[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1587 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1587

             To promote freedom and democracy in Viet Nam.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2003

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Royce, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. 
    Wolf, Mr. Souder, Mr. Pence, Mr. Crowley, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Mr. Towns, Mr. McNulty, Ms. Ginny 
     Brown-Waite of Florida, Mr. Ballenger, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of 
California, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Clay, Mr. Beauprez, Mr. Green 
 of Texas, Mr. English, Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Ms. Norton, Mr. Wynn, 
Mr. Bell, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Payne, Mr. Cox, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. 
 Moore, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International 
Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 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 promote freedom and democracy in Viet Nam.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Viet Nam Human 
Rights Act of 2003''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purpose.
TITLE I--PROHIBITION ON NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF 
                                VIET NAM

Sec. 101. Bilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.
Sec. 102. Multilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.
         TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT DEMOCRACY IN VIET NAM

Sec. 201. Assistance.
               TITLE III--UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Sec. 301. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Viet Nam.
Sec. 302. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with 
                            Viet Nam.
                 TITLE IV--UNITED STATES REFUGEE POLICY

Sec. 401. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Viet Nam.
TITLE V--ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIET 
                                  NAM

Sec. 501. Annual report.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Viet Nam is a one-party state, ruled and controlled by 
        the Vietnamese Communist Party.
            (2)(A) The Government of Viet Nam denies the people of Viet 
        Nam the right to change their government and prohibits 
        independent political, social, and labor organizations.
            (B) The Government of Viet Nam prohibits and hinders the 
        formation of civil society in Viet Nam.
            (3)(A) The Government of Viet Nam consistently pursues a 
        policy of harassment, discrimination, and intimidation, and 
        sometimes of imprisonment and other forms of detention, against 
        those who peacefully express dissent from government or party 
        policy. This policy includes collectively punishing family 
        members of individuals targeted for persecution. A government 
        decree allows detention without trial for 6 months to 2 years.
            (B) Following the United States ratification of the 
        Bilateral Trade Agreement with Viet Nam in 2001, the human 
        rights situation in Viet Nam has remained extremely poor. For 
        certain groups, such as the Montagnards, and other ethnic 
        minorities in Central and North Vietnam, conditions have 
        deteriorated dramatically. In late 2002, the Government of Viet 
        Nam launched a fresh wave of arrests and crackdowns against 
        peaceful critics of the Vietnamese Government, its policy of 
        repression, and its corrupt practices.
            (C) Recent victims of such mistreatment, which violates the 
        rights to freedom of expression and association recognized in 
        the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, include Dr. Nguyen 
        Dan Que, a leading human rights activist who was arrested on 
        March 17, 2003, and has already served two lengthy prison 
        sentences, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giang, Most Venerable Thich Huyen 
        Quang, Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, linguist Tran Khue, 
        businessman Nguyen Khac Toan, journalist Nguyen Vu Binh, 
        publicist Le Chi Quang, writer Hoang Tien, military historian 
        Pham Que Duong, Hoang Minh Chinh, Tran Dung Tien, Hoang Trong 
        Dung, Nguyen Vu Viet, Nguyen Truc Cuong, Nguyen Thi Hoa, Vu Cao 
        Quan, Nguyen The Dam, Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Father Chan Tin, 
        author Duong Thu Huong, poet Bui Minh Quoc, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tu 
        (Ha Si Phu), Dr. Pham Hong Son, Mai Thai Linh, Most Venerable 
        Thich Huyen Quang, Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, Father Nguyen 
        Van Ly, Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma, Father Phan Van Loi, numerous 
        leaders of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church and of independent 
        Protestant churches, and an undetermined number of members of 
        the Montagnard ethnic minority groups who participated in 
        peaceful demonstrations in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam 
        during February 2001.
            (4) The Government of Viet Nam systematically deprives its 
        citizens of the fundamental right or organized religious 
        activities outside the state's control. Although some freedom 
        of worship is permitted, believers are forbidden to participate 
        in religious activities except under circumstances rigidly 
        defined and controlled by the Government:
                    (A)(i) In April, 1999 the Government issued a 
                Decree Concerning Religious Activities, which declared 
                in pertinent part that ``[a]ll activities using 
                religious belief in order to oppose the State of the 
                Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, to prevent the 
                believers from carrying out civic responsibilities, to 
