testing testing sub committee will come to  last march our two subcommittees held a hearing on the subject of iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons where a panel of bush administration officials responsible for different aspects of the crisis assured us that the administration was moving aggressively to assist refugees and i d p s and would meet the president's announced target of twelve thousand iraqi refugees resettled in the united states during the current fiscal year i challenge their ability and the administration's sincerity and they again reassured me well as of march thirty first only two thousand and sixty seven iraqis have been resettled with five months left  fiscal year that leaves only nine thousand three hundred and seventy three but the administration at the current rate won't even meet half of the president's goal forty three point seven eight percent less than fifty percent another total failure that's pathetic in terms of performance and embarrassing to us as a nation and it's only the tip of the iceberg for the millions of iraqis who are stranded in jordan syria egypt and lebanon conditions are worsening dramatically by ambassador foley's audit mission at a press briefing last month of one hundred fifty thousand iraqis in syria are fed each day by the united nations high commissioner for refugees will swell to three hundred thousand by summer time as more and more families run out of resources the situation in jordan while of less a magnitude is equally dire current appeals for assistance through the united nations and other international organizations total nine hundred million dollars for this calendar year and while the united states has provided two hundred eight million dollars towards a short form shortfall of four hundred million dollars is still expected there was report after report from the united nations and from nongovernmental organizations there are pleas for help from affected neighboring governments but while detailed descriptions of the crisis abound and the need for additional resources is clear there are two fundamental things missing from the resolution of this crisis the two governments who should be most concerned who have the most responsibility and who frankly have the most at stake other ones who seem the least interested in helping i cannot understand why the government of iraq can't or won't do more to assist its own citizens the cynical view is that prime minister al maliki doesn't want the refugees back because they're mostly mostly ethnic groups he doesn't care about some would cite sheer incompetence that the government of iraq simply doesn't know how to take care of its own people or i could cite the fact that the government of iraq has a has its hands full trying to establish its own authority within its own borders and that the affairs outside of iraq even those directly affecting iraqis are beyond its capacity it could be all of those things and any of them in combination but the bottom line is that whatever the reason the government of iraq's failure to provide for its own people who have fled their country because of the violence isn't it skewes a bill for the refugees all that is needed is for their incompetent but cash flush government to write a check to the u n h c r iraqi government doesn't have to worry about how to deliver services to the refugees because there are plenty of skilled and willing organizations willing to step in and ameliorate their sinful failure and with a projected surplus of thirty two billion dollars this year the government of iraq could cover the four hundred million shortfall in the international appeal and then some but they haven't and yet the bush administration has utterly failed to press aggressively for the iraqi government to spend more than the paltry twenty five million dollars already allocated but remains largely on spent that's twenty five million of their shameless thirty two billion dollar surplus so yet again we return to the bush administration's own brand of incompetence as i no d at the outset a mere twenty six hundred twenty seven iraqis have been settled in the united states and we're already half way through the fiscal year so at this rate a paltry five thousand two hundred and fifty four will be settled by the first i guess this is progress given where we've come from but i keep asking myself why the united states seems incapable of meeting its own pledge targets for resettlement what is it about this refugee crisis that has failed to move the bush administration to be more aggressive in addressing a situation that so clearly is of its own making and the only answer i can come up with is that president bush doesn't care about the refugees he doesn't care about the internally displaced iraqis he doesn't lose sleep over the four million iraqis who are now without homes and the two million of them web sought shelter in nations that not only don't welcome them but are openly hostile to them he cares so little that he can't even bring himself to utter more than a perfunctory mention of the plight of the refugees public much less commit himself to the heavy lifting necessary to assist them he care so little that he leaves the problem to others within his administration to solve and because he refuses to lead the bureaucracy does what it does best it argues about turf it debates regulations it disputes who will pay for what it o when clarity is necessary it dawdle when action is required but i'm sure the refugees are in the president's prayers what they need to be is in his plans i say to the president there is an enormous humanitarian crisis in the middle east and it's chiefly of your making because you decided to go to war in iraq and it's time for you to own up to your responsibility for this crisis it is what you told us that people had to take responsibility for their actions it is time for you to step in and resolve the bureaucratic fights between the departments of state homeland security it is time for you to reach out personally and urge the governments in the region to assist in this crisis it is time for you to speak  forcibly to prime minister al maliki who also doesn't care to remind him that the iraqi refugees are his people and his government is responsible for their welfare and mr president you broke it and it's time for you to own this problem but given the president's track record of accountability so far i have little hope that this change will take place but in the middle east sometimes hope is all that there is up the chair will request that our distinguished members of the audience refrain from any demonstrations signs approval or disapproval or regrettably we will have to ask you to leave or be removed but we thank you for being here and your drug feelings on this issue thank you very much mr chairman i obviously disagree with the points that you made today and appreciate the fact that we have hearings like this in order to examine issues where people can have  agreements and i would suggest that in this area it is one of these arenas that we will have to involve ourselves  also involve ourselves in a lot of soul searching as to what we believe is the best policy and also the most moral policy i would