[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 114 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H7468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CENTRAL AMERICAN AND HAITIAN PARITY ACT OF 1999--MESSAGE FROM 
                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  I am pleased to transmit for your immediate consideration and 
enactment the ``Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999.'' Also 
transmitted is a section-by-section analysis. This legislative 
proposal, which would amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central 
American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA), is part of my Administration's 
comprehensive effort to support the process of democratization and 
stabilization now underway in Central America and Haiti and to ensure 
equitable treatment for migrants from these countries. The proposed 
bill would allow qualified nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, 
Honduras, and Haiti an opportunity to become lawful permanent residents 
of the United States. Consequently, under this bill, eligible nationals 
of these countries would receive treatment equivalent to that granted 
to the Nicaraguans and Cubans under NACARA.
  Like Nicaraguans and Cubans, many Salvadorans, Guatemalans, 
Hondurans, and Haitians fled human rights abuses or unstable political 
and economic conditions in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet these latter groups 
received lesser treatment than that granted to Nicaraguans and Cubans 
by NACARA. The United States has a strong foreign policy interest in 
providing the same treatment to these similarly situated people. 
Moreover, the countries from which these migrants have come are young 
and fragile democracies in which the United States has played and will 
continue to play a very important role. The return of these migrants to 
these countries would place significant demands on their economic and 
political systems. By offering legal status to a number of nationals of 
these countries with long-standing ties in the United States, we can 
advance our commitment to peace and stability in the region.
  Passage of the ``Central American and Haitian Party Act of 1999'' 
will evidence our commitment to fair and even-handed treatment of 
nationals from these countries and to the strengthening of democracy 
and economic stability among important neighbors. I urge the prompt and 
favorable consideration of this legislative proposal by the Congress.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, August 5, 1999.