                sabotage the union of all the people, and against the 
                healthy culture of our nation, as well as superstitious 
                activities, will be punished in conformity with the 
                law''.
                    (ii) All public religious activities must be 
                approved by the Government in advance. The United 
                States Commission on International Religious Freedom in 
                October 2002 recommended that Viet Nam be classified as 
                a country of particular concern. At its Seventh Plenum 
                in January 2003, the Communist Party's Central 
                Committee issued a resolution calling for the 
                establishment of cells of Communist Party members 
                within each of Vietnam's 6 approved religions in order 
                to foil ``hostile forces''.
                    (B)(i) The Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam 
                (UBCV), the largest religious denomination in the 
                country, has been declared illegal by the Government, 
                and over the last 27 years its clergy have often been 
                imprisoned and subjected to other forms of persecution. 
                The Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church, 85-year-
                old Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, has been detained 
                for 25 years in a ruined temple in an isolated area of 
                central Viet Nam.
                    (ii) Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Executive 
                President of the Unified Buddhist Church, has also been 
                in various forms of detention since 1977, and was 
                recently rearrested and placed under house arrest after 
                he had proposed to bring Most Venerable Thich Huyen 
                Quang to Saigon for medical treatment.
                    (iii) Many other leading Buddhist figures, 
                including Thich Hai Tang, Thich Khong Tanh, Thich Thai 
                Hoa, Thich Tue Si, Thich Quang Hue, Thich Tam An, Thich 
                Nguyen Ly, Thich Thanh Huyen, Thich Thong Dat, Thich 
                Chi Mau, Thich Chi Thang, Thich Chon Niem, Thich Thanh 
                Quang are under tight surveillance. Several members of 
                the UBCV have fled to Cambodia.
                    (C)(i) The Hao Hoa Buddhist Church was also 
                declared to be illegal until 1999, when the Government 
                established an organization which purports to govern 
                the Hao Hoa. According to the United States Commission 
                on International Religious Freedom, ``[t]his 
                organization is made up almost entirely of Communist 
                Party members and apparently is not recognized as 
                legitimate by the vast majority of Hao Hoas . . . 
                [n]evertheless, [this government-sponsored 
                organization] has sought to control all Hao Hoa 
                religious activity, particularly at the Hao Hoa 
                village, which is the center of Hao Hoa religious 
                life''.
                    (ii)(I) Hao Hoa believers who do not recognize the 
                legitimacy of the government organization are denied 
                the right to visit the Hao Hoa village, to conduct 
                traditional religious celebrations, or to display Hao 
                Hoa symbols. Many have been arrested and subjected to 
                administrative detention, and several Hao Hoa have been 
                sentenced to prison terms for protesting these denials 
                of religious freedom.
                    (II) The Government interferes with Hao Hoa efforts 
                to conduct charitable works, and prohibits public 
                celebration to commemorate the founder's disappearance 
                as well as the distribution of the founder's teachings. 
                The Government controls greatly the leadership 
                selection process of the Cao Dais, another indigenous 
                Vietnamese religion.
                    (III) At least the following Hao Hoa believers are 
                known to be in prison or house detention: Ha Hai, Tran 
                Van Be Cao, Tran Nguyen Huon, Phan Thi Tiem, Le Quang 
                Liem, Nguyen Van Dien, Le Minh Triet, and Vo Van Thanh 
                Liem.
                    (D)(i) Independent Protestants, most of whom are 
                members of ethnic minority groups, are subjected to 
                particularly harsh treatment by the Government of Viet 
                Nam. According to the United States Commission on 
                International Religious Freedom, such treatment 
                includes ``police raids on homes and house churches, 
                detention, imprisonment, confiscation of religious and 
                personal property, physical and psychological abuse, 
                and fines for engaging in unapproved religious 
                activities (such as collective worship, public 
                religious expression and distribution of religious 
                literature, and performing baptisms, marriages, or 
                funeral services) . . . [i]n addition, it is reported 
                that ethnic Hmong Protestants have been forced by local 
                officials to agree to abandon their faith''.
                    (ii)(I) According to human rights activists in Viet 
                Nam, 2 secret central plans--Plan 184A and 184B--issued 
                in 1999 by the Communist Party to combat Protestant 
                believers were fully implemented throughout the 
                country, and led to a crackdown on the Protestant 
                movement, especially in the Central and Northern 
                Highland areas.
                    (II) An estimated 14,000 Christians fled from the 
                North to the Central Highlands in the past 5 years. 
                According to the Southern Evangelical Church of Viet 