suggest that those people who find themselves displaced or those who have left iraq are wonderful people there is no doubt by and large what we're talking about are perhaps some of they decided not to participate in that and there's something to be said for people like that certainly we know that they're good people and they're in a bad situation what should be our policy not necessarily based simply on these are good people they need us let's do this we have to figure out what this is and whether or not that makes the lives of the we're talking about better and whether or not it actually helps create a better situation in iraq so there would not be not be more refugees more people in need in the future i would suggest that we need to try to encourage as many people who are good and decent people in iraq to and of the region do not dominate that country that's our purpose it is contrary to our purpose and contrary to that what i consider to be a that goal to facilitate them leaving and coming to the united states of america in fact those who would come to the united states of america while i heartily agree that they appreciate the american way of life that are and are fine people these are just the kind of people that we need in iraq to help build a democratic society and we can expect if we are t greater flood of people leaving iraq the very people that we need in order to stop the bloodshed in may home and to blunt the force of radical islam in that country so while all of our hearts side with refugees to which you refer all of us do we have to make sure that we use our heads to make sure  that their lives are better their family lives are better and the lives of all those millions of people in iraq are better and it were not undercutting the chance for peace that we've got now  number of people killed in the last month has gone up in iraq generally as compared to a year ago things aren't as bad compared to two or three years ago things are improving however those improvements are based on the fact that we have people in iraq who are wonderful people who are now involving themselves in the system and who now have rejected radical islam and what would it be like two or three years ago we just decided that those people could come to united states well by now you would have some sort of a radical islamic government and there would be much more bloodshed there be many more  people and that would not be in anyone's interest except of course for those radicals in the islamic world that want to make war on the rest of us so i would suggest that as we look at this issue that we seriously consider what steps that are being suggested will lead to in the long run and if in the long run it leads to lessening the chance for peace in  at this particular moment i have nothing i certainly have nothing against having to help the refugees and giving them stipends and giving them everything they need to return to iraq i think that  bringing them either to the united states or elsewhere will do nothing but create a greater flood out of iraq of those people who will run the only ones that will give us a chance for peace and somewhat of a stable and democratic society in that country thank you chairman mr delahunt for the effort that he has put into this issue and you mr chairman both of you put enormous effort into focus attention on the plight of these good that you and so many others who disagree with the position that some of us have stated but i can't help but think of over the years how you and i and others work together on the plight of soviet jews during the time that they had such a difficult time in the soviet union and we did not sell them to stay there and be come a part of the new russia and when people left for  we didn't tell them they should go elsewhere and when president ford welcomed in hundreds of thousands of mostly buddhist refugees from vietnam we didn't insist that they stay there to be part of the new vietnam we welcomed them and resettled them here in very quick order and when christians and bahais found themselves being executed when the shah was overturned in iran we took as many of them as we could and place them here a wherever else they could go and when cubans leave cuba and become dry foot on american soil in miami we welcome them here and don't send them back to be part of a new  cuba the concern that so many of us have that these people who are neither christian or buddhist but mostly something else is suddenly told that they should stay and face the consequences and rebuilding  country when the rules seem to be so different for other refugees is not necessarily the signal that some of us think should be front and center stage and while warming american war in vietnam the difference between the what we're referring to is that in a rush it was a fait accompli when these refugees the jews were trying to escape in vietnam it was a it was a fait accompli the last thing we should have done if there was a chance prevent russia from going through a period of dictatorship under the communist party was to have those people leave while the issue was still in play in iraq the issue is still in play we can and it is very possible that radical islam will be thwarted in iraq it's possible it will be impossible if we drain the good people out of that country and have them flood the united states or elsewhere and so your point is well taken in terms of the moral position of helping people from those countries the timing is what makes it fundamentally different i thank you for that thoughtful response we'll continue to engage but down the road as our colleagues await the chair would would like to note the presence of congressman al hastings who insistence that the world here good standards of human rights compels him to be with us today and without objection we shall treat him as a member of the committee for such purposes i agree bigger actually with everything that you said both in terms of the bush administration's stance action a lack thereof and speak with a good heart at the same time i have to and we do this on occasion vigorously disagree he does not have to be concerned about a flood of iraqi refugees coming to the united states i think there's in excess of four and a half million so called i d p s internally displaced people and refugees outside of the iraqi boundaries to think that the authorized level of twelve thousand iraqi refugees coming to this country could be described as a flood i think is indulging in a bit of hyperbole and we can't even do the twelve thousand it's a disgrace and it's not what we're about as a people it's not american in full measure of that term that we so frequently arctic you lay and the message i think is very clear to the iraqis they're not even welcome here if they look at the actions of the bush administration  there was a united nations report out yesterday about why so if you are rockies in syria plan to return home only four percent of iraqis in syria plantar to return home the report found that sixty five percent of the refugees who do not wish to return said they were under direct threat in iraq and then other words come back and you'll die some thirty percent do not want to return because of the