[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2140 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2140

To promote freedom, human rights, and the rule of law as part of United 
                       States-Vietnam relations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2015

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. 
    Connolly, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Royce, and Mr. 
  Lowenthal) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote freedom, human rights, and the rule of law as part of United 
                       States-Vietnam relations.

    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 ``Vietnam Human 
Rights Act of 2015''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Prohibition on increased nonhumanitarian assistance to the 
                            Government of Vietnam.
Sec. 4. Easing of restrictions for Vietnam under the Arms Export 
                            Control Act.
Sec. 5. United States public diplomacy.
Sec. 6. Religious freedom and human trafficking.
Sec. 7. Annual report.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The relationship between the United States and the 
        Socialist Republic of Vietnam has grown substantially since the 
        end of the trade embargo in 1994, with annual trade between the 
        two countries reaching nearly $36,000,000,000 in 2014.
            (2) The Government of Vietnam's transition toward greater 
        economic liberalization and trade has not been matched by 
        greater political freedom and substantial improvements in basic 
        human rights for Vietnamese citizens, including freedom of 
        religion, expression, association, and assembly.
            (3) The United States Congress agreed to Vietnam becoming 
        an official member of the World Trade Organization in 2006, 
        amidst assurances that the Government of Vietnam was steadily 
        improving its human rights record and would continue to do so.
            (4) Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled 
        by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which continues to 
        deny the right of citizens to change their Government.
            (5) Although in recent years the National Assembly of 
        Vietnam has played an increasingly active role as a forum for 
        highlighting local concerns, corruption, and inefficiency, the 
        National Assembly remains subject to the direction of the CPV 
        and the CPV maintains control over the selection of candidates 
        in national and local elections.
            (6) The Government of Vietnam forbids public challenge to 
        the legitimacy of the one-party state, restricts freedoms of 
        opinion, the press, and association and tightly limits access 
        to the Internet and telecommunication.
            (7) Since Vietnam's accession to the WTO on January 11, 
        2007, the Government of Vietnam arbitrarily arrested and 
        detained numerous individuals for their peaceful advocacy of 
        religious freedom, democracy, and human rights, including 
        Father Nguyen Van Ly, Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, Pastor Duong 
        Kim Khai, labor organizers Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung and Doan Huy 
        Chuong, and bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh, Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, and 
        Ta Phong Tan.
            (8) The Government of Vietnam continues to detain, 
        imprison, place under house arrest, convict, or otherwise 
        restrict persons for the peaceful expression of dissenting 
        political or religious views.
            (9) The Government of Vietnam continues to detain labor 
        leaders and restricts the right to organize independently.
            (10) The Government of Vietnam continues to limit the 
        freedom of religion, restrict the operations of independent 
        religious organizations, force people of faith to renounce 
        their faith, expropriate lands and properties belonging to 
        independent churches, and persecute believers whose religious 
        activities the Government regards as a potential threat to its 
        monopoly on power.
            (11) According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on 
        freedom of religion or of belief, who recently conducted a 
        mission to Vietnam, ``autonomy and activities of independent 
        religious or belief communities, that is, unrecognized 
        communities, remain restricted and unsafe, with the rights to 
        freedom of religion or belief of such communities grossly 
        violated in the face of constant surveillance, intimidation, 
        harassment and persecution''.
            (12) Despite reported progress in church openings and legal 
        registrations of religious venues, the Government of Vietnam 
        has halted most positive actions and increasingly cracked down 
        on independent religious communities since the Department of 
        State lifted the ``country of particular concern'' (CPC) 
        designation for Vietnam in November 2006.
            (13) Unregistered ethnic minority Protestant congregations, 
        particularly Montagnards in the Central Highlands and Hmong in 
        the Northwest Mountainous Regions, suffer severe abuses because 
        of actions by the Government of Vietnam, which have included 
        forced renunciations of faith, arrest and harassment, the 
        withholding of social programs provided for the general 
        population, confiscation and destruction of property, 
        subjection to severe beatings, and reported deaths.
            (14) There has been a pattern of violent responses by the 
        Government to peaceful prayer vigils and demonstrations by 
        Catholics for the return of Government-confiscated church 
        properties. Protesters have been harassed, beaten, and detained 
        and church properties have been destroyed. Catholics also 
        continue to face some restrictions on selection of clergy, the 
        establishment of seminaries and seminary candidates, and 
        individual cases of travel and church registration. Catholicism 
        is not recognized in the provinces of Dien Bien, Son La, and 
