The Volags (the supposedly voluntary federal contractors) who resettle refugees in the US talk only about reforming the poorly administered program via reaping more of your tax money. Just send money and we will be fine! And, as they continually beg for more refugees to come to the US, there will always be the companion plea that there is never enough money. Take for instance this press release from the Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) which is a consortium of groups comprising the refugee industry.
They make it sound like they only want the money for the refugees, but really they want to stay in business with a taxpayer-funded bail-out.
WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), the nation’s leading coalition of non-profit organizations working to protect the rights of refugees, commended the proposed increases in funding for refugees and internally displaced persons in the Obama Administration’s fiscal year 2010 budget. The proposed increases reveal a commitment to begin to address the needs of refugees and displaced persons in the regular budget and not rely on supplemental funding to fill the gaps midway through the year. Such an approach would help ensure more effective program planning and delivery in 2010. Still, the President’s request will not meet all identified needs and priorities. Substantial additional funding will be required. RCUSA pledged to work with Congress and the Administration in the coming months to ensure that these additional increases are appropriated to address the humanitarian and protection needs of the world’s refugees both overseas and here in the United States.
Apparently Obama has increased funding for Refugee Resettlement but not by enough to satisfy this lobbying organization, RCUSA.
While we are encouraged by the proposed modest increase in funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement to $741 million, RCUSA believes that providing additional funding of at least $208 million would help ensure that there are resources necessary to properly address the needs of refugees resettled in the United States. The current economic crisis, which affects millions of Americans, has had an especially damaging impact on vulnerable refugees offered protection and safety by the United States Government.
We have told you about RCUSA before, here. They have been lobbying, just 3 months ago, for the Obama Administration to bring 45,000 Iraq refugees to the US in this fiscal year. Frankly they are nuts! In the first 7 months of FY 2009 which began October 1, we have resettled 9,581 Iraqis and they are profoundly unhappy. Most have no work and their living conditions are deplorable, some have even returned to the Middle East.
Finally, I thought this was amusing, guess who is asking for more money—one of the International Rescue Committee’s six-figured salary VP’s (see this post from last December in which Mr. Carey’s name came up in a story about refugees having no jobs). From yesterday’s RCUSA press release:
“Refugee Council USA is encouraged by the overall increase in the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA), International Disaster Assistance (IDA), and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) accounts. This is especially welcome at a time when the number of refugees and displaced people in the world – as well as their needs – are growing,” Robert J. Carey, Chair of Refugee Council USA, stated.
Meanwhile the International Rescue Committee, instead of first paring down its New York headquarter salaries and expenses closed its Boston Office and left the refugees there in a lurch, so much for humanitarian compassion!