                Nam, the Government of Viet Nam forcibly closed 354 of 
                the 412 churches in Dak Lak province, 56 pastors from 
                the Central Highlands have disappeared, and at least 43 
                evangelical Montagnards have been sentenced to prison. 
                Freedom House has reported on the beating death of 
                Hmong Christian Mua Bua Senh by police authorities.
                    (E)(i) Other religious organizations, such as the 
                Catholic Church, are formally recognized by the 
                Government but are subjected to pervasive regulation 
                which violates the right to freedom of religion. For 
                instance, the Catholic Church is forbidden to appoint 
                its own bishops without Government consent, which is 
                frequently denied, to accept seminarians without 
                specific official permission, and to profess Catholic 
                doctrines which are inconsistent with Government 
                policy. Government restrictions on the seminary process 
                have caused a severe shortage of priests.
                    (ii) A Catholic priest, Father Nguyen Van Ly, was 
                arrested in March 2001 and remains in detention after 
                submitting written testimony to the United States 
                Commission on International Religious Freedom. On 
                October 19, 2001, he was sentenced to a total of 20 
                years of imprisonment and house arrest; the trial in 
                Hue took place closed to the public and without a 
                defense lawyer.
                    (iii) In October 2002, the Vietnamese Bishops 
                Conference took an unprecedented step when they 
                protested to the National Assembly about the 
                persecutions endured by Catholic ethnic minorities.
                    (F) The Government has also confiscated numerous 
                churches, temples, and other properties belonging to 
                religious organizations. The vast majority of these 
                properties--even those belonging to religious 
                organizations formally recognized by the Government--
                have never been returned.
            (5)(A) Since 1975 the Government of Viet Nam has persecuted 
        veterans of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam and other 
        Vietnamese who had opposed the Viet Cong insurgency and the 
        North Vietnamese invasion of South Viet Nam. Such persecution 
        typically included substantial terms in ``re-education camps'', 
        where detainees were often subjected to torture and other forms 
        of physical abuse, and in which many died.
            (B) Re-education camp survivors and their families were 
        often forced into internal exile in ``New Economic Zones''. 
        Many of these former allies of the United States, as well as 
        members of their families, continue until the present day to 
        suffer various forms of harassment and discrimination, 
        including denial of basic social benefits and exclusion from 
        higher education and employment.
            (6)(A) The Government of Viet Nam has been particularly 
        harsh in its treatment of members of the Montagnard ethnic 
        minority groups of the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, who were 
        the first line in the defense of South Viet Nam against 
        invasion from the North and who fought courageously beside 
        members of the Special Forces of the United States, suffering 
        disproportionately heavy casualties, and saving the lives of 
        many of their American and Vietnamese comrades-in-arms.
            (B) Since 1975 the Montagnard peoples have been singled out 
        for severe repression, in part because of their past 
        association with the United States and in part because their 
        strong commitment to their traditional way of life and to their 
        Christian religion is regarded as inconsistent with the 
        absolute loyalty and control demanded by the Communist system. 
        The Government employs a policy of assimilation and oppression 
        against the Montagnards, forcibly displacing them from their 
        ancestral lands to make way for North Vietnamese settlers, 
        coffee plantations, and logging operations.
            (C) Between February and March 2001, several thousand 
        members of the mountain tribes Djarai, Bahnar, and Rhade from 
        the provinces of Pleiku, Gialai, and Daklak took part in a 
        series of peaceful demonstrations to demand the release of 2 
        Montagnard Christians, religious freedom and restoration of 
        their confiscated lands. The Government responded by closing 
        off the Central Highlands and sending in military forces, 
        tanks, and helicopter gunships. Hundreds of demonstrators were 
        injured. Altogether, more than 200 people, among them 60 
        evangelical priests and tribal chieftains, were arrested. Some 
        regions of the Central Highlands remain closed to journalists 
        and foreign diplomats.
            (D) Credible reports by refugees who have escaped to 
        Cambodia indicate that the Government has executed some 
        participants in the demonstrations and has subjected others to 
        imprisonment, torture, and other forms of physical abuse.
            (E) The Government of Viet Nam has also taken steps to 
        prevent further Montagnards from escaping, and there are 
        credible reports that Vietnamese security forces in Cambodia 
        are offering bounties for the surrender of Montagnard asylum 
        seekers.
            (F) According to Human Rights Watch, in December 2002 
        ``[The Government] arrested or detained dozens of highlanders 
        and banned Christmas church services in order to prevent 
        minority Christians from gathering. Six highlanders were 
        detained during the third week in December in Krong Ana and Cu 
        Jut districts, Dak Lak, during Christmas prayer services, while 
