Assistance for the People of Nepal

Floor Speech

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Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I, along with a good many of my colleagues, are on a mission of mercy.

Mr. Speaker, we have a circumstance that has impacted the people of Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake has hit this country. It happened on April 25. More than 5,000 people have lost their lives; 10,000 have been injured; 2.8 million people are displaced, and 8 million people have been affected. Four Americans are confirmed dead.

There is a little bit of good news. The United States of America has committed $12.5 million in relief for the country of Nepal, but that is not enough. I believe we can do more because $415 million will be needed for humanitarian purposes alone, Mr. Speaker.

I am proud to say that a good many organizations are pitching in. One such organization is in my district in Houston, Texas, the Nepalese Association of Houston. The chairperson and president of that association, Mr. Ghimirey, has called a meeting; and I was honored to be in attendance, along with the secretary Mr. Nepal, and about 100 or more other people.

They are doing what they can to make sure they do their share to help in this time of need, and I want you to know that we in the Congress want to make sure that we do our share to help in this time of need.

Yesterday, we heard from the Prime Minister of Japan. One of the things that he said that stuck in my mind is that America provides hope for the world. America is emblematic of hope for people who are hopeless, help for those who are helpless.

America is always there for the rest of the world. We cannot allow this situation to become anything less than what America has always been for the rest of the world.

To have the hope that they need, help has to be on the way. There has to be the help that can engender the hope that people so desperately need. To give them the hope they need, there is a bill that we have filed in the Congress of the United States of America, H.R. 2033.

This bill provides temporary protected status for the people of Nepal who happen to be in the United States of America under a legal status. If they are here legally, they will be allowed to stay for an additional 18 months. They won't be sent back to harm's way in a time of crisis.

This is what America can do. This is to provide hope. By providing help and allowing those people to stay in this country, they can continue to work. They can continue to send money home. We have found from our research that $248 million in remittances were sent to Nepal in 2014. That is $248 million.

We need to allow the Nepalese people to continue to work in this country and send that money back to their countrymen and women. America can do this. This is not a heavy lift. This is not immigration reform. This is something that we have done before.

We did it in 1998, under the Clinton administration, for the people of Montserrat after the volcanic eruption. We did it in 1998, under the Clinton administration, for the people of Honduras and Nicaragua after the hurricane. We did it in 2001, under the Bush administration, for the people of El Salvador after two earthquakes. We did it in 2010, under the Obama administration, for the people of Haiti after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. We can do it for the people of Nepal.

This is not a heavy lift. It does not give anyone any kind of permanent immigration status. It does not change the law as it relates to immigration. It only says we will do what we can to help people acquire the hope that they need by allowing people here to continue to work, send money back to their home country, and not put them back there in harm's way, having to live in the circumstances that might be detrimental to them.

The United States has sent in many relief teams. These relief teams are bringing with them some temporary housing, which is important; this is important, but the real hope that we can help provide would be to pass H.R. 2033, so that people who are here can continue to stay.

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