It is all about the money! Will Congressional
Republicans save us, or not? (More money Part II), by Ann Corcoran 8/28/16
The Rally4Refugees (aka Rally4Money) kicks off today in Washington and
although organizers want to give the impression that this is all about saving
the downtrodden of the world, they know and are working toward the goal of
wringing more of your money, taxpayer dollars, out of you to expand their
progressive power base, force diversity down everyone’s throats, and help bring
a steady supply of cheap labor for their partners in the global economy.
We can
impotently holler and scream about the UN, about Obama, about Soros and
Hillary, but we should be screaming at the Republicans in Congress and
especially the leadership.
Obama cannot expand
the numbers of refugees he wants for FY2017 without the accompanying money from
you! A week or so
ago we
told you that Obama is
looking to get $2.2 BILLION appropriated for FY2017 for the Office of Refugee
Resettlement alone. The fiscal year begins October 1!
Congress and the power
of the purse!
We can scream
and shout about the UN, Obama, Soros, and Hillary, but whether your town
isspared becoming a new or expanded resettlement site depends on these two!
Senator Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan. When Congress
returns after Labor Day, will Congress pass a ‘continuing budget resolution’
until a later date (past the November election)?
Will they
address next year’s budget in the lame duck session following the election and
after we know who will be our President in 2017?
Might they pass
a continuing resolution until say March (giving a new President time to have
some influence)? Or, they could pass a whole year’s budget in the lame duck.
We don’t know, but you can be sure that during
those September days (before they leave to campaign in October) funding issues
will be front and center for them.
The point I’m
making is that your energy must now be placed on stopping the funding for refugee resettlement (or at minimum
keeping it at last year’s level) when the contractors and those organizing that
rally today will be putting all their time and energy (most likely using your
money to lobby as well!) into expanding the funding levels to accommodate
whatever crazy number Obama will announce at the UN in September. Go
here and look at
their postcard to Congress—it is about MONEY! The nine federal resettlement contractors***
have no money if they can’t get it from you!
Again, Obama
says he wants $2.2 Billion for ORR (in the Dept. of Health and Human Services)
while the House Appropriations Committee has already weighed in and said, no.
They propose keeping the funding at last year’s level.
See what they
said here in the Appropriations Committee report
earlier this summer (hat tip: Richard at Blue Ridge Forum). The
Committee recommends $1.6 billion. The contracting agencies will have a much more
difficult time trying to open all the new offices they have been talking about
with money at last year’s level.
Editor: Remember as you read this that this is just for the
Office of Refugee Resettlement and know that the State Department also pays out
at least another $500 million directly to the contractors. Also, be sure to
take note of the fact that the ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children’ are now costing
us almost one billion alone!
REFUGEE AND ENTRANT ASSISTANCE
The Committee
recommends $1,674,691,000 for Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs, which is
the same as the fiscal year 2016 enacted level and $575,169,000 below the
fiscal year 2017 budget request.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement
(ORR) programs are designed to help refugees, asylees,
Cuban and Haitian entrants, and trafficking victims become employed and
self-sufficient. These programs also provide for care of unaccompanied
immigrant children in Federal custody and victims of torture.
Within the total, the Committee
recommends the following:
FY 2017 Budget Activity Committee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transitional and Medical Services...... $490,000,000
Victims of Trafficking...........................
18,755,000
Social Services.................................... 155,000,000
Preventive Health.................................. 4,600,000
Targeted Assistance............................. 47,601,000
Unaccompanied Children.................... 948,000,000
Victims of
Torture................................... 10,735,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Refugees and Unaccompanied Children
Healthcare and Education Costs Related
to Illegal Immigration.--The Committee is
concerned with the significant healthcare and education costs to State and
local communities resulting from illegal immigration. In addition, the
Committee is concerned about the response time from previous inquiries on this
matter; the Committee urges the Departments of Education and Health and Human
Services to provide timely and informative assistance when requested. The
Committee further directs the Departments of Education and Health and Human
Services to provide all available Federal resources to assist State and local
governments with these increased costs that are a direct result of Federal law or policy. The Committee further directs the
Departments to provide a report to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, the Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, Science and the Subcommittee on Homeland Security within 90 days of
enactment on the costs borne by State and local governments and the Federal
government for providing health and education services to individuals without
legal immigration status.
The report should cover the costs
incurred over the course of fiscal years 2014-2016 and include projected costs
for fiscal years 2017 through 2021. The report shall also include an accounting
of what Federal resources have been directed and what Federal resources will be
directed in each year to cover these added expenses.
Note above in
blue—that is the Committee telling HHS something they want done! Such demands
can be placed in Appropriations bills. This is a good step, but it would be even better if it directed them to
find out what the state and local costs are of refugees placed in your towns as
well. Republican members of
the subcommittee responsible for the above are
listed here. Is yours among them? If so, thank
them. Tell them this is a start! Look for Part III this coming
week. So what is the US State Department asking for in FY2017?
The nine
federal resettlement contractors (participating in the rally for money today) are almost
completely funded with your tax dollars:
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2016/08/28/it-is-all-about-the-money-will-congressional-republicans-save-us-or-not-more-money-part-ii/
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