general insecurity in their home country and eight percent said their home in iraq had been destroyed was occupied by others i guess we could put that under the rubric of sectarian cleansing so they don't have any choices and i have repeated in the past the so called pottery barn rule that was alluded to by the former secretary  colin powell in a conversation with president bush when he was hell bent for long and i'm going to repeat it again because i think it needs to be repeated you're going to be the proud owner of this is call and pile of twenty five million people you will on all of their hopes aspirations and problems you'll own it all you break it you own it well we own we own it because the proximate cause of this impending humanitarian disaster is the invade by the united states of iraq and we'll in a desperate humanitarian crisis with profound consequences and not just to the iraqi refugees but to our own national security this isn't just simply about humanitarianism our altruism of doing the right thing this is about protecting the united states of america because it was the department of state own advisory group on public diplomacy for the arab and muslim world that issued this statement hostility towards the united states makes achieving our policy goals far more difficult so what we are doing is we're creating if you will the conditions for more terrorism for more terrorists to emerge that threaten our homeland that's what this is about we're not simply here to do good we're here to protect ourselves they happen to coincide doing good and protecting yourself and as the chairman indicated in his remarks and i noted in the testimony of the next panel that there was appropriate and correct observations regarding the capacity of the iraqi government to deliver services i understand i acknowledge that but they have the money and they have the capacity idea say to write a check to those n g o s that are doing god's work all over the middle east to address the needs of those refugees who and the united nations the un c h r is there they're doing it they can deliver the services just  myself and chairman ackerman and mr hastings and nine other members both republican and democrat there sent a letter to the prime minister of iraq saying write the check you have a this is i was about the third hearing we've had on this subject before the foreign affairs committee you know the bible is very correct when it says you reap just what you sow and this country has some very serious mistakes misjudgment miscalculations and the terrible decision to invade this country not a single person in iraq came over to this country and asked us to build first of all to tear down their government structure and build another million for people in iraq that had a way of alive now no longer have that way of life half of them two million of them or so are displaced within the country two million or so of them are displaced elsewhere and the great greatest tragedy of all is that the two principal actors in this tragic drama that is classic greek drama and  are they rack a government and the government of the united states no more glaring example can be made than the fact that the invader of iraq the united states as noble as we intended our actions to be as noble as the sacrifice of our soldiers and their families have been yet less than twelve thousand or so of these iraqi people have we accepted here out of four million that's a very telling number even sweden country had nothing to do with it as moving in a much more humane and a much more understanding way and then the iraqi government itself with the money with the capabilities with record oil profits and yet it is the most listeners it is this matter movement that is providing the basic services for the people who are an iraq not the malacca government not their own government not the government of the united states it is these very militias that we are fighting they are the ones that are building the relationships with the people they're the ones that are building the confidence with the people and their using the food they are using the very services that we should be providing this is a very dangerous situation militias of all denominations are improving their local base of support by providing these social services just as has bylaws has done and some respects this presents a terrel but money for the future of that region and we're twiddling our thumbs we're here just sitting on our hands while the militant groups these groups that we see as the major agent of instability in the region but yet in the eyes of the people of iraq who need the services they in fact represent the stability of this region and so it aids in recruiting and so that's why this issue is so important that the international community needs to wake up and understand what's at stake here and the united states has got to change this policy in iraq to understand this bigger picture what are we go do with these four million people what are we doing to help syria and jordan besides calling syria names some of those names certainly may be justified  i don't agree with what's going on with syria and some of their policies but i tell you one thing syria is take almost a million refugees and the united states has taken then only twelve  now if we see that what do you think those people see over there this will be the greatest way we can win the compliments and win the war when the battle when the whole big picture is by finally dealing with here and but for this moment i will wane vigorous and persistent insistence on the right thing being done by the existing government i'd like to make two corrections while there's a thirty billion dollars surplus now with the calls stalled vaal oil as it is states to accept twelve thousand a major stumbling block of the rocky refugee crisis mr chairman is that not enough attention has been focused on the humanitarian calamity on folding in the region  o s here know that extremely well and that's why this hearing is important to have them help us understand what capacity is needed what capacity they have and those things going forward that will be this increased deterioration is becoming a recipe for disaster if congress and the administration failed to broaden their focus on iraq the security implications could potentially f the stabilize the region as mr scott has pointed to militia groups within iraq are providing substantial assistance to displace the rockies and host countries such as jordan and syria are dealing with an increasingly desperate refugee population to credit in jordan he has put resources in trying to make sure to educate the children something that is critically important them to go forward this increase desperation combined with resentment among host country populations could just be the calm that we must look beyond partisan politics and focus on the real problem at hand we written to secretary rice calling on her to lay out a long term plan to address this crisis and this alone will not solve this problem before this situation further implodes congress and work together to implement feasible solutions including gonna ring support from europe the u s has a moral obligation to lead but cannot