[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 342 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 342

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                        April 28, 2009.
Whereas the Library of Congress' Asian Division together with many Vietnamese-
        American organizations across the United States will sponsor a ``Journey 
        to Freedom: A Boat People Retrospective'' symposium on May 2, 2009;
Whereas Vietnamese refugees were asylum-seekers from Communist-controlled 
        Vietnam;
Whereas many Vietnamese escaped in boats during the late 1970s, after the 
        Vietnam War and by land across the Cambodian, Laotian, and Thai borders 
        into refugee camps in Thailand;
Whereas over 2,000,000 Vietnamese boat people and other refugees are now spread 
        across the world, in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, 
        England, Germany, China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines, 
        and other nations;
Whereas over half of all overseas Vietnamese are Vietnamese-Americans, and 
        Vietnamese-Americans are the fourth-largest Asian American group in the 
        United States;
Whereas, as of 2006, 72 percent of Vietnamese-Americans were naturalized United 
        States citizens, the highest rate among all Asian groups;
Whereas Vietnamese-Americans have made significant contributions to the rich 
        culture and economic prosperity of the United States;
Whereas Vietnamese-Americans have distinguished themselves in the fields of 
        literature, the arts, science, and athletics, and include actors and 
        actresses, physicists, an astronaut, and Olympic athletes; and
Whereas May 2, 2009, would be an appropriate day to designate as ``Vietnamese 
        Refugees Day'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the designation of 
``Vietnamese Refugees Day'' in order to commemorate the arrival of Vietnamese 
refugees in the United States, to document their harrowing experiences, and 
subsequent achievements in their new homeland, to honor the host countries that 
welcomed the boat people, and to recognize the voluntary agencies and 
nongovernmental organizations that facilitated their resettlement, adjustment, 
and assimilation into mainstream society in the United States.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.