President Bush set the target for refugee admissions in fiscal year 2007 at 70,000. The Senate refugee spending proposal includes sufficient funding to process and admit all 70,000, but the House proposal would only provide funding for 40,000 refugees. Unless Congress works during the lame duck session to rectify the difference, the State Department will face a significant funding crisis. Without sufficient funding, tens of thousands of refugees we could welcome to America this year will instead continue to languish in often dangerous conditions in camps and urban ghettos throughout the world.
How you can help.
Please call your current and newly elected members of the House and Senate via the United States Capital switchboard at 202-224-3121 You may find the websites and phone numbers of newly elected members of the House and Senate on their campaign advertising. To find the name and contact information of your current senator or representative, go to www.congress.org and enter your zip code.
Congratulate those who won their elections; thank outgoing members for their service.
Urge them to adequately fund life-saving refugee protection by appropriating $980 million to the Migration and Refugee Account (MRA) and $798 million to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) for fiscal year 2007. Return to Advocacy Update
