[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H6743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      UNITED STATES SHOULD RENEW DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH VIETNAM

  (Mr. PETERSON of Florida asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PETERSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today the President will 
announce the renewal of diplomatic relations to Vietnam. I applaud 
these efforts. It is time.
  For the record, I spent 6\1/2\ years as a POW in Vietnam. I know 
about as much about Vietnam as anyone in the House. I am convinced that 
these efforts will enhance our search for the fate of the missing 
MIA's. We have made significant progress over the last 4 years in our 
joint efforts with the Vietnamese, searching all over Vietnam, with 
access to prisons, access to virtually anyone on the street, and 
certainly access to their archives. We have sincere, trustworthy, and 
competent people working together in Vietnam in this effort.
  But now we are at a point if we do not renew diplomatic relations, 
the Vietnamese could unilaterally just say get out of here, we quit. We 
do not want to lose the progress we have made. It is time for 
diplomatic relations. It is time to move on, with the world bringing 
Vietnam into the League of Nations.


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