STATEMENT OF THE MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 5616) to amend the act entitled "An act to provide that the United States shall aid the States in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes," approved July 11, 1916, as amended and supplemented, and for other purposes, submit the following statement in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon by the conferees: Amendment No. 1: The Senate amendment added to the bill a new section which amended section 6 of the act of July 11, 1916, as amended and supplemented, by increasing the limit of payments which the Secretary of Agriculture might make under such section to $25,000 per mile exclusive of the cost of bridges of more than 20 feet clear span, and provided that the limitation of payment in publicland States might be increased in proportion to the increased percentage authorized by section 11 of the Federal highway act of November 9, 1921, as amended. The amendment applied to funds appropriated and available for payment to the States on the date of the approval of the amendatory act, as well as to future appropriations made. The House recedes from its disagreement to the amendment No. 1 of the Senate, with an amendment which provides that such limit of payments shall be $15,000 per mile until the original certified 7 per cent system of such State shall have been surfaced, and further provides that any increase above the $15,000 limit shall be certified by the Director of the Bureau of Public Roads and the Secretary of Agriculture as securing actual extension of the highway system or economy in its construction. Amendment No. 2: The Senate amendment makes a change in section number, and the House recedes. C. C. DOWELL, ED. B. ALMON, Managers on the part of the House. EXEMPTION FROM THE QUOTA OF AGED FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS MARCH 25, 1930.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. DICKSTEIN, from the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5646] The Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 5646) to exempt from the quota husbands, fathers, and mothers of American citizens, having had the same under consideration, reports it back to the House with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass. The amendment made by the committee is a limitation on age, exempting from the quota restriction only those parents of American citizens who are in advancing years, being aged 55 or over. Under the present law fathers and mothers of American citizens are granted preferences within the quotas of the countries of their birth. Such preferences have alleviated many hardships due to the separation of families, but by reason of the fact that many quotas are exceedingly small, the preference is of no benefit or relief in certain cases. The situation is one of inquality as between American citizens of different national origins. For instance, an American citizen establishing preference for his aged mother born in England is able to secure her admission almost immediately, whereas an American citizen establishing preference for his parent born in a country of southern Europe must wait indefinitely. This is an inequality which has been well appreciated by students of the immigration problem since a date soon after passage of the immigration act of 1924. Its correction is not only a simple act of justice and humanity, but decidedly of advantage to the policy of selective immigration and an economic benefit to the United States. The humanitarian aspect of the matter is in respect of the reunion of separated families. The justice of it is the establishment of parity as between American citizens equally entitled to benefit. The advantage to the policy of selective immigration results from the opening of places in the quotas (hereto HR-71-2-VOL 277 fore assigned under the parent's preference) to aliens economically desirable. The economic benefit operates through the probability that numbers of parents now supported by American money transmitted abroad, may hereafter be supported by American funds in the United States, thus keeping an amount of wealth, estimated at over fifty million, at home. The committee is therefore of the opinion that where the parents of an American citizen are 55 years of age or over, they can not seriously come into competition with American labor, and if their children who may be citizens of the United States wish to bring them into the country, they should be given an opportunity to do so. By this humanitarian act the committee will have relieved cases of extreme hardship, in accordance with the suggestions contained in the latest Annual Report of the Commissioner of Immigration, as well as the Secretary of Labor. In compliance with paragraph 2A of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in the existing law made by the bill are shown as follows: Existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in Roman; new matter is printed in italics. SEC. 4. When used in this act the term "nonquota immigrant" means (a) An immigrant who is the unmarried child under twenty-one years of age, or the wife, of a citizen of the United States, or the husband of a citizen of the United States by marriage occurring prior to June 1, 1928, or the father or the mother of a citizen of the United States, if such father or mother is 55 years of age or over. |