[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9724-S9725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              RESTORING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH VIETNAM

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I feel that it is important that 
the Members of this Chamber move history forward and support the 
President's decision to normalize diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
  Over the last 17 months, the Vietnamese Government has helped to 
resolve many cases of Americans who 

[[Page S 9725]]
were missing in action or held as prisoners of war. I strongly feel 
that our responsibility to the families of courageous, patriotic 
Americans who fought in the Vietnam conflict, and who are still 
missing, will never end until the status of their fate is resolved.
  But important progress is being made. As President Clinton stated 
this afternoon, 29 families have received the remains of their loved 
ones with the assistance of the Vietnamese Government. Important 
documents have been passed on to our Government to help shed light on 
the fate of other missing Americans. And the number of discrepancy 
cases of Americans thought to be alive after they were lost has been 
reduced to 55.
  Mr. President, we must continue serious efforts to secure information 
about our lost soldiers, and this effort can be greatly enhanced by 
coordinating and working with the Vietnamese Government and its people. 
Normalizing relations will help our cause and further our national 
interest.
  Mr. President, those who have argued against normalization seem more 
comfortable with the past and have little vision of the future. We were 
engaged in serious conflict in Vietnam, and much of our military 
presence in Asia derived from the needs and requirements of that 
conflict. But who has benefited from American sacrifice? Not many in 
this country.
  Japan has just emerged as the largest foreign investor in Vietnam. 
During the first half of this year, Japan won 30 major infrastructure 
projects worth $755 million. Of Vietnam's intake of $3.58 billion for 
these first 6 months, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore followed 
behind Japan in investment. The United States ranked sixth in this 
major new growth market in the Asia Pacific region.
  Although the United States dropped its trade embargo with Vietnam 
last year, America's failure to restore diplomatic relations has meant 
that the Ex-Im Bank could not finance trade, that the Overseas Private 
Investment Corporation could not insure American firms' commerce with 
Vietnam, and that our Nation could not develop trade treaties with what 
many consider to be the most important, new, big-emerging market. 
Without the ability to establish a treaty and grant MFN status with 
Vietnam, it is unlikely that the Vietnamese will earn money to purchase 
American products.
  Mr. President, last year in the Washington Post, Alan Tonelson of the 
Economic Strategy Institute wrote about a 104-page Mitsubishi Corp. 
report entitled: ``Master Plan for the Automobile Industry in 
Vietnam.'' He noted that this Japanese trading firm had already 
organized its efforts and meticulously established a framework to build 
a Vietnamese automotive industry, dependent on Japanese support. For 
once, America needs to get ahead of the curve, to support U.S. firms 
entering new markets, instead of having to elbow in after others have 
wrapped up the market.
  Mr. President, America--more than any other nation in the Asian 
region--should be the beneficiary of Vietnam's economic development. We 
have an important duty to determine the fate of our lost and missing. 
But this effort will best be served by restoring diplomatic relations 
and recognizing Vietnam's Government. We must understand that our 
national economic interests are eroding each day that we allow other 
countries to push forward into this emerging economy and leave U.S. 
firms and American workers behind.
  The time has come, Mr. President, for us to engage Vietnam and to 
build a future with this Government and its people that helps us deal 
with our wounds and helps our citizens into a new era.


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