[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 5, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2607-H2614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1745
  EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE REGARDING NEED FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRATIC 
                             REFORM IN LAOS

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 402) expressing the sense of the House 
of Representatives regarding the urgent need for freedom, democratic 
reform, and international monitoring of elections, human rights and 
religious liberty in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 402

       Whereas, in 1975, the Kingdom of Laos, a constitutional 
     monarchy and important ally of the United States during the 
     Vietnam War, was overthrown by the Marxist Lao People's 
     Revolutionary Party with the assistance of the People's Army 
     of North Vietnam;
       Whereas the Lao People's Democratic Republic was 
     established as a one-party regime in 1975 following the 
     communist takeover;
       Whereas tens of thousands of Laotian and Hmong people, a 
     prominent highland minority group, were killed or died at the 
     hands of communist forces while attempting to flee the Lao 
     communist regime, and many others perished in reeducation and 
     labor camps;
       Whereas tens of thousands of Laotian and Hmong became 
     refugees, eventually resettling in the United States where 
     they now reside as American citizens and lead constructive 
     lives as members of their communities;
       Whereas the only political party allowed by law in Laos is 
     the communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party;
       Whereas, in 1989, Laos held its first elections since the 
     establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, but 
     only candidates who were approved by the communist Lao 
     People's Revolutionary Party were allowed to seek public 
     office;
       Whereas, in 1991, Laos adopted its first constitution which 
     purports to guarantee the people of Laos a wide range of 
     freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, assembly, and 
     religion;
       Whereas the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Congress meets 
     every five years and controls or influences the organs of the 
     state in Laos, including the armed forces, the security 
     services, and the National Assembly;
       Whereas the Lao People's Revolutionary Party promulgates 
     the five-year state plans that control the economy and do not 
     need to receive the approval of the National Assembly;
       Whereas, in 1999, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations 
     held by Laotian students in the capital of Vientiane calling 
     for political and economic reforms were suppressed by force 
     by the Lao government, which arrested many of the students;
       Whereas Amnesty International reports that many Laotian 
     student leaders from the 1999 pro-democracy demonstrations 
     continue to be held by the Lao government and languish in the 
     Lao prison system or remain unaccounted for;
       Whereas, in 2001, Olivier Dupuis, a Member of the European 
     Parliament, was arrested and jailed in Laos along with a 
     group of pro-democracy activists after peacefully protesting 
     for the release of the Lao students and for democratic and 
     human rights reforms in Laos;
       Whereas international election monitors are currently not 
     permitted to enter Laos to monitor elections;
       Whereas Laos remains a one-party communist state that 
     continues to prohibit the organizing of opposition political 
     parties to the Lao People's Revolutionary Party;
       Whereas, in 2002, elections for the Lao People's Democratic 
     National Assembly were held nearly a year earlier than 
     scheduled and excluded all candidates from political parties 
     other than the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, as well as 
     all overseas Laotians;
       Whereas Amnesty International and other independent human 
     rights organizations are not permitted to enter Laos to 
     monitor or investigate the human rights situation or reports 
     of alleged human rights violations;
       Whereas, in 2003, the United States Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom issued a country report on 
     religious persecution in Laos, recommending that the 
     President designate Laos as a ``country of particular 
     concern'';
       Whereas the Department of State reported in its most recent 
     Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Laos that Laos 
     restricts its citizens from enjoying the freedoms of speech, 
     assembly, and religion, and from undertaking activities to 
     change their government;
       Whereas, in 2003, the United Nations Committee on 
     Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated that the Lao 
     government had failed to honor its obligations, and the 
     Committee expressed its grave concerns at the information it 
     had received of serious and repeated human rights violations 
     in Laos;
       Whereas, in October 2003, Amnesty International issued a 
     statement detailing its concern about the use of starvation 
     by the Lao government as a weapon of war against civilians in 
     Laos and the deteriorating situation facing thousands of 
     family members of ethnic minority groups, predominantly the 
     Hmong;
       Whereas, in 2003, Amnesty International's International 
     Secretariat, in a statement further detailing its concerns 
     about Laos, condemned in the strongest terms the use of 
     starvation as a weapon of war against civilians and cited it 
     as a clear and serious violation of the Geneva Conventions 
     that Laos has ratified;
       Whereas because many Laotians and Hmong, including those in 
     the overseas communities, are not members of the Lao People's 
     Revolutionary Party, they do not meet with its approval as 
     political candidates, but they are nevertheless successful 
     businessmen, technocrats, and community and religious leaders 
     with democratic aspirations and concern for the people of 
     Laos; and
       Whereas the United States has a vital interest in the 
     worldwide promotion of democratic principles and respect for 
     human rights, and supports democratic reforms in Laos: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives strongly 
     supports the following points and urges the Government of the 
     Lao People's Democratic Republic, the United Nations, the 
     European Union, and the Association of South East Asian 
     Nations--
       (1) to work to provide unrestricted access to Laos by 
     international election monitors for upcoming presidential and 
     National Assembly elections;
       (2) to work to provide unrestricted access to Laos, 
     including special closed military zones and closed provinces, 
     by international human rights organizations, the United 
     Nations, the United States Commission on International 
     Religious Freedom, and humanitarian aid organizations;
       (3) to work to ensure that opposition political parties and 
     their candidates are allowed to run for public office in 
     multi-party elections without regard to gender, race, 
     ethnicity, religion, economic standing, or political 
     affiliation, and that all adult citizens of

