U.S. International Refugee Assistance: Issues for Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
Premium Purchase PDF for $24.95 (20 pages)
add to cart or
subscribe for unlimited access
Pro Premium subscribers have free access to our full library of CRS reports.
Subscribe today, or
request a demo to learn more.
| Release Date |
Jan. 3, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RL31689 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Rhoda Margesson, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The United States is the largest national contributor to international humanitarian assistance programs for refugees. Traditionally, it contributes to refugee appeals both to alleviate the suffering of innocent victims and out of concern that refugee flows can lead to instability in countries or regions important to U.S. foreign policy interests. The United States is also the largest resettlement country. The money for humanitarian assistance and some of the costs of resettlement in the United States is authorized under the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account of the Department of State Authorization bill and appropriated in the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. Though not the topic of this report, the bulk of assistance for refugees who resettle in the United States is authorized and appropriated in the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) legislation. This report discusses the size of the U.S. international refugee assistance budget and its allocation between humanitarian assistance and admissions.
With the end of the Cold War, U.S. refugee policy began to evolve to reflect changes taking place in the international arena. The nearly exclusive anti-communist focus began to shift as conflicts among nations moved away from the constraints of superpower politics and toward a more complex array of internal disputes. These new conditions led to a change in the nature of refugee emergencies and in the types of programs that the United States and the international community provide for refugees and other people forced to flee their homes. In addition, it resulted in a tremendous increase in the number of people needing assistance. These factors also influenced the continuing debate between the Administration and the Congress and within the Congress about the U.S. role with regard to refugees.
The MRA is part of the foreign aid appropriation, and because humanitarian emergencies are growing in number, complexity, and size, it faces enormous budget pressures, both from traditional foreign assistance programs and from newly emerging national priorities. While refugee assistance enjoys considerable support, Congress and the Administration face the difficult task of funding humanitarian needs within a constrained budget. For the last several years, with the exception of FY1999, the appropriation for the MRA account has remained at about $700 million.
P.L. 107-115, signed into law on January 10, 2002, appropriated $705 million for the MRA and $15 million for the Emergency Refugee and Migration assistance (ERMA) for FY2002. The President requested $705 million for MRA and $15 million for ERMA for FY2003. The Senate Committee on Appropriations (S.Rept. 107-219) recommended $782 million for the MRA and $32 million for ERMA, whereas the House Appropriations Committee (House Rept. 107-663) recommended $800 million for the MRA and $20 million for ERMA. P.L. 107-228, to authorize appropriations for the Department of State for FY2002 and FY2003, was enacted on September 20, 2002. This report will be updated periodically.