        another eight were taken into custody as they were attempting 
        to cross the border to Cambodia. Villagers throughout the 
        Central Highlands were warned they would face fines and even 
        imprisonment if they organized Christmas services. In many 
        areas authorities banned gatherings of four or more people.''.
            (7) The Government of Viet Nam has also persecuted members 
        of other ethnic minority groups, including the Khmer Krom from 
        the Mekong Delta, many of whom fought alongside United States 
        military personnel during the Viet Nam war and whose Hinayana 
        Buddhist religion is not among those recognized by the 
        Government.
            (8) The Government of Viet Nam also engages in or condones 
        serious violations of the rights of workers. In August 1997, 
        the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that child 
        labor exploitation is on the rise in Viet Nam with tens of 
        thousands of children under 15 years of age being subjected to 
        such exploitation. The government's official labor export 
        program also has subjected workers, many of whom are women, to 
        involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse, 
        and the reaction of government officials to worker complaints 
        of such abuse has been to threaten the workers with punishment 
        if they do not desist in their complaints. The government of 
        Viet Nam has made some minor efforts to improve this situation, 
        but enforcement of child labor laws remains weak, and the child 
        exploitation still persists.
            (9)(A) United States refugee resettlement programs for 
        Vietnamese nationals, including the Orderly Departure Program 
        (ODP), the Resettlement Opportunities for Returning Vietnamese 
        (ROVR) program, and resettlement of boat people from refugee 
        camps throughout Southeast Asia, were authorized by law in 
        order to rescue Vietnamese nationals who have suffered 
        persecution on account of their wartime associations with the 
        United States, as well as those who currently have a well-
        founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, 
nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social 
group.
            (B) In general, these programs have served their purpose 
        well. However, many refugees who were eligible for these 
        programs were unfairly denied or excluded, in some cases by 
        vindictive or corrupt Communist officials who controlled access 
        to the programs, and in others by United States personnel who 
        imposed unduly restrictive interpretations of program criteria. 
        These unfairly excluded refugees include some of those with the 
        most compelling cases, including many Montagnard combat 
        veterans and their families.
            (C) The Department of State has agreed to extend the 
        September 30, 1994, registration deadline for former United 
        States employees, ``re-education'' survivors, and surviving 
        spouses of those who did not survive ``re-education'' camps to 
        sign up for United States refugee programs.
            (D) The Department of State has agreed to resume the 
        Vietnamese In-Country Priority One Program in Viet Nam to 
        provide protection to victims of persecution on account of 
        race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership 
        in a particular social group who otherwise have no access to 
        the Orderly Departure Program.
            (E) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service in 
        the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to resume the 
        processing of former United States employees under the U11 
        program, which had been unilaterally suspended by the United 
        States Government.
            (F) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service has 
        agreed to review the applications of Amerasians, children of 
        American servicemen left behind in Viet Nam after the war ended 
        in April 1975, for resettlement to the United States under the 
        Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988.
            (10) The Government of Viet Nam systematically jams 
        broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, an independent broadcast service 
        funded by the United States in order to provide news and 
        entertainment to the people of countries in Asia whose 
        governments deny the right to freedom of expression and of the 
        press.
            (11) In 1995 the Governments of the United States and Viet 
        Nam announced the ``normalization'' of diplomatic relations. In 
        1998 then-President Clinton waived the application of section 
        402 of the Trade Act of 1974 (commonly known as the ``Jackson-
        Vanik Amendment''), which restricts economic assistance to 
        countries with non-market economies whose governments also 
        restrict freedom of emigration. In 1999 the Governments of the 
        United States and Viet Nam announced ``an agreement in 
        principle'' on a bilateral trade agreement. This agreement was 
        signed in 2000 and came into effect on December 10, 2001.
            (12) The Congress and the American people are united in 
        their determination that the extension or expansion of trade 
        relations with a country whose government engages in serious 
        and systematic violations of fundamental human rights must not 
        be construed as a statement of approval or complacency about 
        such practices. The promotion of freedom and democracy around 
        the world--and particularly for people who have suffered in 
        large part because of their past associations with the United 
        States and because they share our values--is and must continue 
        to be a central objective of United States foreign policy.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to promote the development of freedom 
and democracy in Viet Nam.

