[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 158 (Thursday, November 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT PRESIDENT ISSUE PROCLAMATION 
            RECOGNIZING A NATIONAL LAO-HMONG RECOGNITION DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 13, 2001

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 
88, a resolution urging the President to issue a national proclamation 
recognizing the important contributions of Hmongs and Laotians to our 
great nation.
  Unfortunately, few Americans know that many Hmong and Lao people came 
to the United States as refugees fleeing genocide and persecution for 
fighting against the spread of communism in Laos, a country once part 
of the French colony known as Indochina, which also encompassed 
Cambodia and Vietnam.
  Following the French rule over Indochina from 1863 until its 
withdrawal from the region in 1954, the United States became involved 
in the struggle for democracy and independence for Indochina from 1955 
to 1975. During this period which became known as the Vietnam War, the 
United States recruited Hmong and Lao people to fight against the 
communist Vietnamese Army and the Pathet Lao. Hmong and Lao soldiers 
flew thousands of deadly combat missions in support of the U.S. Armed 
Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency, and fought in conventional 
and guerrilla combat clashes with extreme casualties against communist 
Vietnamese and Pathet Lao. More than 35,000 Hmong and Lao soldiers lost 
their lives in defense of democracy and many more were seriously 
injured and disabled.
  After the United States pulled out of Vietnam in 1975, many of the 
Hmong and Lao soldiers and their families were forced to live in 
communist concentration camps known as ``reeducation camps'' by the 
Pathet Lao. While in these camps, thousands of Hmong and Lao people 
were subjected to chemical bombings, tortures, and genocidal murders. 
Many eventually escaped to refugee camps in Thailand and some refugees 
fled to the United States. It is estimated that between 1975 and 1995, 
the communist Pathet Lao government killed more than 300,000 people in 
Laos, including the Royal Lao family.
  Only in recent years have we begun to recognize and commemorate the 
contributions thousands of Hmong and Lao Americans have made during the 
period of the Vietnam War. In the 106th Congress, Congress passed the 
Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act introduced by our esteemed former 
colleague the late Congressman Bruce Vento, which expedited 
naturalization procedures for Hmong and Lao refugees who fought in the 
special guerrilla units in Laos.
  Today nearly 195,000 Hmong and 135,000 Lao Americans live in the 
United States. Large Hmong and Lao communities have been established in 
parts of California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Colorado.
  In closing, I would like to congratulate Congressman Tancredo for his 
work on this legislation and urge my colleagues to stand in strong 
support for the passage of H. Con. Res. 88.

                          ____________________