[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1926 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1926

 To provide for the granting of refugee status in the United States to 
 nationals of certain foreign countries in which American Vietnam War 
   POW/MIAs or American Korean War POW/MIAs may be present, if those 
 nationals assist in the return to the United States of those POW/MIAs 
                                 alive.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 1999

 Mr. Hefley (for himself, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, 
  Mr. Shows, Mr. Holden, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. 
Schaffer, Mr. Fossella, Mr. English, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Whitfield, 
  Ms. Granger, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. 
Davis of Virginia, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Shays, 
  Mr. Filner, Mr. McCollum, Mr. Hilleary, Mr. Lucas of Kentucky, Mr. 
    McGovern, Mr. King, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. 
 Hostettler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the granting of refugee status in the United States to 
 nationals of certain foreign countries in which American Vietnam War 
   POW/MIAs or American Korean War POW/MIAs may be present, if those 
 nationals assist in the return to the United States of those POW/MIAs 
                                 alive.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bring Them Home Alive Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. AMERICAN VIETNAM WAR POW/MIA ASYLUM PROGRAM.

    (a) Asylum for Eligible Aliens.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Attorney General shall grant refugee status in 
the United States to any alien described in subsection (b), upon the 
application of that alien.
    (b) Eligibility.--Refugee status shall be granted under subsection 
(a) to--
            (1) any alien who--
                    (A) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, 
                China, or any of the independent states of the former 
                Soviet Union; and
                    (B) personally delivers into the custody of the 
                United States Government a living American Vietnam War 
                POW/MIA; and
            (2) any parent, spouse, or child of an alien described in 
        paragraph (1).
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) American vietnam war pow/mia.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the term ``American Vietnam War POW/MIA'' means an 
                individual--
                            (i) who is a member of a uniformed service 
                        (within the meaning of section 101(3) of title 
                        37, United States Code) in a missing status (as 
                        defined in section 551(2) of such title and 
                        this subsection) as a result of the Vietnam 
                        War; or
                            (ii) who is an employee (as defined in 
                        section 5561(2) of title 5, United States Code) 
                        in a missing status (as defined in section 
                        5561(5) of such title) as a result of the 
                        Vietnam War.
                    (B) Exclusion.--Such term does not include an 
                individual with respect to whom it is officially 
                determined under section 552(c) of title 37, United 
                States Code, that such individual is officially absent 
                from such individual's post of duty without authority.
            (2) Missing status.--The term ``missing status'', with 
        respect to the Vietnam War, means the status of an individual 
        as a result of the Vietnam War if immediately before that 
        status began the individual--
                    (A) was performing service in Vietnam; or
                    (B) was performing service in Southeast Asia in 
                direct support of military operations in Vietnam.
            (3) Vietnam war.--The term ``Vietnam War'' means the 
        conflict in Southeast Asia during the period that began on 
        February 28, 1961, and ended on May 7, 1975.

SEC. 3. AMERICAN KOREAN WAR POW/MIA ASYLUM PROGRAM.

    (a) Asylum for Eligible Aliens.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Attorney General shall grant refugee status in 
the United States to any alien described in subsection (b), upon the 
application of that alien.
    (b) Eligibility.--Refugee status shall be granted under subsection 
(a) to--
            (1) any alien--
                    (A) who is a national of North Korea, China, or any 
                of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; 
                and
                    (B) who personally delivers into the custody of the 
                United States Government a living American Korean War 
                POW/MIA; and
            (2) any parent, spouse, or child of an alien described in 
        paragraph (1).
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) American korean war pow/mia.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the term ``American Korean War POW/MIA'' means an 
                individual--
                            (i) who is a member of a uniformed service 
                        (within the meaning of section 101(3) of title 
                        37, United States Code) in a missing status (as 
                        defined in section 551(2) of such title and 
                        this subsection) as a result of the Korean War; 
                        or
                            (ii) who is an employee (as defined in 
                        section 5561(2) of title 5, United States Code) 
                        in a missing status (as defined in section 
                        5561(5) of such title) as a result of the 
                        Korean War.
                    (B) Exclusion.--Such term does not include an 
                individual with respect to whom it is officially 
                determined under section 552(c) of title 37, United 
                States Code, that such individual is officially absent 
                from such individual's post of duty without authority.
            (2) Korean war.--The term ``Korean War'' means the conflict 
        on the Korean peninsula during the period that began on June 
        27, 1950, and ended January 31, 1955.
            (3) Missing status.--The term ``missing status'', with 
        respect to the Korean War, means the status of an individual as 
        a result of the Korean War if immediately before that status 
        began the individual--
                    (A) was performing service in the Korean peninsula; 
                or
                    (B) was performing service in Asia in direct 
                support of military operations in the Korean peninsula.

SEC. 4. BROADCASTING INFORMATION ON THE ``BRING THEM HOME ALIVE'' 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--The International Broadcasting Bureau 
        shall broadcast, through WORLDNET Television and Film Service 
        and Radio or otherwise, information that promotes the ``Bring 
        Them Home Alive'' refugee program under this Act to foreign 
        countries covered by paragraph (2).
            (2) Covered countries.--The foreign countries covered by 
        paragraph (1) are--
                    (A) Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, and North 
                Korea; and
                    (B) Russia and the other independent states of the 
                former Soviet Union.
    (b) Level of Programming.--The International Broadcasting Bureau 
shall broadcast--
            (1) at least 20 hours of the programming described in 
        subsection (a)(1) during the 10-day period that begins on the 
        date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) at least 10 hours of the programming described in 
        subsection (a)(1) in each calendar quarter during the period 
        beginning with the first calendar quarter that begins after the 
        date of enactment of this Act and ending five years after the 
        date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Availability of Information on the Internet.--International 
Broadcasting Bureau shall ensure that information regarding the ``Bring 
Them Home Alive'' refugee program under this Act is readily available 
on the World Wide Web sites of the Bureau.
    (d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that RFE/RL, 
Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, and any other recipient of Federal 
grants that engages in international broadcasting to the countries 
covered by subsection (a)(2) should broadcast information similar to 
the information required to be broadcast by subsection (a)(1).
    (e) Definition.--The term ``International Broadcasting Bureau'' 
means the International Broadcasting Bureau of the United States 
Information Agency or, on and after the effective date of title XIII of 
the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (as contained 
in division G of Public Law 105-277), the International Broadcasting 
Bureau of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT STATES OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``independent states of the former Soviet 
Union'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the FREEDOM 
Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801).
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