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25 Refugee Reports 1 (2004)

handle is hein.immigration/refgrpt0025 and id is 1 raw text is: RA News Service of Immigration and Refugee Services of America ~fugee Reports VOLUME 25, NUMBER 1 JANUARY/IEBRUARY ZUU4 5A FY 2004 Omnibus Bill Sets Funding for Refugee Protection and Assistance: Includes New Provision on Refugee Resettlement On January 23, the president signed an FY 2004 omnibus appropriations bill that includes U.S. fund- ing for refugee protection and assistance this fiscal year (Public Law 108-199). The omnibus bill also includes a little known but important provision entitled, Report on Admission of Refugees, which directs the secretary of state to take several mea- sures to enhance the identification and processing of refugees for U.S. admission. While the bill sets funding levels below what advocates had sought, the refugee amendment is a victory for them. Another victory-the Specter amendment designed to help U.S. resettlement applicants stranded in Vienna, Austria-also passed under the omnibus bill (see story, page 5.) MRA Down, ERMA Up The final agreement appropriates $760.197 million for Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) and $30 million for the Emergency Refugee and Migra- tion Assistance account (ERMA). The MRA appro- priation is the same as the president's request, but it is $21.688 million less than the FY 2003 level of $781.885 million. The ERMA appropriation is $10 million less than the president's request but $4.169 mil- lion more than the FY 2003 level of $25.831 million. The MRA account funds the UN High Com- missioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other agencies that provide humanitarian assistance and protec- tion to refugees overseas, including physical and legal protection and the provision of food, shelter, health services, and other assistance. MRA funds also help pay the initial cost for refugees to resettle in the United States; aid to refugees resettling in Israel; and administrative expenses of the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migra- tion (PRM). The ERMA account, which is replenished yearly, supplies funds for urgent and unforeseen migration needs. ERMA is a no-year account that the President may draw on at any time to meet un- expected urgent refugee needs. The term no-year means that any funds left over in the account at the end of a fiscal year can be carried over into the next fiscal year. In the FY 2004 omnibus bill, Congress waived the provision of law that says the amount of funds appropriate for ERMA cannot cause the bal- ance of the account to exceed $100 million. The MRA and ERMA accounts are found in the International Affairs function of the federal budget, and appropriations are provided each year IN THIS ISSUE: Lead Story FY2004 Omnibus Bill Cuts Refugee Assistance, Adds Provisions on Refugee Resettlement ........................... 1 Recent Developments Dan Shanfield reports on the Specter Amendment's relief for Iranian refugees stranded in Vienna ............. 5 Stacy Tolchin reports on DHS's decision to change Special Registration re-registration requirement .......... 6 Temporary reprieve for refugees cut off from SSI ............. 8 Massive displacement in Sudan's Darfur region ............... 9 Field Notes Joel Frushone reports on the challenges faced by Angolan refugees returning home .............................. 11 R e s o u rc e s ............................................................................... . . 15 S ta tistic s ............................................................................ 16 J

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