[[Page H2608]]

     Laos, including overseas Laotian citizens, are permitted to 
     vote and run for public office;
       (4) to allow the citizens of Laos to assemble and 
     peacefully protest against the Government of Laos, the Lao 
     People's Revolutionary Party, and individual public 
     officials, and to freely organize opposition groups and 
     independent political parties;
       (5) to heed the call by the United Nations Committee on 
     Elimination of Racial Discrimination for the Lao People's 
     Revolutionary Party to halt immediately all acts of violence 
     against the Hmong population and provide them with 
     humanitarian assistance;
       (6) to work to gain the immediate release of those students 
     and their family members arrested and jailed in connection 
     with the 1999 pro-democracy demonstrations, as well as all 
     other political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and those 
     jailed for their religious beliefs or ethnicity; and
       (7) to work to implement the recommendations of the United 
     States Commission on International Religious Freedom with 
     respect to promoting religious freedom in Laos.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Chocola). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  As the sponsor of H. Res. 402, this resolution which expresses the 
strong sense of the House in support of election monitors, human rights 
and religious liberty in Laos is a very important piece of legislation. 
Since the 1975 overthrow of the Lao monarchy, Laos has been a one-
party, Communist state in which the Lao People's Revolutionary Party is 
the only party allowed by law; and the repression there, Mr. Speaker, 
is unbelievable.
  Although the 1991 Lao Constitution claimed to guarantee a wide range 
of freedoms, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in 1999 were 
forcibly suppressed. Many of those demonstrators remain in prison. The 
government of Laos continues to restrict basic freedoms and has been 
credibly accused of using starvation against civilians and of 
continuing its persecution of the courageous Hmong ethnic minority.
  I sincerely appreciate and support the Hmong people in their fight 
for freedom and democracy. They and the entire Laotian people deserve 
our complete support and assistance. We must address the current human 
rights situation while pressing for real progress in Laos.
  H. Res. 402 urges the Lao Government and international bodies to work 
toward access for international election and human rights monitors, 
genuine multiparty democracy, and the halt of violence against the 
Hmong, also the release of political and religious prisoners and the 
promotion of religious freedom throughout Laos.
  These are worthy goals. I urge the Communist government in Laos to 
change their attitude toward these people. I urge all of my colleagues 
here in this body to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
rise in strong support of this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to 
do so as well.
  First, I want to commend my good friend from Indiana, my 
distinguished colleague, for introducing this resolution; and I want to 
commend the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the 
distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations, for 
her strong leadership on all matters related to Laos. We greatly 
appreciate her hard work on this long neglected region of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, the bilateral relationship between the United States and 
Laos has been frozen in time since the end of the Vietnam War. While we 
have maintained a diplomatic mission in Laos, our bilateral contacts 
have been infrequent and low-level. Over the past few years, both the 
United States and Laos have made significant efforts to improve the 
quality of our bilateral relationship. Given the increasingly large 
number of Laotian and Hmong Americans in the United States, a warming 
in the relationship is long overdue. The President may soon, in fact, 
propose the granting of normal trade relations status to Laos.
  As our relations with Laos become increasingly complex, the United 
States must not forget the ongoing deprivation of internationally 
recognized human rights in Laos as well as the totalitarian nature of 
the ruling regime. The promotion of human rights and religious and 
political freedom must always remain at the core of our agenda with 
