[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 157 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 157

Recognizing the economic, cultural, and political contributions of the 
  Southeast-Asian American community on the 40th anniversaries of the 
beginning of Khmer Rouge control over Cambodia and the beginning of the 
  Cambodian Genocide and the end of the Vietnam War and the ``Secret 
                     War'' in the Kingdom of Laos.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 30, 2015

 Ms. Hirono submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the economic, cultural, and political contributions of the 
  Southeast-Asian American community on the 40th anniversaries of the 
beginning of Khmer Rouge control over Cambodia and the beginning of the 
  Cambodian Genocide and the end of the Vietnam War and the ``Secret 
                     War'' in the Kingdom of Laos.

Whereas April 17, 2015, marks the 40th anniversary of the beginning of Khmer 
        Rouge control over Cambodia and the beginning of the Cambodian Genocide;
Whereas April 30, 2015, marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam 
        War;
Whereas December 2, 2015, marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the ``Secret 
        War'' in which Communists declared victory over the Kingdom of Laos and 
        established a Communist regime in that country;
Whereas those historic events led to the forced migration to the United States, 
        after 1975, of over 1,000,000 refugees from Cambodia, the Kingdom of 
        Laos, and Vietnam;
Whereas over 600,000 Vietnamese refugees were resettled in the United States, 
        many of whom had worked with the United States Government as translators 
        and civil servants during the Vietnam War and were paroled into the 
        United States after the enactment of the Indochina Migration and Refugee 
        Assistance Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-23), and in the 1990s, over 30,000 
        survivors of Communist reeducation camps and 150,000 family members of 
        those survivors were resettled in the United States;
Whereas approximately 250,000 refugees from the Kingdom of Laos were resettled 
        in the United States, many of whom assisted the war effort of the United 
        States during the ``Secret War'' in Laos, including 35,000 individuals 
        who served as Special Guerrilla Unit fighters in the surrogate army for 
        the United States and others who served as civil servants;
Whereas at least 115,000 Cambodian refugees were resettled in the United States 
        after one of the worst genocides of the 20th century, during which about 
        20 percent of the Cambodian population perished;
Whereas the exodus of refugees from Southeast Asia prompted the United States to 
        enact the Refugee Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-212) and establish the 
        Office of Refugee Resettlement, which established the first formal 
        refugee resettlement system in the United States;
Whereas the Office of Refugee Resettlement recognized the critical importance of 
        Southeast Asian American Mutual Assistance Associations (MAAs) with the 
        establishment in 1980 of a special grant program that lay the groundwork 
        for a strong network of Southeast-Asian American community-based 
        organizations in the United States;
Whereas, as of April 2015, over 2,500,000 Southeast-Asian Americans trace their 
        heritage to Cambodia, the Kingdom of Laos, and Vietnam;
Whereas Southeast-Asian Americans include a broad diversity of ethnic groups, 
        including--

    (1) Cham, Khmer, and Khmer Loeu from Cambodia;

    (2) Hmong, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Taidam, and Lao Theung from the Kingdom of 
Laos; and

    (3) ethnic Khmer, Montagnards, and Vietnamese from Vietnam; and

Whereas Southeast-Asian Americans--

    (1) have blazed trails to own small businesses, lead community-based 
organizations, serve in public office, and nurture emerging leaders;

    (2) carry on a rich cultural tradition of music and dance, and pioneer 
hybrid art forms such as spoken word poetry and hip-hop;

    (3) continue to face significant challenges to full economic and social 
empowerment, such as low rates of high school completion, high rates of 
poverty, and disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration; and

    (4) remain resilient, rooted both in Southeast-Asian heritage and in 
the society of the United States, and rising toward a hopeful, equitable 
future: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the significance of the 40th anniversaries 
        of--
                    (A) the beginning of the Khmer Rouge rule in 
                Cambodia and the Cambodian Genocide;
                    (B) the end of the Vietnam War and the ``Secret 
                War'' in Laos;
                    (C) the humanitarian response of the people and 
                Government of the United States to receive over 
                1,000,000 refugees from Southeast Asia; and
                    (D) the beginning of the Southeast-Asian American 
                community in the United States; and
            (2) recognizes the ongoing contributions of the Southeast-
        Asian American community to the economic, cultural, and 
        political vitality of the United States.
                                 <all>