        Lai Chau.
            (15) In May 2010 the village of Con Dau, a Catholic parish 
        in Da Nang, faced escalated violence during a funeral 
        procession as police attempted to prohibit a religious burial 
        in the village cemetery; more than 100 villagers were injured, 
        62 were arrested, five were tortured, and at least three died. 
        The situation has remained unresolved.
            (16) The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) suffers 
        persecution as the Government of Vietnam continues to restrict 
        contacts and movement of senior UBCV clergy for refusing to 
        join the state-sponsored Buddhist organization, the Government 
        restricts expression and assembly, and the Government continues 
        to harass and threaten UBCV monks, nuns, and youth leaders.
            (17) The Government of Vietnam continues to suppress the 
        activities of other religious adherents, including Cao Dai and 
        Hoa Hao Buddhists who lack official recognition or have chosen 
        not to affiliate with the state-sanctioned groups, including 
        through the use of detention, imprisonment, and strict 
        Government oversight.
            (18) Many Montagnards and others are still serving long 
        prison sentences for their involvement in peaceful 
        demonstrations in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2008. Montagnards 
        continue to face threats, detention, beatings, forced 
        renunciation of faith, property destruction, restricted 
        movement, and reported deaths at the hands of Government 
        officials.
            (19) Ethnic minority Hmong in Northern Vietnam, the 
        Northwest Highlands, and the Central Highlands of Vietnam also 
        suffers restrictions, confiscation of property, abuses, and 
        persecution by the Government of Vietnam. Many of their leaders 
        have been sentenced to prison terms.
            (20) The Government of Vietnam restricts Khmer Krom 
        expression, assembly, and association, has confiscated nearly 
        all the Theravada Buddhist temples, controls all Khmer Krom 
        Buddhist religious organizations, prohibits most peaceful 
        protests, and imprisons many Khmer Krom Buddhist monks who 
        worked to preserve the Khmer Krom culture.
            (21) People arrested in Vietnam because of their political 
        or religious affiliations and activities often are not accorded 
        due legal process as they lack full access to lawyers of their 
        choice, may experience closed trials, have often been detained 
        for years without trial, and have been subjected to the use of 
        torture to admit crimes they did not commit or to falsely 
        denounce their own leaders.
            (22) Vietnam continues to be a source country for the 
        commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor of women and 
        girls, as well as for men and women legally entering into 
        international labor contracts who subsequently face conditions 
        of debt bondage or forced labor, and is a destination country 
        for child trafficking and continues to have internal human 
        trafficking.
            (23) There are many reports of Vietnamese officials and 
        employees participating in, facilitating, condoning, or 
        otherwise being complicit in severe forms of human trafficking. 
        Victims of human trafficking who speak out against traffickers 
        in the government-run labor export program receive threats of 
        punishment by government authorities.
            (24) United States refugee resettlement programs, including 
        the Humanitarian Resettlement (HR) Program, the Orderly 
        Departure Program (ODP), Resettlement Opportunities for 
        Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) Program, general resettlement of 
        boat people from refugee camps throughout Southeast Asia, the 
        Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, and the Priority One Refugee 
        resettlement category, have helped rescue Vietnamese nationals 
        who have suffered persecution on account of their associations 
        with the United States or, in many cases, because of such 
        associations by their spouses, parents, or other family 
        members, as well as other Vietnamese nationals who have been 
        persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, political 
        opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
            (25) While previous programs have served their purposes 
        well, a significant number of eligible refugees from Vietnam 
        were unfairly denied or excluded, including Amerasians, in some 
        cases by vindictive or corrupt Vietnamese officials who 
        controlled access to the programs, and in others by United 
        States personnel who imposed unduly restrictive interpretations 
        of program criteria. In addition, the Government of Vietnam has 
        denied passports to persons who the United States has found 
        eligible for refugee admission.
            (26) The Government of Vietnam reportedly is detaining tens 
        of thousands of people, with some as young as 12 years old, in 
        government-run drug detention centers and treating them as 
        slave laborers.
            (27) In 2012, over 150,000 people signed an online petition 
        calling on the Administration to not expand trade with 
        communist Vietnam at the expense of human rights.
            (28) Each year close to a thousand Vietnamese-American 
        advocates from across the country convene in Washington, DC, to 
        call on the administration to attach human rights conditions to 
        trade and security agreements with Vietnam.
            (29) Congress has passed numerous resolutions condemning 
        human rights abuses in Vietnam, indicating that although there 
        has been an expansion of relations with the Government of 
        Vietnam, it should not be construed as approval of the ongoing 
        and serious violations of fundamental human rights in Vietnam.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE 
              GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM.

