91ST CONGRESS 1st Session } SENATE { REPORT No. 91-472 AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES BY THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY FOR A STUDY OF MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE PROBLEMS CREATED BY THE FLOW OF REFUGEES AND ESCAPEES OCTOBER 15, 1969.-Ordered to be printed Mr. JORDAN of North Carolina, from the Committee on Rules and Administration, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. Res. 242] The Committee on Rules and Administration, to which was referred the resolution (S. Res. 242) authorizing additional expenditures by the Committee on the Judiciary for a study of matters pertaining to the problems created by the flow of refugees and escapees, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the resolution as amended be agreed to. Senate Resolution 242 as referred would increase by $9,000, from $100,000 to $109,000, the limitation on expenditures by the Committee on the Judiciary for the study of matters pertaining to the problems created by the flow of refugees and escapees it is currently engaged in pursuant to Senate Resolution 50 of the present Congress. Senate Resolution 50 as agreed to by the Senate on February 17, 1969, authorized the Committee on the Judiciary, or any duly authorized subcommittee thereof, to expend not to exceed $100,000 from February 1, 1969, through January 31, 1970, to examine, investigate, and make a complete study of any and all matters pertaining to the problems created by the flow of refugees and escapees. The additional funds which would be authorized by Senate Resolution 242 are requested by the Committee on the Judiciary to enable it to extend to its subcommittee employees the benefits of the salary increase effective July 1, 1969. The Committee on Rules and Administration is reporting Senate Resolution 242 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. This action is taken by the committee upon the advice of the Parlia mentarian of the Senate, who has recommended that this new format be employed for a resolution to increase the limitation of expenditures by a Senate committee for an inquiry or investigation authorized by a prior Senate resolution. The committee has also amended the title of Senate Resolution 242 to conform to the amended text. The purposes of Senate Resolution 242 are more fully detailed in a letter from Senator Edward M. Kennedy, chairman of the Subcommittee on Refugees and Escapees, to Senator James O. Eastland, chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, which letter and letter of transmittal from Senator Eastland to Senator B. Everett Jordan, chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration, are as follows: U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, D.C., August 15, 1969. Hon. B. EVERETT JORDAN, Chairman, Committee on Rules and Administration, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I am enclosing a request for a supplemental appropriation for the Subcommittee on Refugees and Escapees in the amount of $9,000 which has been approved by the Committee on the Judiciary. This sum is needed to cover the legislative pay increases which went into effect July 1, 1969, and for which no funds are available within present appropriation. With kind regards, I remain, JAMES O. EASTLAND, Chairman. U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE PROBLEMS CONNECTED WITH REFUGEES AND ESCAPEES, Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND, Washington, D.C., August 1, 1969. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: On January 15, 1969, I submitted a review of the Subcommittee on Refugees and Escapees together with a requested budget resolution of $109,227. Although the request was approved by the Committee on the Judiciary, it was cut to $100,000 by the Committee on Rules and Administration. I would like at this time to request an additional $9,000 provided for in the original budget request in order to cover the legislative pay increase which went into effect on July 1, 1969, and for which no funds are available within our present appropriation. With best wishes, and thanks for your consideration of this request. Sincerely, EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Chairman, Subcommittee on Refugees and Escapees. S. Rept. 91-472 An additional letter in support of Senate Resolution 242 addressed to Chairman Jordan by Senator Kennedy is as follows: U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE PROBLEMS Hon. B. EVERETT JORDAN, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1969. Chairman, Committee on Rules and Administration, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In response to your letter of September 19, I am happy to submit the following information to assist the committee consideration of the supplemental appropriation of $9,000 requested by the Judiciary Subcommittee on Refugees and Escapees in Senate Resolution 242. The subcommittee's initial request in January for operating expenses during the current fiscal year amounted to $109,227. As I suggested at the time, although the request reflected the anticipated legislative pay increase authorized by the Congress, it was, in the main, consistent with the subcommittee's resolutions of recent years. However, the authorizing resolution (S. Res. 50), as amended by the Committee on Rules and Administration and agreed to by the Senate, decreased the subcommittee's authorization to $100,000. And over the past several months the subcommittee has made every effort to operate within the amended authorization. In addition to curtailing expenditures for such items as travel and long-distance telephone calls, the subcommittee dropped a longstanding professional staff position and Senator Hiram Fong was kind enough to withdraw his request for an additional staff secretary to assist the minority counsel. Moreover, the number of hearings and field investigations projected for the early months of this year were sharply curtailed, including an intensive and needed inquiry into the Cuban refugee program administered by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. So far this year the subcommittee has held only 3 days of hearings-2 days on the continuing problem of displaced persons in South Vietnam, and only 1 day on the humanitarian emergency produced by the Nigerian civil war. This number of hearings, incidently, is considerably less than the number customarily conducted by the subcommittee in recent years. As of September, the subcommittee had expended approximately $53,000 of the $100,000 authorized in Senate Resolution 50. This leaves a balance of some $47,000 for the remaining months of the current fiscal year which ends on June 31, 1970. Salaries for eight staff members total some $8,000 per month. The eight staff members include a majority counsel, a minority counsel, four secretaries, and two part-time file clerks. The cumulative total of staff salaries for the remaining months of the fiscal year, including the current month of September, will thus be approximately $40,000, which leaves a balance of some $7,000 for normal administrative costs, including additional hearings on South Vietnam and the Nigerian civil war. Another area of immediate concern to the S. Rept. 91-472 subcommittee which may warrant hearings as well, is the growing number of refugees fleeing Czechoslovakia and other countries in Eastern Europe. The pending request for the supplemental authorization of $9,000 was stimulated primarily because of the increased expenditures re sulting from the legislative pay increase, and was directed toward pursuing the projected inquiry and field investigation of the Cuban refugee problem, which would require temporary additions of one staff member to assist the effort. I had also hoped that Senator Fong's request for a minority secretary could be met. Given the short time remaining in the current fiscal year, however, and the subcommittee's other responsibilities, I feel it will be difficult to pursue the Cuban inquiry in the immediate future, and therefore pursue I am recommending to the committee that the pending request of $9,000 be decreased to $4,500. This will provide adequate funds to meet the needs of a preliminary inquiry into the Cuban refugee problem which will be continued in the next session of the Congress, and hopefully will meet the request of Senator Fong for an additional minority staff member. Mr. Chairman, this year has witnessed a tremendous growth in the size and significance of world refugee problems, and there is every reason to believe this trend will continue. I feel, as I have stated before, that the work of the subcommittee has been productive, and has served as a creative force in a matter of vital concern to the American people. I am hopeful that the subcommittee will continue to contribute to greater public understanding and knowledge in a significant area of public policy, and also provide useful information to Members of Congress and all our citizens. Many thanks for your consideration. Sincerely, |