U.S. Rescinds Plans to Cut Refugee Funds

In a move welcomed by California lawmakers, the Clinton Administration has rescinded its plans to cut funds for health and welfare benefits to help resettle new arrivals fleeing religious and political persecution.

Although the initial savings for states is modest, Californians who sought the change in policy said Wednesday that it represents a significant reversal from efforts by the Bush and Reagan administrations to pass the expense of accommodating refugees and immigrants onto states that absorb them.

They said that the decision reflects an awareness of the economic and political importance of California--which is home to as many as half of the nation’s refugees.

“The President is particularly sensitive to federal mandates that push costs onto states, having been on the receiving end as governor of Arkansas,” said Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), one of those who lobbied to change the refugee policy. “And he is particularly sensitive to California--our own fiscal crisis, our economic problems.”

In a March 16 memorandum, the Department of Health and Human Services informed state refugee coordinators that it would not proceed with a regulation announced two weeks earlier to reduce the period that it would cover benefits for new refugees from eight months to five. Sources said the Administration has also signaled its intention to seek increased funding for the program in its 1994 budget proposal.

The reduction had followed the Administration’s discovery that it did not have enough money in the current fiscal year budget to cover benefits for more than five months. The shortfall is about $27 million, which the Administration plans to request in a supplemental budget appropriation. California will receive more than 20% of the program’s total funds this year.

The money is intended to help resettle impoverished refugees who have fled persecution in their homelands. The number of refugees allowed into the United States from particular countries is determined by the State Department.

In 1980, the federal government agreed to provide cash and medical aid to eligible refugees for 36 months. This coverage was reduced to 18 months during the Reagan Administration and to eight months during Bush’s term.

The latest proposed cutback triggered protests by California lawmakers and colleagues from Texas, Florida and other states with large numbers of refugees. In the past, these states have faced an uphill fight because they are competing for limited funds with other health and welfare programs that have broader impact nationwide.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who was instrumental in the campaign to rescind the cut, credited the state’s often-fractious delegation with coming together quickly “to help the people of California.”