ABSTRACT
From early August 1996, when Pistone learned how the Republicans were planning to craft the refugee provisions of the conference report, until midSeptember, when the report was published, we could describe the coming train wreck, but we couldn’t yet see the train. By late September, when Smith and Hatch refused to allow Democrats even to offer amendments at the Conference Committee meeting, we could count the boxcars and hear the whistle. Our attempt to stop the train by asking Senators to filibuster the bill was aborted by the successful last-minute White House negotiations that ameliorated the social welfare provisions but did nothing for refugees.
