[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 53 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HMONG VETERANS' NATURALIZATION ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 2, 2000

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 371, 
the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act of 2000. I urge my colleagues to 
join in supporting this important legislation.
  This legislation is long overdue. For too many years, the 
contributions made by our courageous Hmong allies during the Vietnam 
war went largely unrecognized. As we commemorate the 25th anniversary 
of the ignoble end to the Vietnam war, it is befitting that this bill 
has come to the House floor for consideration.
  The Hmong veterans were an invaluable, staunch ally to the U.S. war 
effort in Southeast Asia. Throughout the Vietnam conflict, Hmong 
guerrilla units, operating out of their native Laos, collected vital 
intelligence, protected key American installations in remote mountain 
locations, and rescued downed American pilots. In a statement submitted 
to the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims in the 105th 
Congress, a former CIA intelligence officer estimated that Hmong 
operations out of Laos tied down 50,000 North Vietnamese troops in that 
country.
  It is important to note that the Hmong veterans performed their 
invaluable guerrilla role at great peril to themselves and to their 
families. Moreover, many of them suffered dearly at the hands of the 
Communist North Vietnamese and Laotian forces after the U.S. withdrawal 
from Southeast Asia in 1972.
  H.R. 371 provides special relief and consideration for those Hmong 
veterans who have sought to emigrate to the United States. It 
recognizes the fact that many of the Hmong face unique language 
problems that would normally disqualify them for U.S. citizenship. 
These problems stem from the Natural Cultural Barriers that exist 
between Asian and Western societies, as well as the distinct issue of 
an underdeveloped and underutilized Hmong written language.
  H.R. 371 addresses this unique problem by waiving the English 
language requirement and provides special consideration for the civics 
requirement associated with naturalization. The bill was amended in 
subcommittee to address concerns over the potential for fraud by 
clearly outlining steps that needed to be taken to determine a 
veteran's eligibility, and limiting the total number of potential 
beneficiaries to 45,000.
  Mr. Speaker, I reiterate that this legislation is long overdue. I 
visited Hmong Commanding General Vang-Pao at his field headquarters in 
Central Laos in 1973. At that time, I was deeply impressed at how these 
people were willing to place their own lives and welfare on the line to 
not only fight for their freedom, but also to assist our American war 
effort and to save American lives. To paraphrase the author of this 
legislation, their actions during the Vietnam war demonstrates that the 
Hmong have already passed the most important test of all, risking their 
lives to defend freedom and save American personnel.
  Accordingly, for this, we owe them our gratitude. This legislation 
corrects a long overdue problem, and is a significant step on the road 
to repaying the debt we as a Nation owe the Hmong veterans.

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