(Washington, DC) - Thank you very much Chairman Delahunt, our two committees find yet again another reason to work together and cooperate, and I thank you for being the organizer of today’s briefing.  I want to thank Ambassador Johnstone  and Mr. Tschannen for taking the time to come before us today and discuss with our subcommittees the current situation of Iraqi refugees as your respective organizations see it.

 Without doubt, the Iraqi refugee crisis is among the most difficult in the world.  As we will hear from our briefers, it’s scope, some 2 million refugees, its character -- urban and disbursed as opposed to centered in camps, and its location -- largely in countries that are not signatories to the 1951 convention on refugees, have combined to make it extraordinarily difficult to deliver services to those most in need.  In addition, fear among Iraqis of arrest and deportation by host nations, makes provision of assistance by UNHCR as well as other NGOs that much more difficult.  The prohibitions on employment and insistence on special visas by host nations create additional hardships on a population already vulnerable.  And while some Iraqis had significant personal resources with which to sustain themselves and their families, those resources are rapidly diminishing if not already exhausted, which means that the pool of those who actually need help will only increase in the near term.

 To be sure, the United States shares the majority of responsibility for the creation of the crisis.  I would add that I would agree with my friend from California, Representative Rohrabacher, that actions do very often have unintended consequences and the consequences of the number of refugees created, although was not intended, it certainly should have been expected by anybody who is not deaf, dumb, and dumber.  The only thing that was unexpected about it was the length of time that it took to develop.  UNHCR’s most recent appeal of more than $261 million represents only a third of what even the Bush Administration believes will be necessary to fund NGO efforts this year.  Clearly the United States must do more to assist UNHCR and to assist those host nations who are attempting to provide at least some form of support.  Obviously, direct U.S. assistance to Syria will remain a problem, but such assistance should be provided to Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt to help their already strained social safety nets.

 I must confess my continued amazement at the inability of the United States government to meet the targets set out by President Bush himself for resettling Iraqi refugees.  At the current pace there is simply no way for this Administration to meet its projected quota of 12,000 during this fiscal year.  I’m not sure if the Administration is simply incompetent, or worse, insincere in its stated desire to help.  Congress has provided much more money in assistance than the Administration has requested and has given the President additional legal authority to try and smooth the way both for those Iraqis who worked for us as well as those refugees who are truly vulnerable.  Yet the Administration still seems unable to process more than a trickle each month.  This is truly a national embarrassment and humiliation and I look forward to hearing from the Administration two weeks from now  to talk about why, still, refugee processing is so far behind and when we can expect them to implement the new authorities they have been given.

 It’s easy for us to sit here and describe the conditions Iraqi refugees face and lament that more isn’t being done or that its not being done fast enough.  It’s much harder if you’re Iraqi and have to decide whether you will by food, medicine or pay rent.  It’s inconceivable to try to understand what an Iraqi mother is going through when she decides that prostitution is the only way to feed her children.  These decisions none of us in this room, hopefully, ever have to face.  Because of that it is incumbent on us to help the Iraqis so they no longer have to face them either.

An additional word if I can, and that is the participation of others in the region, I too and tremendously disappointed about the lack of performance of those that criticize us, rightfully or wrongfully, and then don’t step up to the plate to meet what are their humanitarian obligations.  But I think it would be a great deal of hubris on my part to go in and trounce my neighbors garden and then complain that other people in the neighborhood are not helping them to replant.  Thank you. 

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