TITLE I--PROHIBITION ON NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF 
                                VIET NAM

SEC. 101. BILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
        United States nonhumanitarian assistance may not be provided to 
        the Government of Viet Nam--
                    (A) for fiscal year 2004 unless not later than 30 
                days after the date of the enactment of this Act the 
                President determines and certifies to Congress that the 
                requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
                paragraph (2) have been met during the 12-month period 
                ending on the date of the certification; and
                    (B) for each subsequent fiscal year unless the 
                President determines and certifies to Congress in the 
                most recent annual report submitted pursuant to section 
                501 that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through 
                (E) of paragraph (2) have been met during the 12-month 
                period covered by the report.
            (2) Requirements.--The requirements of this paragraph are 
        that--
                    (A) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial 
                progress toward releasing all political and religious 
                prisoners from imprisonment, house arrest, and other 
                forms of detention;
                    (B)(i) the Government of Viet Nam has made 
                substantial progress toward respecting the right to 
                freedom of religion, including the right to participate 
                in religious activities and institutions without 
                interference by or involvement of the Government; and
                    (ii) has made substantial progress toward returning 
                estates and properties confiscated from the churches;
                    (C) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial 
                progress toward allowing Vietnamese nationals free and 
                open access to United States refugee programs;
                    (D) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial 
                progress toward respecting the human rights of members 
                of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands or 
                elsewhere in Viet Nam; and
                    (E)(i) neither any official of the Government of 
                Viet Nam nor any agency or entity wholly or partly 
                owned by the Government of Viet Nam was complicit in a 
                severe form of trafficking in persons; or
                    (ii) the Government of Viet Nam took all 
                appropriate steps to end any such complicity and hold 
                such official, agency, or entity fully accountable for 
                its conduct.
    (b) Exception.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply for any 
        fiscal year with respect to the provision of United States 
        nonhumanitarian assistance for any program or activity for 
        which such assistance was provided to the Government of Viet 
        Nam for fiscal year 2003 in an amount not to exceed the amount 
        so provided for fiscal year 2003.
            (2) Continuation of assistance in the national interest.--
        Notwithstanding the failure of the Government of Viet Nam to 
        meet the requirements of subsection (a)(2), the President may 
        waive the application of subsection (a) for any fiscal year if 
        the President determines that the provision to the Government 
        of Viet Nam of increased United States nonhumanitarian 
        assistance would promote the purposes of this Act or is 
        otherwise in the national interest of the United States.
            (3) Exercise of waiver authority.--The President may 
        exercise the authority under paragraph (2) with respect to--
                    (A) all United States nonhumanitarian assistance to 
                Viet Nam; or
                    (B) one or more programs, projects, or activities 
                of such assistance.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Severe form of trafficking in persons.--The term 
        ``severe form of trafficking in persons'' means any activity 
        described in section 103(8) of the Trafficking Victims 
        Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22 
        U.S.C. 7102(8)).
            (2) United states nonhumanitarian assistance.--The term 
        ``United States nonhumanitarian assistance'' means--
                    (A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act 
                of 1961 (including programs under title IV of chapter 2 
                of part I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private 
                Investment Corporation), other than--
                            (i) disaster relief assistance, including 
                        any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 
                        that Act;
                            (ii) assistance which involves the 
                        provision of food (including monetization of 
                        food) or medicine; and
                            (iii) assistance for refugees; and
                    (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the 
                Arms Export Control Act.