Laos until the Laotian people can freely choose their own government, 
enjoy true political freedom, and freedom of worship as they wish.
  Our resolution calls attention to the negative human rights situation 
in Laos and urges the United States, the European Union, the United 
Nations, and ASEAN nations to work for positive change in Laos. The 
Laotian Government continues to imprison brave young people who had the 
courage to publicly demonstrate for political change in 1999, and some 
local Laotian officials continue to harass Laotians of the Christian 
persuasion. The Laotian Government also does not allow free and fair 
elections, and it prohibits any organized political opposition.
  Mr. Speaker, political and social change will come to Laos, and it is 
my hope that the United States and our allies will make every effort to 
ensure that these fundamental reforms come sooner rather than later.
  I strongly support passage of this resolution and urge all of my 
colleagues to do so as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
distinguished gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).
  Ms. McCOLLUM. I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for 
his kind words.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution, urging 
improved human rights, democratic reform and religious freedom in the 
Lao People's Democratic Republic. I would like to take this opportunity 
to thank the U.S. Ambassador in Laos, Douglas Hartwick, and his 
hardworking, dedicated staff at our embassy in Vientiane for their 
commitment toward human rights and reform in Laos.
  Mr. Speaker, most Americans do not know very much about the country 
of Laos, but many people in my congressional district know this country 
very well. Minnesota is home to over 53,000 Hmong and Lao Americans. I 
represent one of the largest Hmong constituencies in the United States. 
My constituents and I strongly support improving human rights and the 
quality of life for the people of Laos. The Lao Government has been 
working cooperatively with the United States on international terrorism 
and helping to provide a full accounting of Americans missing in action 
from the Vietnam War. The Lao Government has taken steps to protect 
religious freedom and the hundreds of Hmong and Laotians from my 
district who have traveled to Laos have seen some improvement; but I 
want to state clearly, despite these steps, greater progress is still 
needed on human rights, religious tolerance, democratic rule of law, 
and transparency.
  One way the Lao Government can demonstrate their commitment to reform 
is by allowing international humanitarian workers the ability to 
monitor the Hmong amnesty and resettlement program in order to ensure 
that the Hmong are receiving the humanitarian assistance they need and 
they deserve. My constituents and I are committed to advancing these 
efforts in Laos. If Laos is going to truly reform into a more open and 
democratic society, the United States needs to play a greater role in 
working with the Lao people and the Lao Government.
  The United States policy of economic isolation has made it very 
difficult for the Hmong and Laotian Americans in my district to engage 
in economic activity that will improve the quality of life for their 
relatives in Laos. This failed U.S. policy of economic isolation has 
lasted close to 30 years, and it has had real human consequences, as 
extreme poverty is a fact of life for much of the people who live in 
Laos. The United Nations development program ranks Laos 143rd out of 
173 countries in

[[Page H2609]]

terms of human development. Only half the population can read, 30 
percent of the people will die before they are 40 years old, and 26 
percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. One out of 
every 10 children will die before they reach the age of 5. I consider 
this fact a human rights tragedy.
  The people of Laos also endure the deadly remnants of U.S. bombing 
from the Vietnam War. The United States flew more than 580,000 bombing 
runs over Laos. More than 2 million tons of ordnance were dropped on 
the country of Laos, double the amount dropped on Europe during World 
War II. Thousands of Laotian children and adults continue to die or 
become maimed as a result of this unexploded American ordnance. This, 
too, is a human rights tragedy and was documented by The Washington 
Post in an article this weekend. I insert this article for the Record.

