I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 578 

To address the impending humanitarian crisis and potential security breakdown as a result of the mass influx of Iraqi refugees into neighboring 

countries, and the growing internally displaced population in Iraq, by 

increasing directed accountable assistance to these populations and their 

host countries, facilitating the resettlement of Iraqis at risk, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2009 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

DELAHUNT, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. HOLT, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WATSON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, and Ms. MCCOLLUM) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To address the impending humanitarian crisis and potential 

security breakdown as a result of the mass influx of 

Iraqi refugees into neighboring countries, and the growing internally displaced population in Iraq, by increasing 

directed accountable assistance to these populations and 

their host countries, facilitating the resettlement of Iraqis 

at risk, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Iraqi Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Humani6 tarian Assistance, Resettlement, and Security Act of 

7 2009’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 5. Statements of policy. 

Sec. 6. Humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations in Iraq and Iraqi 

refugees. 

Sec. 7. Iraqi refugee admissions and processing. 

Sec. 8. International cooperation. 

Sec. 9. Reports to Congress. 

10 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) IDPS.—The term ‘‘IDPs’’ means internally 

13 displaced people in Iraq. 

14 (2) UNHCR.—The term ‘‘UNHCR’’ means the 

15 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for 

16 Refugees. 

17 (3) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN IRAQ.—The 

18 term ‘‘vulnerable populations in Iraq’’ includes 

19 IDPs, Iraqis from ethnically mixed families, women 

20 at risk, unaccompanied children and adolescents, the 


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1 elderly, Iraqis with serious medical needs, survivors 

2 of violence or torture, Iraqis who are members of re3 ligious or other minority groups, including Chaldo 

4 Assyrian Christians, Sabian Mandaens, Yazidis, 

5 Jews, and Baha’is, and any other group determined 

6 to be vulnerable by the Secretary of State in con7 sultation with the UNHCR. 

8 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, ac11 cording to the UNHCR, more than 2,000,000 Iraqis 

12 have fled their homes for neighboring countries to 

13 avoid sectarian and other violence. 

14 (2) According to the UNHCR, there are more 

15 than 2,700,000 IDPs, many lacking adequate food, 

16 shelter, and other basic services. 

17 (3) The security situation in several locations 

18 within Iraq reduces access to the Iraqi population by 

19 Iraqi Government agencies and humanitarian aid 

20 providers and greatly limits the provision of aid. 

21 (4) The Iraq Study group predicted that ‘‘[a] 

22 humanitarian catastrophe could follow as more refu23 gees are forced to relocate across the country and 

24 the region.’’. 


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1 (5) The dispersion of Iraqi refugees in poor 

2 urban areas of host countries makes it exceedingly 

3 difficult for humanitarian agencies to identify and 

4 reach these populations. 

5 (6) Many Iraqis have put their lives and those 

6 of their families at risk by working for the United 

7 States Government, United States corporations, the 

8 United States media, and nongovernmental organi9 zations. 

10 (7) Since March 2003, the United States has 

11 resettled fewer than 20,000 Iraqi refugees, while 

12 Jordan and Syria have provided temporary asylum 

13 to 2,000,000 Iraqis, and other countries neighboring 

14 Iraq have received tens of thousands more Iraqis. 

15 (8) Since March 2003, Sweden has accepted 

16 40,000 Iraqi refugees, and Denmark evacuated and 

17 resettled 370 Iraqi interpreters and other Iraqis who 

18 worked for Danish troops prior to the Danish con19 tingent’s departure from Iraq in 2007. 

20 (9) Current United States policies governing 

21 the processing of refugees constrain United States 

22 Government agencies from expediting the screening 

23 processes and increasing the number of Iraqis ac24 cepted into the United States. 


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1 (10) The massive flow of Iraqi refugees into 

2 neighboring host countries has overwhelmed existing 

3 social, economic, and security capacities of such 

4 countries. 

5 (11) While Iraqi refugees and IDPs are dis6 proportionately made up of vulnerable populations, 

7 many other segments of the Iraqi population at large 

8 are also vulnerable. 

9 (12) Increasing poverty and despair among dis10 placed populations may provide fertile ground for ex11 tremist ideologies to take root and possible recruit12 ment by extremist groups. 

13 (13) The humanitarian crisis in Iraq and neigh14 boring countries threatens to destabilize the entire 

15 region. 

16 (14) United States policy is to admit at least 

17 50 percent of the refugees referred by the UNHCR. 

