SB 2017-113: Refugee Act 2017 (Passed)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

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Sponsor: Barnes

I hereby open this floor for debate.

24 hours to advocate, Barnes!

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I have absolutely no qualms with this legislation and I will vote in favor of it.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     My thoughts about the current situation are quite complicated, though I do think our different logistics make us naturally resistant to the problems that Europe has experienced with the migrant crisis.

     I don't know how good Syria's records are or how easy this is to verify, but I do think it is important that we can definitively establish that the people who come here are actually displaced from Syria. Part of Europe's problem has been people streaming in from all over the Middle East, including from countries that are not experiencing any serious unrest.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I absolutely believe that, while there have been cases of gross mismanagement of the migrant situation in Europe, Atlasia is much better equipped to take in and support refugees without compromising our national security or inadvertently creating a permanent underclass of people not assimilated into the culture, and I appreciate that this bill recognizes the need to fully vet those applying for refugee status as well as help them adjust to new life in the Republic.

[Barnes]

I would like to thank every senator who has spoken so far on this bill and am deeply encouraged by their statements of support.

This bill is modeled on legislation which I introduced and successfully passed in the Fremont House of Commons a few months ago. The major difference which we encounter with this version is an upward limit of 50,000 refugees as an emergency intake. I would like to make it clear that this legislation does not subsume the regular refugee intake system, but rather provides a temporary increase into what is one of the most desperate situations in the world.

The Syrian Civil War has displaced several millions of people both internally and externally leaving hundreds of thousands of people with no home, heat, or even access to clean drinking water. The largest recipients of Syrian refugees have in fact been Jordan and Turkey, both of whom have established temporary camps which have housed people in tents through the brutalities summer and winter for several years.

It is my firm belief that Atlasia can and should do so much more. As my distinguished colleagues have stated, our country is a proven success story in integration of diverse cultures, religions, and languages, with a common Atlasian identity growing in concert with diverse and dynamic immigrant cultures.

This legislation ensures that each and every refugee must meet the full requirements of resettlement already in place for every region around the globe, and, through funding, we will ensure that resettled families have access to English language education and job training. We cannot allow men, women, and children feeling the horrors of war to be cast into an underclass upon coming to this country.

The main initiative of this bill is the establishment of a public-private sponsorship program which will see Atlasian households adopt a family and take charge of their sponsorship here; providing communities with new life and families with a new hope.

I am more than happy to address any concerns which my colleagues might have, and commend this bill to the Senate.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Aside from being curious as to when the Senator believes this (if at all) should be used, I believe I would be willing to sign this bill.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Scott,

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Perhaps using this as a guide is more appropriate for title reference on the noticeboard, then a paragraph objective statement.

I would also recommend the title be bolded, even when it appears in such a format as a clause within a definitions or title section.

[Barnes]

I had hoped someone would catch that eventually!

[Barnes]

Are there any other concerns which my colleagues might have?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I am wondering if it would be useful to specify that someone's refugee status (which, for the purposes of this bill, would include Syrian origin) be verifiable. As I mentioned above, people coming from other parts of the Middle East has been a big problem in Europe's management of the situation.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Bump.

[Barnes]

In response to Senator Scott, the act itself mandates that all refugees meet the UNHCR's definition of refugees fleeing the Syrian crisis, and all such persons must comply with all previously established vetting procedures in Atlasia.

This should not be a way to work around the system, but to deliver a certain number of people hnrough it in an errand of mercy.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I am pleased with Senator Barnes's response. Thank you.

[Barnes]

If there are no other concerns, Inwould like to move towards a final vote on this bill.

[Wikipedia delenda est]

This act has earned my support. My view on this bill is similar to my view on the famine relief bill, in that I believe that supporting both bills is simply a matter of compassion. People should not be made to suffer simply because they happen to be from a country at risk of experiencing a famine, or in the case of this bill, because they happen to be from a country experiencing a bloody and brutal civil war. Atlasia is a diverse country made up of many different cultures, and the cultures that refugees will bring to Atlasia will have the positive effect of making our society an even more multicultural one.

[Barnes]

I move:

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[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A final vote is now open.  Senators, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain

[Wikipedia delenda est]

Aye

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Aye.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Aye

[ZuWo]

Abstain

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Aye

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

This has enough votes to pass.  Senators have 24 hours to change their vote.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Sorry for letting this fall under the radar.

With four votes in favor and one abstention, the bill is passed.

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People's Regional Senate
Passed 4-0 in the Atlasian Senate assembled
Be it resolved, X President pro tempore
[/quote]