SEC. 102. MULTILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Human Rights.--The President shall ensure that section 701 of 
the International Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262d), relating 
to human rights, is carried out with respect to Viet Nam.
    (b) Religious Freedom.--The President shall instruct the United 
States Executive Directors at the World Bank and the International 
Monetary Fund to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose 
any loans or other assistance (except loans or assistance for 
humanitarian purposes) to the Government of Viet Nam until the 
President determines that the Government of Viet Nam has made 
substantial progress to protect religious freedom.

         TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT DEMOCRACY IN VIET NAM

SEC. 201. ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide assistance, 
through appropriate nongovernmental organizations, for the support of 
individuals and organizations to promote internationally recognized 
human rights in Viet Nam.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the President to carry out subsection (a) $2,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2004 and 2005.

               TITLE III--UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

SEC. 301. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIET NAM.

    (a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United 
States to take such measures as are necessary to overcome the jamming 
of Radio Free Asia by the Government of Viet Nam.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to such amounts 
as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the Broadcasting 
Board of Governors, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out the policy under subsection (a) $9,100,000 for the fiscal year 2004 
and $1,100,000 for the fiscal year 2005.

SEC. 302. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH 
              VIET NAM.

    It is the policy of the United States that programs of educational 
and cultural exchange with Viet Nam should actively promote progress 
toward freedom and democracy in Viet Nam by providing opportunities to 
Vietnamese nationals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives 
to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by ensuring that 
Vietnamese nationals who have already demonstrated a commitment to 
these values are included in such programs.

                 TITLE IV--UNITED STATES REFUGEE POLICY

SEC. 401. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF VIET NAM.

    (a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United 
States to offer refugee resettlement to nationals of Viet Nam 
(including members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were 
eligible for the Orderly Departure Program (ODP), Resettlement 
Opportunities for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) or any other United 
States refugee program and who were deemed ineligible due to 
administrative error or who for reasons beyond the control of such 
individuals (including insufficient or contradictory information or the 
inability to pay bribes demanded by officials of the Government of Viet 
Nam) were unable or failed to apply for such programs in compliance 
with deadlines imposed by the Department of State.
    (b) Authorized Activity.--Of the amounts authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of State for Migration and Refugee 
Assistance for each of the fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006, such sums 
as may be necessary are authorized to be made available for the 
protection (including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese 
refugees and asylum seekers, including Montagnards in Cambodia.

TITLE V--ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIET 
                                  NAM