go it alone nor should it in closing i'd like to recognize term you can expect that the majority of iraqi refugees living in jordan will not obtain permanent residence is something that needs to be significantly recognized anastasia brown pointed david keene but his testimony has been admitted into the record he says the following we are not a nation that turns its back on those seeking freedom suffering from a situation beyond their control we have invested much blood and treasure in iraq and must see to it that when we do leave that nation we leave a stable nation capable to panel our distinguished colleague or old woman our was elected to the house in one nine hundred ninety six from the third district of oregon in the ways and means committee the budget committee as well as a select committee on energy independence and climate change going to strong and creative voice both at home and abroad for the environment sustainable development and economic opportunity represented blueman our has been in public service in one nine hundred seventy two when he was first elected to the oregon house of representatives and received both his undergraduate degrees from lewis and clark college in land welcome  bully pulpit is yours thank you thank you mr chairman for your courtesy and i appreciate the eloquence and the concern that has been expressed by each of the members listening over the course berman in trying to shape and i know mr barker from our service together on this committee there are occasionally modest differences of opinion but i know your commitment to fully airing the issues and being able to put a human face on this is very important more important than anything we members of congress will say though is the testimony that you're about to hear from people who are involved on the ground and  doing difficult work of standing between the tragedy facing iraqis and a complete disaster last year i introduced the first comprehensive legislation to deal with this refugee crisis we called  actually seen a portion of this be adopted as part of the national defense authorization act of two thousand and eight i would note the bipartisan nature of the legislation that we introduced and that it was co sponsored co sponsor was our friend chris shays who has a slightly different view of the war in iraq in terms of its wisdom and what's happening there but i think it illustrates that there is a responsibility for people regardless of where they are in the war in iraq to deal with the refugee crisis legislation that has passed required us to begin processing iraqis for resettlement that increase the numbers of iraqis who work for the united states who can be resettled five thousand a year it increased the resettlement opportunities for other vulnerable iraqis and established a senior coordinator at the us embassy in baghdad i'm sorry to say that while i think congress is starting to do its job the administration has not stepped up to the plate today is five years after the president famously declared mission accomplished and the four million displaced iraqis the greatest ongoing humanitarian crisis in the world with the possible exception of is testament to the fact that the mission has not been accomplished and i must say that there's nothing here that's talking about  facilitating all these people to move the united states or all of them to move back our treating these people humanely is not going to cause greater it's already happened four million people or more almost half of the country that's a reality to see women forced into prostitution in syria pictures that were on display here  in this building last night is testimony that things are not working and they are seriously flawed if we remain in iraq to protect iraq than the lack of planning to provide for these refugees demonstrat how little is being done to accomplish the mission part of it is to stop further hemorrhaging ambassador crocker made the point that  on us feel that they can't depend on the united states they're much likely much less likely to stay on the job as translators as guides providing vital services that make it possible for over a third of a million americans in uniform and contractors and civilian employees to stay in iraq our getting this right is important to stabilize and prevent further re settlement and people fleeing and if we don't step up to the plate how can we expect others to do so we're talking about as all of you mentioned a tiny number the prime minister mentioned in this room in another hearing before a different committee but i ask him and he was they were resettling twelve thousand in a year and that little they've accepted forty thousand if we don't step up it's very unlikely that others are going to do this over time the united nations high commission for refugees has referred almost twenty thousand iraqis for resettlement to the united states fewer than the twenty thousand that we said we could accept  despite this we've admitted less than thirty five hundred through february all categories well and despite the requirements of the law that we recently enacted in country processing has not begun it's amazing baghdad has the largest embassy on the face of the planet and they haven't begun in process in country processing and in violation of their human rights norm it appears that we are pushing the united states the high command for refugees to fudge the facts and declare iraq safe for refugees to return some of us feel that inaccurate information and flawed implementation by this administration helped create this mess but continuing to mysteries and misrepresent the situation on the ground won't get it get us out of it and it is getting worse both syria and jordan closed off their borders refugees in jordan and syria are running out of money and assets and their condition is only getting more death what may be most troubling is that in the absence of a robust international response according to recent reports from refugees international as mr scott referenced this is a breeding ground for more terrorism providing for the needs of displaced iraqis by people who would do us harm builds up their power as we've seen with hamas in the war on terror pretending that things are going well when they don't has real consequences real consequences for ongoing american operations as crocker's pointed out years from now i can imagine people pointing the lack of the united states response to this refugee crisis as a turning point for a new generation of radicals in the middle east going forward just as we planned for military contingencies we need to hope the help of your subcommittee to help us plan for humanitarian ones all of the administration's assumption for the refugee issue are th conditions in iraq will improve i can't tell the future any better than they can but certainly we should have plans in place if these rosy scenarios don't come to pass the chairman said that he hopes iraq is in the president's prayer he said they should be in their plans we should make sure that they are in our budget congress step up and provide the funding funding not requested by the administration in the upcoming supplemental i'm circulating a letter appropriators urging sufficient u