Jr., OK |
Jose E. Serrano, NY |
| Henry Bonilla, TX |
Rosa L. DeLauro, CT |
| Joe Knollenburg, MI |
James P. Morgan, VA |
| Jack Kingston, GA |
John W. Olver, MA |
| Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, NJ |
Ed Pastor, AZ |
| Roger F. Wicker, MS |
David E. Price, NC |
| George R. Nethercutt, Jr., WA |
Chet Edwards, TX |
| Randy "Duke" Cunningham, CA |
Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, Jr., AL |
| Todd Tiahrt, KS |
Patrick J. Kennedy, RI |
| Zach Wamp, TN |
James E. Clyburn, SC |
| Tom Latham, IA |
Maurice D. Hinchey, NY |
| Anne Northup, KY |
Lucille Roybal-Allard, CA |
| Robert Aderholt, AL |
Sam Farr, CA |
| Jo Ann Emerson, MO |
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., IL |
| Kay Granger, TX |
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, MI |
| John E. Peterson, PA |
Allen Boyd, FL |
| Virgil Goode, VA |
Chaka Fattah, PA |
| John Doolittle, CA |
Steven R. Rothman, NJ |
| Ray LaHood, IL |
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., GA |
| John Sweeney, NY |
Marion Berry, AR |
| David Vitter, LA |
|
| Don Sherwood, PA |
|
| Dave Weldon, FL |
|
| Michael K. Simpson, ID |
|
| John Abney Culberson, TX |
|
| Mark Steven Kirk, IL |
|
| Ander Crenshaw, FL |
|
Subcommittees
| Labor, HHS, Education, and Related
Agencies
|
Foreign Operations, Export Financing and
Related Programs
|
| Ralph Regula (R-OH), Chairman |
Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), Chairman |
| Ernest J. Istook, Jr., (R-OK) |
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) |
| Roger F. Wicker (R-MS) |
Jerry Lewis (R-CA) |
| Anne Northup (R-KY), Vice Chair |
Roger F. Wicker (R-MS) |
| Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) |
Henry Bonilla (R-TX) |
| Kay Granger (R-TX) |
David Vitter (R-LA) |
| John E. Peterson (R-PA) |
Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL) |
| Don Sherwood (R-PA) |
Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) |
| Dave Weldon (R-FL) |
Nita M. Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Member |
| Michael K. Simpson (R-ID) |
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) |
| David R. Obey (D-WI), Ranking Member |
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (D-MI) |
| Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) |
Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ) |
| Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) |
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) |
| Nita H. Lowey (D-NY) |
|
| Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) |
|
| Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) |
|
| Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) |
| |