18 (15) During 2008, the Government of Iraq 

19 dedicated $18,000,000 to its Ministry of Displaced 

20 and Immigration and offered $25,000,000 to neigh21 boring countries hosting Iraqi refugees. 

22 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) Iraqi refugees and IDPs will have an impact 

25 on the security of the region and the short- and 


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1 long-term effects of their displacement should be 

2 considered within overall United States policy to3 ward Iraq and be addressed at the highest levels of 

4 Government; 

5 (2) it is in the United States humanitarian and 

6 national interests to demonstrate the United States 

7 commitment to resettle Iraqi refugees and IDPs and 

8 the United States should work with other govern9 ments, including the member states of the Organiza10 tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to en11 courage such governments to do the same; and 

12 (3) the United States should express its grati13 tude and support to host countries for providing hu14 manitarian assistance to Iraqi refugees and to coun15 tries that have already resettled Iraqi refugees. 

16 SEC. 5. STATEMENTS OF POLICY. 

17 The policy of the United States shall be the following: 

18 (1) To lead an initiative to provide for the relief 

19 of vulnerable populations in Iraq and Iraqi refugees 

20 in neighboring countries and to take the lead in 

21 funding assistance requests from the UNHCR, other 

22 humanitarian agencies, and international organiza23 tions by funding at levels well above the traditional 

24 United States share, and to assist in the resettle25 ment of Iraqi refugees. 


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1 (2) To develop immediately a long-term com2 prehensive strategy for Iraq in coordination with the 

3 Government of Iraq and host countries, the United 

4 Nations, and nongovernmental organizations to meet 

5 the humanitarian and security needs of Iraqi refu6 gees and IDPs and to establish within the Executive 

7 Office of the President a Special Coordinator for 

8 Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons to 

9 ensure expeditious and effective implementation of 

10 such a strategy. 

11 (3) To work with the Government of Iraq, the 

12 United Nations, and nongovernmental organizations 

13 to help the Government of Iraq improve its capacity 

14 and ability to provide relief for vulnerable popu15 lations in Iraq in all communities throughout Iraq 

16 and to provide assistance to Iraqi refugees in neigh17 boring countries. 

18 (4) To commit to working with international 

19 partners, including the United Nations, donor coun20 tries, international financial institutions, inter21 national and indigenous nongovernmental organiza22 tions, and other international organizations to assist 

23 in providing for the emergency, medium-, and long24 term humanitarian needs of vulnerable populations 

25 in Iraq and Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries. 


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1 SEC. 6. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR VULNERABLE 

2 POPULATIONS IN IRAQ AND IRAQI REFU3 GEES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

5 (e), with respect to vulnerable populations in Iraq and 

6 with respect to each country containing a significant popu7 lation of Iraqi refugees, including Jordan, Syria, Turkey, 

8 Lebanon, and Egypt, the Secretary of State shall provide 

9 bilateral assistance to such countries, as appropriate 

10 under United States law, or funding to international orga11 nizations and nongovernmental organizations in accord12 ance with subsection (b) that are working to provide hu13 manitarian assistance, including adequate food, shelter, 

14 clean drinking water, sanitation, health care, education, 

15 related social services, and protection to such refugees or 

16 populations. 

17 (b) ASSISTANCE AND FUNDING.—Assistance and 

18 funding under subsection (a) shall be in the form of— 

19 (1) contributions to the UNHCR that are not 

20 less than 50 percent of the amount requested by the 

21 UNHCR and other international organizations pro22 viding humanitarian assistance to vulnerable popu23 lations in Iraq and to Iraqi refugees in neighboring 

24 countries, for 2009, 2010, and 2011 for aid to such 

25 populations and refugees; 


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1 (2) contributions to the International Federa2 tion of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, other non3 governmental organizations, and other international 

4 organizations working in such countries to provide 

5 aid to vulnerable populations in Iraq and to Iraqi 

6 refugees in neighboring countries; and 

7 (3) technical assistance to relevant ministries of 

8 the Government of Iraq, contingent on substantially 

9 increased Government of Iraq funding of assistance 

10 programs for vulnerable populations in Iraq and for 

11 Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, together 

12 with appropriate monitoring mechanisms. 