s funding i would welcome any support i will get out of your way at this point i appreciate your patience in allowing me to testify i appreciate the opportunity to listen to your expressions and i hope that we can count on you to continue to put on the need to follow through on our rhetoric to meet some of the most desperate people in the potential downside of that breeding more discontent and empowering them is accurate i would think there is nothing good that comes from increasing this population and that we have every incentive to try and reduce it for humanitarian and strategic reasons and if the iraqi government stays fractured along the sectarian lines that they are  you've got these two problems we've got internal fracture broken down within the iraqi government is supposed to be delivering the funds and helping so on the other hand on this void we've got these militias out there that are providing and it may be noted that electricity clothes money i mean they're doing it all for them so i can't think that we can put enough emphasis on the direct  do we give any further credits to the malicious congress god i would think a laser like focus on meeting our responsibility to displaced people internally to iraq and those who fled the country would make it clear that we are on the side of humanitarian interests the extent to which the iraqi government is privileged to help finance n g o s and other things i think breach that responsibility and their engagement and the more that they are a partner with the united nations with and with the n g o s i think that is part of the healing process and would undercut and your time as mr bloom and there was a report today in the cape cod times the cost of a gallon of gasoline in my district is approaching four dollars fifty nine cents and we're all going to be in bicycles real soon thank you for your word hopefully it's a programs in twenty five countries and three continents as well as staff and volunteers numbering in the thousands mr torbay is i m c senior representative in washington has just recently returned from mission assessing i m c programs in iraq and jordan raised holdridge is middle east regional director for mercy corps a position he has held since october two thousand and five and prior to that he served as a mercy corps country director in iraq with over twenty five years of experience in initiating humanitarian relief and development programs and providing executive leadership and non governmental humanitarian organizations in various countries in the middle east africa central and eastern europe asia and united states is to hold ridge currently oversees mercy co programs in iraq to odan syria lebanon and the west bank and gaza before joining mercy corps mr alters was regional director for catholic relief services program in the middle east ms anastasia brown is director of the office of refugee programs migration and refugee services for the united states conference of catholic bishops ms brown has held this position since two thousand and two and is more than ten years experience working with refugees both overseas and domestically before her most recent appointment is brown work with the international catholic migration commission during her tenure there she assisted with the departure from viet nam and resettlement in the united states of more than three hundred and fifty thousand vietnamese refugees is brown is a graduate of sarah lawrence university we also had originally scheduled david keene to participate with us unfortunate he has chosen to submit his written statement which will be a part of the record as well the written statements of each of our witnesses today  keene is the chairman of the american conservative union and was going to be here in his capacity as the as the director of the iraqi red crescent society and we regret that he is unable to make it today his testimony is very very important and his perspective is well appreciated by the members of the committee we will begin in the order in which i remarks would constitute a very brief summary of my written statement i am right vice president of operations for international medical corps a private nonprofit humanitarian organization had quoted in los angeles california my organization as one of the very few organizations that has been in iraq since april two thousand and three working in all eighteen governorates in april  two thousand and three i had the privilege to go to iraq and establish our organizations programs and the country since then i have traveled more than a dozen times to iraq and i i have just returned from a dayton ten da programs there as well as meeting with government officials the conditions of the two point seven million internally displaced persons in iraq desperate desperate conditions furthermore the conditions of the host community that is hosting those two point seven million is just as bad the failure to increase our efforts to address those needs would not just be mor months later the need is just as much if not more  according to the iraqi minister of migration the ministry that we work very closely with eighty two percent of the displaced are women and children more than eighty percent of the displaced unemployed more than thirty four percent cannot afford medication more than fourteen percent don't have access to any health care more than sixty percent of the children don't have access to schools and cannot get educated between forty and fifty percent don't have access to clean water this is the condition of the displaced in iraq and the host community the population of the displaced we're talking about two point seven million people that's larger than the i d p pop however it's it's invisible because they're not in ten the not in camps there are no dramatic food drops that we see on t v but then these are just as bad if not  more i want to talk a little bit also about the minorities more than fifty percent of the minorities fled the country christians were targeted in baghdad and driven out of baghdad a lot of them live they know what planes they struggle to survive they struggle to meet the day to day needs the few thousand palestinians that us to left in iraq their only hope is to get resettled in another country they've lost hope of living in iraq it is difficult to work in iraq no doubt about that security funding working with the government bureaucracies however organizations like  offices in iraq four hundred staff including eleven expatriates in baghdad we have been working very closely with the community continue with the and consistency of our program of our work has been the major asset this has been what has guaranteed our security all the areas where we've been working we've been working with local governments with tribal leaders with religious leaders we have to work with those communities we have to accept them for what they are and we tried to deliver the programs based on respect and based on the fact that we can deliver and based on daniel the u s government funding for humanitarian needs in iraq has been two hundred fifty four million since two thousand and the that's less than o s we need more help we need more support over the past five years there has been