    (a) Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in subsections (b), the 
        Federal Government may not provide nonhumanitarian assistance 
        to the Government of Vietnam, or to any organization working 
        within Vietnam under an agreement signed with a Government of 
        Vietnam entity, agency, or organization during any fiscal year 
        in an amount that exceeds the amount of such assistance 
        provided for fiscal year 2014 unless--
                    (A) with respect to the limitation for fiscal year 
                2014, the President determines and certifies to 
                Congress, not later than 30 days after the date of the 
                enactment of this Act, that the requirements of 
                subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (2) have 
                been met during the 12-month period ending on the date 
                of the certification; and
                    (B) with respect to the limitation for subsequent 
                fiscal years, the President determines and certifies to 
                Congress, in the most recent annual report submitted 
                pursuant to section 7, that the requirements of 
                subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (2) have 
                been met during the 12-month period covered by the 
                report.
            (2) Requirements.--The requirements of this paragraph are 
        the following:
                    (A) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial 
                progress toward releasing all political and religious 
                prisoners from imprisonment, house arrest, and other 
                forms of detention, including journalists and bloggers, 
                independent labor union members, democracy and free 
                speech advocates and those detained for engaging in 
                religious activity or peaceful protests against 
                religious freedom restrictions.
                    (B) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial 
                progress toward ensuring freedom of expression, 
                particularly ending censorship of the Internet by the 
                government and the repealing of laws that restrict 
                Internet freedom.
                    (C) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial 
                progress toward respecting the right to freedom of 
                religion, including the right to participate in 
                religious activities and institutions without 
                interference, harassment, or involvement of the 
                Government, for all of Vietnam's diverse religious 
                communities.
                    (D) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial 
                progress toward Internet freedom, a complete end to 
                censorship, the repeal of laws restricting internet 
                usage and the punishment of anti-state comments online, 
                the blockage of content from dissidents within Vietnam 
                and from abroad, and efforts by pro-government forces 
                to disrupt, hack, and block websites and operations of 
                Vietnamese groups abroad.
                    (E) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial 
                progress toward respecting the right to the freedoms of 
                assembly and association, including the right to 
                organize labor unions independent of government 
                oversight and control and the right to participate in 
                nonviolent demonstrations, rallies, or civil society 
                organizations, in accordance with international 
                standards and treaties to which Vietnam is a party.
                    (F) Neither any official of the Government of 
                Vietnam nor any agency or entity wholly or partly owned 
                by the Government of Vietnam was complicit in the 
                trafficking in persons and the Government of Vietnam 
                took all necessary and appropriate steps to end any 
                such complicity and hold such official, agency, or 
                entity fully accountable for its conduct.
                    (G) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial 
                progress toward allowing Vietnamese nationals free and 
                open access to United States refugee programs.
                    (H) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial 
                progress toward respecting the internationally 
                guaranteed human rights of members of all ethnic and 
                minority groups.
    (b) Exception.--
            (1) Continuation of assistance in the national interest.--
        Notwithstanding the failure of the Government of Vietnam 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 Vietnam of increased nonhumanitarian assistance would 
        promote the purpose of this Act or is otherwise in the national 
        interest of the United States.
            (2) Exercise of waiver authority.--The President may 
        exercise the authority under paragraph (1) with respect to--
                    (A) all United States nonhumanitarian assistance to 
                Vietnam; or
                    (B) one or more programs, projects, or activities 
                of such assistance.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Nonhumanitarian assistance.--The term ``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;
                            (iii) assistance for environmental 
                        remediation of dioxin-contaminated sites and 
                        related health activities;
                            (iv) assistance for demining and unexploded 
                        ordnance (UXO) remediation, and related health 
                        and educational activities;
                            (v) assistance to combat severe forms of 
                        trafficking in persons;
                            (vi) assistance to combat diseases;
                            (vii) assistance for refugees;
                            (viii) assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, 
                        including any assistance under section 104A of 
                        that Act; and
                            (ix) assistance to prevent child labor; and
                    (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the 
                Arms Export Control Act.
            (2) 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)).
    (d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date of 
the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to the provision 
of nonhumanitarian assistance to the Government of Vietnam for fiscal 
year 2016 and subsequent fiscal years.