SEC. 501. ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and every 12 months thereafter, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the Congress a report on the following:
            (1)(A) The determination and certification of the President 
        that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
        section 101(a)(2) have been met, if applicable.
            (B) The determination of the President under section 
        101(b)(2), if applicable.
            (2) Efforts by the United States Government to secure 
        transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in countries in close 
        geographical proximity to Viet Nam in accordance with section 
        301(a).
            (3) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet Nam promote 
        the policy set forth in section 302 and with section 102 of the 
        Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act 
        of 1996 regarding participation in programs of educational and 
        cultural exchange.
            (4) Steps taken to carry out the policy under section 
        401(a).
            (5) Actions of the Government of Viet Nam which reflect 
        compliance with or violation of human rights, in particular, 
        those contained in the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights and in the Universal Declaration of Human 
        Rights, including, but not limited to, effectively affording--
                    (A) the right to engage in free expression;
                    (B) the right to peaceful assembly;
                    (C) religious freedom, including the right to 
                worship, to appoint clergy members, to form religious 
                associations and institutions, to participate in 
                religious activities, and to conduct charity work free 
                of involvement of and interference by the government;
                    (D) the right to establish nongovernmental 
                organizations and civic associations;
                    (E) the right to liberty of movement and freedom to 
                choose a residence within Viet Nam and the right to 
                leave from and return to Viet Nam;
                    (F) the right of a criminal defendant--
                            (i) to be tried in his or her presence, and 
                        to defend himself or herself in person or 
                        through legal assistance of his or her own 
                        choosing;
                            (ii) to be informed, if he or she does not 
                        have legal assistance, of the right set forth 
                        in clause (i);
                            (iii) to have legal assistance assigned to 
                        him or her in any case in which the interests 
                        of justice so require and without payment by 
                        him or her in any such case if he or she does 
                        not have sufficient means to pay for it;
                            (iv) to a fair and public hearing by a 
                        competent, independent, and impartial tribunal 
                        established by the law;
                            (v) to be presumed innocent until proved 
                        guilty according to law; and
                            (vi) to be tried without undue delay;
                    (G) the right to be free from torture and other 
                forms of cruel or unusual punishment;
                    (H) protection of internationally recognized worker 
                rights;
                    (I) freedom from incarceration as punishment for 
                political opposition to the government;
                    (J) freedom from incarceration as punishment for 
                exercising or advocating human rights (including those 
                described in this section);
                    (K) freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, or 
                exile;
                    (L) the right to fair and public hearings by an 
                independent tribunal for the determination of a 
                citizen's rights and obligations; and
                    (M) free choice of employment.
            (6) Lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, detained, 
        or placed under house arrest, tortured, or otherwise persecuted 
        by the Government of Viet Nam due to their pursuit of the 
        rights described in paragraph (5). In compiling such lists, the 
        Secretary shall exercise appropriate discretion, including 
        concerns regarding the safety and security of, and benefit to, 
        the persons who may be included on the lists and their 
        families. In addition, the Secretary shall include a list of 
        such persons and their families who may qualify for protection 
        under United States refugee programs.
            (7) A description of the development of the rule of law in 
        Viet Nam, including, but not limited to--
                    (A) progress toward the development of institutions 
                of democratic governance;
                    (B) processes by which statutes, regulations, 
                rules, and other legal acts of the Government of Viet 
                Nam are developed and become binding within Viet Nam;
                    (C) the extent to which statutes, regulations, 
                rules, administrative and judicial decisions, and other 
                legal acts of the Government of Viet Nam are published 
                and are made accessible to the public;
                    (D) the extent to which administrative and judicial 
                decisions are supported by statements of reasons that 
                are based upon written statutes, regulations, rules and 
                other legal acts of the Government of Viet Nam;
                    (E) the extent to which individuals are treated 
                equally under the laws of Viet Nam without regard to 
                citizenship, race, religion, political opinion, or 
                current or former associations;
                    (F) the extent to which administrative and judicial 
                decisions are independent of political pressure or 
                governmental interference and are reviewed by entities 
                of appellate jurisdiction; and
                    (G) the extent to which laws in Viet Nam are 
                written and administered in ways that are consistent 
                with international human rights standards, including 
                the requirements of the International Covenant on Civil 
                and Political Rights.
            (8) A description of projects funded by multilateral 
        organizations operating in Viet Nam, including projects funded 
        by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian 
        Development Bank, United Nations, and Global Fund.
    (b) Contacts With Other Organizations.--In preparing the report 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, as appropriate, seek out and 
maintain contacts with nongovernmental organizations and human rights 
advocates (including Vietnamese-Americans, human rights advocates in 
Viet Nam), including receiving reports and updates from such 
organizations and evaluating such reports. The Secretary shall also 
seek to consult with the United States Commission on Religious Freedom 
for appropriate sections of the report.
                                 <all>