considerable focus on the physical infrastructure on that parents the physical infrastructure in iraq it's time now to focus on the humanitarian needs and on the human capital in iraq our experience with certain ministries that especially the service delivery ministers they are willing to work they are willing to work with n g o s but they defined boxes in iraq some of our recommendations are and a written statement but i will just highlight the immediate need for an increase for the office of foreign disaster assistance budget this is the office that best equipped to address the needs of the displaced in iraq and addressing their urgent needs abundant groups such as the i d p s and a host communities is critical it's a humanitarian the response of the jordan government particularly since the fall of last year which now allows iraqi refugee children to attend school as well as allowing iraqi refugees similar organized deportation of iraqis by the jordanian government many refugees from registering or from accessing services that may be available to them in short they live in limbo  office locally by servants servants appointed by the government they have not developed the capacity required to effectively provide emergency or long term assistance such a large number chairman my written testimony contains the details of us these concerns on the issues i would like to submit for the record the written testimony but also a joint u s c m c report which details the plight of particularly vulnerable refugees in syria and the report of the u s bishops trip to the region in july of two thousand and seven i will focus my oral remarks on the issue of u s resettlement of iraqi refugees and i based my comments on my work with the u s previous experience processing vietnamese refugees and the u s bishops mission to the middle east last year on that trip i observed the systems in place for processing refugees and personally interviewed many families and heard their tragic stories mr chairman the plain and simple truth is that the united states is not doing everything in its power to avert a looming humanitarian crisis in the middle east none of the countries where iraqi refugees are located are capable of supporting this population long term people are running out of resources and the situation is deteriorating every day in our view a mere fraction of the money being expended on military response in iraq could be used to avert impending disaster by greatly increasing resettlement numbers and identifying and assisting the most vulnerable of these refugees looking at the resettlement numbers to date the u s response has been shockingly in adequate between february of two thousand and seven and march of two thousand and eight the u n h c r referred twenty four thousand refugees to the united states for resettlement and during that period the us resettled just over four thousand refugees in two thousand and seven seven thousand refugees and only one thousand six hundred eight resettled this year the target is twelve thousand refugees arrive and only two thousand six hundred twenty seven have been resettled halfway through this year mr chairman many dedicated people are working to reach this number of twelve thousand admissions and we may still approach it however admitting only twelve thousand iraqi refugees in one year is adequate to the need approximately and more than one thousand iraqi refugees continue to arrive in syria alone each month moving approximately one thousand people per month out of the entire region doesn't even begin to address the problem how can this be seen to represent a commitment to share our responsibilities in this humanitarian crisis we can do better and we have done better mr chairman this is not the way the us has responded to humanitarian crises in the past history shows us that we have the capability of responding generously and effectively when we have the political will at the end of the vietnam war for example the us resettled one hundred thirty five thousand refugees in one year in the orderly departure program interviewed ten thousand vietnamese every month our purpose was to try to stop the deaths at sea and prevent the growing burden on asylum countries caused by continued boat departures from vietnam that year i was in charge about processing and over eighty thousand people left vietnam in a safe and orderly fashion for a new life in america a more recent example of a more appropriate resettlement response was t of a crisis in the late one nine hundred ninety s where the u s admitted fourteen thousand people in a matter of mere months there is no reason that we cannot resettle at least sixty thousand refugees from iraq per year the response such as this would say was lives relieve pressure on the struggling host countries and help the us assist the most vulnerable iraq refugees so what can we do to upgrade the level of the u s commitment and reach this goal first we need a stronger processing infrastructure we must be more proactive in identifying cases of concern to the u s currently we are relying primarily on u n h c r referrals and despite their best efforts the u n h c r is limited in what they can achieve on their own also we need to move and provide more staff to the overseas processing entities and we need more interviewing officers the u s c i s refugee officers working on iraqi cases average only four cases per day we would need at least twenty eight officers working every day of the year to meet a goal of sixty thousand admissions and some might argue that achieving these goals in syria is problematic because of our strained diplomatic relationship and once again i would say there is precedent here we conducted the orderly departure program in vietnam and at the time we had no diplomatic relation or presence in our opinion there must be a tangible benefit to syria in order to ensure their cooperation the current size of the iraqi resettlement program does not give them a reason to seriously engage with us could play a negotiating role between the two governments to create an agreement for a larger resettlement program and presence it has been done before it can be done again mr chairman my written testimony more greatly details the steps necessary to increase the u s commitment to resettlement and the humanitarian needs of iraqi refugees in the past can lead us to the future and our past shows that given the political will there is no one better than the united states responding to humanitarian crises it is our hope that your subcommittees will help create that will so the the united states can respond appropriately to this current crisis thank you panel it occurred to me listening to the panel that solving a crisis is directly proportional to wanting to solve the crisis and it seems to me that we've solved bigger crises before a lot quicker all over the planet and if i didn't say it strongly enough in my opening statement it's occurred to me before that there are people who say they want to help and solve the crisis who really have no intention of solving the crisis when we had our government panel at previous hearings congressman delahunt ago they assured us that they'd be able to do it yes yes we figured out how to