SEC. 4. EASING OF RESTRICTIONS FOR VIETNAM UNDER THE ARMS EXPORT 
              CONTROL ACT.

    It is the sense of Congress that it shall be the policy of the 
United States that further easing of the prohibition on the sale of 
lethal military equipment to the Government of Vietnam under the Arms 
Export Control Act shall require the Government of Vietnam to take 
additional, significant, and sustained steps to advance human rights 
protections, specifically internationally recognized norms of civil and 
political rights, through legal reforms, the release of prisoners of 
conscience, the establishment of independent labor unions, and 
guarantees to the freedom of religion and expression, including 
Internet freedom.

SEC. 5. UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.

    (a) Radio Free Asia Transmissions to Vietnam.--It is the sense of 
Congress that the United States should take measures to overcome the 
jamming of Radio Free Asia by the Government of Vietnam and that the 
Broadcasting Board of Governors should not cut staffing, funding, or 
broadcast hours for the Vietnamese language services of the Voice of 
America and Radio Free Asia, which shall be done without reducing any 
other broadcast language services.
    (b) United States Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs With 
Vietnam.--It is the sense of Congress that any programs of educational 
and cultural exchange between the United States and Vietnam should 
actively promote progress toward freedom and democracy in Vietnam 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. Cultural programs should recognize and find ways to assist 
Vietnam's religious and ethnic diversity.

SEC. 6. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

    (a) Country of Particular Concern.--It is the sense of Congress 
that Vietnam should be designated as a country of particular concern 
for religious freedom pursuant to section 402(b) of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)).
    (b) Minimum Standards for the Elimination of Human Trafficking.--It 
is the sense of Congress that the Government of Vietnam does not fully 
comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking 
and is not making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance, 
and this determination should be reflected in the annual report to 
Congress required pursuant to section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)).

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than six months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and every 12 months thereafter, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to Congress a report on the following:
            (1) The determination and certification of the President 
        that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (H) of 
        section 3(a)(2) have been met, if applicable.
            (2) If the President has waived the application of section 
        3(a) pursuant to section 3(b) during the reporting period--
                    (A) the national interest with respect to which 
                such a waiver was based;
                    (B) the amount of increased nonhumanitarian 
                assistance provided to the Government of Vietnam; and
                    (C) a description of the type and amount of 
                commensurate assistance provided pursuant to section 
                3(b)(1).
            (3) Efforts by the United States Government to promote 
        access by the Vietnamese people to Radio Free Asia 
        transmissions.
            (4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Vietnam promote 
        the policy set forth in section 102 of the Human Rights, 
        Refugee, and Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act of 1996 
        regarding participation in programs of educational and cultural 
        exchange.
            (5) Lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, detained, 
        or placed under house arrest, tortured, or otherwise persecuted 
        by the Government of Vietnam due to their pursuit of 
        internationally recognized human rights. 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 
        protections under United States refugee programs.
            (6) A description of the development of the rule of law in 
        Vietnam, including--
                    (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 
                Vietnam are developed and become binding within 
                Vietnam;
                    (C) the extent to which statutes, regulations, 
                rules, administrative and judicial decisions, and other 
                legal acts of the Government of Vietnam 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 Vietnam;
                    (E) the extent to which individuals are treated 
                equally under the laws of Vietnam 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 Vietnam are written 
                and administered in ways that are consistent with 
                international human rights standards, including the 
                rights enumerated in the International Covenant on 
                Civil and Political Rights.
    (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 and human rights advocates in 
Vietnam), 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 International 
Religious Freedom for appropriate sections of the report.
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