To require a report on the admission of refugees.

1. Inserts new text on page 147, between lines 6 and 7

   InsertsPrinted page

   Inserted: report on admission of refugees

   Inserted: Sec. 692. (a) Congress makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) As of October 2003, there are 13,000,000 refugees worldwide, many of whom have fled religious, political, and other forms of persecution.

   Inserted: (2) Refugee resettlement remains a critical tool of international refugee protection and an essential component of the humanitarian and foreign policy of the United States.

   Inserted: (3) Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the President designates, in a Presidential Determination, a target number of refugees to be admitted to the United States under the United States Refugee Resettlement Program.

   Inserted: (4) Although the President authorized the admission of 70,000 refugees in fiscal year 2003, only 28,419 refugees were admitted.

   Inserted: (5) From fiscal year 1980 to fiscal year 2000, the average level of U.S. refugee admissions was slightly below 100,000 per year.

   Inserted: (6) The United States Government policy is to resettle the designated number of refugees each fiscal year. Congress expects the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the admission of 70,000 refugees as authorized by the President for fiscal year 2004.

   Inserted: (b)(1) The Secretary of State shall utilize private voluntary organizations with expertise in the protection needs of refugees in the processing of refugees overseas for admission and resettlement to the United States, and shall utilize such agencies in addition to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the identification and referral of refugees.

   Inserted: (2) The Secretary of State shall establish a system for accepting referrals of appropriate candidates for resettlement from local private, voluntary organizations and work to ensure that particularly vulnerable refugee groups receive special consideration for admission into the United States, including--

   Inserted: (A) long-stayers in countries of first asylum;

   Inserted: (B) unaccompanied refugee minors;

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   Inserted: (C) refugees outside traditional camp settings; and

   Inserted: (D) refugees in woman-headed households.

   Inserted: (3) The Secretary of State shall give special consideration to--

   Inserted: (A) refugees of all nationalities who have close family ties to citizens and residents of the United States; and

   Inserted: (B) other groups of refugees who are of special concern to the United States.

   Inserted: (4) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees describing the steps that have been taken to implement this subsection.

   Inserted: (c) Not later than September 30, 2004, if the actual refugee admissions numbers do not conform with the authorized ceiling on the number of refugees who may be admitted, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall report to Congress on the--

   Inserted: (1) execution and implementation of the refugee resettlement program; and

   Inserted: (2) reasons for the failure to resettle the maximum number of refugees.

   Original wording

   On page 147, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:

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As printed