do it the numbers were less than half of what they are for war do you do you have a plan for afterwards yes yes we have a plan of course there was no plan is there something about these refugees and their situation or who they that makes them different as far as not being able to get the leadership of this country and even some others to cooperate something people from all over and everybody stepped up to the plate well we had a great debate to some opposition to working at all no matter what kind of assistance with the government and i remember that was quite acrimonious there's always a political component to starvation and national disasters and again i would say that was not true every person that i spoke to had been directly targeted in one way or another to an amazing degree and there is of course a political issue that you are aware of i believe if you take the people who are most resistant to the kinds of government that we may or may not support out of the country there's less of a chance of the government improving especially if you have what might be considered a culture drain or a brain drain or an asset drain and the kind of people who have the ability to rebuild are no longer there but someplace and we'd like to see positive more rapid change and in iraq kind of changes that we think would be good for the iraqi people not just our but other people and themselves have expressed the desire for those kinds of changes but from a humanitarian point of view i think collectively we're going to have to struggle with that notion refugees have rights i understand correct me if i'm wrong by definition as to what our responsibilities towards them are do we have a right to make political decisions as to whether or not some other motivated picture should dictate that we or the region or someone else would be better off if they stayed where they were or went back to whence they and suffered and struggled and made things better or is our sole obligation to iraqis want to stay in iraq and are staying in iraq despite all the violence and what's happening there's also no doubt that many iraqis that are in the region in jordan syria and lebanon want to go back to iraq where at least want to stay in the region until the situation improves in iraq so they could go back home i think the focus and assistance and resettlement should be on the vulnerable groups people that know if they go back they will be targeted they might lose their lives they've lost their property and they have nothing to go back to i think this is the group that we need to pay special attention to and we need to support meanwhile the situation in iraq is safe enough for people to return and we do need support refugees in the region because we cannot encourage a return to iraq at this stage with the security being as it did and the fighting and the living conditions in iraq would not allow for  little bit differently if you look at a continuum of needs those who perhaps laterally and have established some degree of continuity economic sustainability cultural integration whether that's in syria or jordan perhaps make up a less vulnerable population those who might be capable because of security gains in iraq and have the established family then there are those who i think you mrs brown mentioned the large number of people actually live fleeing because of threats of death and perhaps the possibility because of some of the other key complications you mentioned mr holder's for them to return anytime soon or if it ever what would be the disposition generally of persons who fall into those categories would they wish to return once it settles you were just touching on this one security settles a little bit more would staying in the region be preferable would breaking free into a new opportunities into western europe or the united states be preferable obviously you're going to want to tend to go back to what you know and who you are in the place that formed you if you could perhaps parse the percentage of folks who might fall out of that last category who who have the ability to move to the necessity for them to be moved in order to be saved and would welcome such an opportunity quantifying that number might be helpful they are already in the same with in jordan seven percent of the the point i would like to make is that those registered implies that they had the wherewithal to get to the registration and in fact many of the most vulnerable cannot even make it through that process so we are looking at at least seven percent of the population being women at risk who would be in danger and that type of statistic may help you break it down it might be the easiest in terms of cultural affinity religious offended for people to flee there as well as proximity but what other countries are engaged directly in the region and trying to assist in this question because again we were all it was sort of touched on the political questions earlier one large political question that sits out there is a multinational regional cooperation to augment our own sacrificial security efforts on behalf of iraq by neighboring particularly neighboring countries who have the resources to be able to participate and deeper forms of assistance both economically politically and in order to help stabilize the country so what other countries are embracing this are willing actually to help in this particular question in a significant way no one i historically the region has not been very refugee friendly they accept them down not many rights that do get given to refugees if you look at the palestinian refugees in lebanon been there for thirty forty years they don't have many rights but in terms of staying in the region or going back to iraq those are the options chances are the majority of them would go back to iraq once the situation stabilizes rather than staying in the region on your question on iran we're working along the marsh areas in the south that border it's really difficult you know one day they go to iran the other day they come back to iraq it's really difficult to know who are refugees and who are traveling there for economical  expressing my attitude to the work that you as individuals and that the agencies which you represent have done it's extraordinary  your suggestion about a humanitarian surge i think it is extremely timely and mrs brown i think your suggestion that rather than twelve thousand sixty thousand  iraqi refugees could be accepted here in the united states makes make a statement makes a statement to the rest of the world that we are the kind of people that we know we are and that the rest of the world remembers the united states being i want to follow up on the  line of questioning that mr fortenberry was talking about because he asked you what other states have made contributions in really it seems the state that has made the most significant contribution is syria and then jordan and i want to speak to those ironies in the sense of syria that's should be the subject for a whole other however in your statement mrs brown you say that many of the gulf arab states have i'm can read my own handwriting now i want you to have indicated every few stars are waiting before they make any effort until iraq