[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 12, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9727-S9728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            UNITED STATES-VIETNAM RELATIONS: LOOKING FORWARD

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, yesterday President Clinton announced 
that the United States would establish diplomatic ties with the 
Government of Vietnam. I want to commend the President for having the 
courage and the vision to begin a new chapter with a nation that was 
once our enemy.
  It has been 20 years since the last U.S. helicopter lifted off the 
roof of the American Embassy in Saigon, a tragic ending to a long and 
painful war. For years afterward, relations between our two nations 
have remained hostile and the question of what happened to the American 
soldiers missing in action in Southeast Asia remained unanswered.
  But times have changed. The Vietnamese leaders who viewed the United 
States with suspicion and distrust have been replaced by a new 
generation of leaders, one that has demonstrated a desire to cooperate 
on the POW/MIA issue and a number of other questions having to do with 
relations between our two countries. With their help, we have been able 
to make much progress toward our goal of a full and accurate accounting 
of our soldiers who did not come home when the war was over.
  I understand that the prospect of restoring diplomatic ties with 
Vietnam is painful to many Americans, particularly those who have 
friends and family members among those who remain unaccounted for in 
Vietnam. But experience has shown us that it is precisely by expanding 
our ties with Vietnam that we are most likely to learn what happened to 
the soldiers who never returned.
  Consider the President's decision on February 3, 1994, to lift the 
trade embargo against Vietnam. At the time, some Members of Congress 
and some in the veterans community expressed concern that lifting the 
embargo would reward Vietnam prematurely and discourage their further 
cooperation on the POW/MIA issue.
  Instead, as we all now know, just the opposite has occurred. Just 2 
months ago, officials from the Departments of State, Defense, and 
Veterans Affairs traveled to Asia for high-level talks with their 
counterparts in both Vietnam and Laos. During that trip they were 
presented with more than 100 documents, which the Defense Department 
has called the most detailed and informative turned over to date. 
Moreover, our officials characterize the cooperation they had received 
from the Vietnamese as excellent.
  Well, this progress has not gone unnoticed by those who remain 
committed to a full accounting of our POW's and MIA's. For example, the 
Veterans of Foreign Wars, one of the Nation's most influential veterans 
groups and an organization whose membership includes 600,000 Vietnam 
veterans, released a statement on June 13 regarding the issue of 
normalizing relations with Vietnam. In that statement, the VFW 
announced it will support the establishment of diplomatic ties with 

[[Page S 9728]]
Vietnam, provided such ties would enable the United States to make even 
further progress toward a full accounting of the missing.
  It is also telling that normalization of relations with Vietnam is 
strongly supported by three of my colleagues who are distinguished 
veterans of the Vietnam war and who served with me on the Senate Select 
Committee on POW/MIA Affairs: Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the 
committee; Senator John McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 6 
years; and Senator Bob Kerrey, the recipient of the Congressional Medal 
of Honor for heroism in Vietnam. Having devoted countless hours to this 
issue, all three concluded establishing diplomatic ties with the 
Vietnamese will lead to greater cooperation in resolving our remaining 
POW/MIA cases.
  Normalizing relations with Vietnam does serve our national interest 
in another very important respect. Other nations have already created a 
diplomatic presence in Vietnam, and some have even entered into trade 
agreements with the Vietnamese Government. This puts U.S. businesses at 
a competitive disadvantage in one of the fastest growing markets in all 
of Asia. Establishing a formal presence in Vietnam will help this 
country even out the playing field with their international 
competitors, leading to greater exports and greater job creation.
  The President has recognized that our relationship with Vietnam 
should be based on today's national interests, not yesterday's 
animosities. I fully expect his bold decision will help us find the 
answers about our missing servicemen that their families and we have 
long awaited.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.

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