13 (c) SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO VULNER14 ABLE POPULATIONS IN IRAQ AND IRAQI REFUGEES.—The 

15 Secretary of State shall make every effort to ensure that 

16 the humanitarian needs of vulnerable populations in Iraq 

17 and Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries are met, in18 cluding increased resources to improve the registration ca19 pabilities of nongovernmental organizations for such vul20 nerable populations and such refugees, adequate food, 

21 shelter, clean drinking water, sanitation, health care, edu22 cation, and protection. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

25 appropriated $700,000,000 for each of fiscal years 


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1 2009, 2010, and 2011 to carry out this section. 

2 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this authoriza3 tion shall be in addition to amounts otherwise avail4 able for such purposes. 

5 (2) FOR JORDAN.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts 

7 authorized to be appropriated pursuant to para8 graph (1), there is authorized to be appro9 priated $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 to 

10 Jordan to provide humanitarian assistance to 

11 Iraqi refugees and to provide the necessary in12 frastructure to support both the needs of Iraqi 

13 refugees and the Jordanian people, such as for 

14 housing, educational facilities, health clinics, 

15 improved access to water resources and sanita16 tion facilities and related social services. 

17 (B) COOPERATION AND MONITORING.—In 

18 cooperation with the Government of Jordan, the 

19 President shall establish appropriate monitoring 

20 and transparency mechanisms to ensure that 

21 funds appropriated pursuant to the authoriza22 tion of appropriations in subparagraph (A) are 

23 effectively administered. 

24 (e) EXCEPTION.—Direct bilateral assistance may not 

25 be provided to Syria. 


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1 SEC. 7. IRAQI REFUGEE ADMISSIONS AND PROCESSING. 

2 (a) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.—In addition to the 

3 numerical limitations provided for under subsections (a) 

4 and (b) of section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), the number of refugees who may 

6 be admitted during fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011 

7 under subsection (c) of such section shall be increased by 

8 not fewer than 20,000 for the purpose of admitting refu9 gees who— 

10 (1) are citizens or nationals of Iraq; and 

11 (2) became refugees on or after March 19, 

12 2003. 

13 (b) PROCESSING PERSONNEL INCREASE.—Not later 

14 than September 30, 2009, the Secretary of State, in co15 ordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall, 

16 subject to the availability of appropriations for such pur17 pose, have increased by 100 percent the number of Fed18 eral personnel in Iraq (and in other countries in the re19 gion, where appropriate) who are conducting security re20 views of Iraqis who have applied for admission to the 

21 United States as refugees above the number of such per22 sonnel conducting such reviews on the date of the enact23 ment of this Act. 

24 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 


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1 necessary for fiscal years 2009 through 2011 to carry out 

2 this section. 

3 SEC. 8. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. 

4 The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Sec5 retary of Homeland Security, shall work with the inter6 national community, including the United Nations, the 

7 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the 

8 European Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab 

9 League, the Organization of American States, the Associa10 tion of Southeast Asian Nations, and others to establish 

11 mechanisms to provide— 

12 (1) financial assistance to vulnerable popu13 lations in Iraq and to Iraqi refugees in neighboring 

14 countries through bilateral assistance to host govern15 ments or through international organizations that 

16 are working directly with such populations and such 

17 refugees; 

18 (2) technical and financial assistance to inter19 national organizations in order to process refugees; 

20 and 

21 (3) increased attention to and advocacy on be22 half of vulnerable populations in Iraq and Iraqi refu23 gees in neighboring countries by continuing to 

24 strongly support the work of United Nations agenVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:46 Jan 20, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H578.IH H578

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1 cies and international organizations providing pro2 tection and assistance. 

3 SEC. 9. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter, the Sec6 retary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

7 shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

9 Relations of the Senate a report on the implementation 

10 of this Act, including— 

11 (1) information concerning assistance and fund12 ing to host countries and international organizations 

13 and nongovernmental organizations pursuant to sec14 tion 6, and accountability reports regarding the ex15 penditure of such funds; 

16 (2) information concerning measures taken by 

17 the United States to increase its capabilities to proc18 ess IDPs and Iraqi refugees for resettlement and the 

19 number of such IDPs and refugees resettled under 

20 section 7; 

21 (3) an evaluation of the effectiveness of meas22 ures implemented by agencies of the Government of 

23 Iraq to provide direct assistance to vulnerable popu24 lations in Iraq and Iraqi refugees in neighboring 

25 countries; and 


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1 (4) information concerning progress on the im2 plementation of the long-term comprehensive strat3 egy described in section 5(2). 

Æ 


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