itself does more help to their own citizens that seems rather rather reasonable as i indicated my opening remarks we have a moral responsibility we the united states and we have to  do what we are talking about here because it is our moral obligation that at the same time we've talked about the surplus the estimated government i want to be very specific about that the maliki government has done next to nothing and i understand their rocket past city issues and i respect that and i have witnessed it in other nations where i have had a involvement haiti comes to mind immediately it's a failed state and it takes time and patience when the way the money exists has there been an effort by the united states government by the bush administration to influence the maliki government to take case four or five percent of the surplus and distribute it if you don't have that capacity but have the asset the wherewithal distributed to groups such as your social groups whom you represent  tens of billions of money in the bank and we're hearing that desperate conditions you know for those of you who understand the realities on the ground i mean is there anybody others and some members of congress are saying where are you is there anybody in the middle east was to hold which there are some political difficulties for the department of defense decided to make it a priority issue in their discussions with the government i have no doubt that the twenty five could be ten times that much can you educate me as to what those political difficulties are because maybe the united states congress other rather than the department of defense if it's not a priority for the white house it ought to be a priority for the united states congress we have a supply budget that's coming up  have so many internally displaced in such a tragic situation on the ground would be difficult the current administration might remember it wasn't too long ago in fact stabilize the region and hopefully stabilize iraq so that the iraqi people can get on this very incipient democracy don't think i can answer your question to the point but i think there are a few issues with the iraqi government from what we see working with the different ministries be the ministry of health with the ministry of migration with the ministry of labor and social affairs which is a critical ministry given the high unemployment in iraq looking at the budget for last year you know putting aside the supplemental they only managed to spend twenty five percent of the budget without the surplus twenty five per cent i think there's an issue of priorities of the iraqi government as well as competence in terms of knowing how to go about it but also their priorities whereas what's their priority i think i can speak to  that there is a need to put more pressure on the government but also at the same time there is a need to show a willingness to support them technically as well in terms of showing them how to go about these things because that's a major problem that was i have no reluctance in in  providing the know the technical knowledge the ability to develop these institutions but by the time we get there given the conditions as you describe them it's going to be too late and we will have achieved a situation that in many respects will be i believe in this is just guess work on my part that will be comparable to what we see in the in the camps in darfur and the implications for the entire middle east such that what we witnessed the last several three four five years that will be nothing compared to what disaster is little mean in terms of the entire region when you have many ins and millions of people who are dispossessed my friend from california speaks about radical elements within the region well if you were sitting there in those conditions that radical appeal idea say would be you know something that would be inviting you know we don't intervene soon i dare say that we're going to find  ourselves regretting regretting the the i think the inertia that we're going through now and hopefully these hearings and there will be more hearings and there is a supplemental budget coming  in this issue will hopefully receive the attention from the administration that deserves and hopefully those in power current lee in irak are going to understand that they are going to have to share this burden because they do have the assets they might not have the capacity but they have the assets and with that i will call on my friend from california and ranking member mr rohrabacher thank you very much mr chairman let me know that i certainly have a complete agreement with the chairman in his efforts to convince the iraqi property dispute i mean what the iraqi government should be doing and the united states but all right and i'm wondering why and how is this being accomplished i think this is the most dangerous situation facing us could you i'll just comment and just explain why how are they accomplishing all of the militias and we're not able to do  symbol where we had a religious man in clinics asking for the aid to be given to them so they would distribute it to the people this is how they win the hearts and minds of people toward a limited time is short so i wish i had a little more time but i can understand that with clothes and food and tangible things you can hand over these folks are setting up and providing electricity legal apparatus how how is that  to earlier twelve thousand that we have as a goal haven't even gotten that done to make any kind of dent into a so it just seems that we're not setting that proper example would us having a high level white house level years there have been american n g o s where they have provided tremendous amount of assistance and are an alternative to the types of assistance they going through now but we have been influence the primary threat to the country's stability having been in iraq just recently i want to applaud all of the witnesses because the choir i was for more humanitarian aid in particular to the u s conference of bishops in  i work with you come from the territory of bishop friends and now cardinal and our own and obviously we are well recognizing your call isn't it ridiculous the bad the militia can now provide the basic humanitarian aid to these displaced persons or internally displaced persons and we can't find a structure and so my my basic question is always at a point of no return mrs brown  relation to our two are refugees let's hope we never reach a point of no return the idea is eventually people will be able to return but what we have is a situation where people cannot return and cannot continue to exist in the situation that they we need to protect those people now and hope that sometime in the future they have the ability to return i'm not going to exclude the other witnesses the time moves on the clock but what i will say is that i believe that we're at a point of national disgrace it is doing both in terms of iraq and the united states i think the maliki government is equally at fault and i think that as we raise this as a crisis that there should be this greater focus on giving their manager an aid with the n g o s not through defense but the department of state i thank you for that