        [From the Washington Post Foreign Service, May 1, 2004]

              In Laos, Sifting the Earth for American Dead

                          (By Ellen Nakashima)

       Saravan, Laos.-- On the first day of the dig, Franklin 
     Damann spied what appeared to be a bone fragment resting on 
     the soil surface. But he could not be sure. He put it in a 
     Ziploc bag labeled ``Possible Osseous Remains.''
       He hoped that the fragment, and several more found over the 
     next few days, would yield DNA to help identify U.S. Air 
     Force Col. Norman Dale Eaton or his navigator, Lt. Col. Paul 
     E. Getchell. Their B-57 exploded and crashed on a remote hill 
     in southern Laos in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War.
       Damann, a forensic anthropologist, and about a dozen U.S. 
     service members shoveled and sifted hundreds of buckets of 
     dirt from that metal-pocked hill in February. In several 
     equally isolated and treacherous sites in Cambodia and 
     Vietnam, other teams were also scanning for every shard of 
     steel, canvas, plastic, bone or, best of all, tooth that 
     might help identify men who died in the Vietnam War, more 
     than 1,800 of whom are still missing.
       Since 1992, 10 times a year, the military has sent teams to 
     the old battlegrounds of Southeast Asia to search for Vietnam 
     combatants' remains. Two to six teams go on each trip. So 
     far, they have accounted for 724 Americans, according to the 
     Pentagon.
       But time is running out. Witnesses are dying. Investigators 
     are now talking to people who can remember their fathers 
     telling them about a crash site. The most accessible areas 
     already have been excavated, and bone disintegrates more 
     readily in the acidic soil of Southeast Asia.
       It is an arduous yet optimistic endeavor, costing $100 
     million a year spread over five agencies. Though the military 
     has long proclaimed that no man or woman shall be left behind 
     on the battlefield--and made recovery efforts for several 
     years after World War II and the Korean War--it took the 
     emotional upheaval of the Vietnam War to spur the government 
     to undertake a continuous search effort. Scientists and 
     recovery teams have been finding and identifying remains of 
     those killed in World War II, the  Korean War and the Cold 
     War in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.
        They have identified remains of about 500 service members 
     from World War II, Korea and the Cold War. The U.S. military 
     estimates that 88,000 service members are still missing from 
     all wars. The effort to find them is destined to continue, 
     officials say, as long as the United States sends its men and 
     women into battle zones.
        ``I can't think of a more noble mission,'' said Marine 
     Capt. William P. ``Bay'' Dobbins, 29, leader of a team 
     searching for the remains of a Navy pilot downed in southern 
     Laos. Dobbins, who served in Iraq last year, said he had been 
     waiting for this job with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting 
     Command. ``I love the idea of bringing these guys home,'' he 
     said.
        So it was that on a chilly morning in February, a dozen 
     soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines and Damann, who works at 
     the Army's Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu, 
     piled into an aging Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter at the 
     team's base camp in southern Laos. Twenty minutes later, they 
     landed on a hill in Saravan province that was traversed by 
     the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of paths used by the North 
     Vietnamese to ferry supplies along the border with Laos into 
     South Vietnam. The team hiked down a long, steep slope and, 
     putting spade to soil, dug in a space roughly as long and 
     wide as an Olympic swimming pool.
        About 90 Laotian villagers, who live a day's trek away and 
     were hired for a small daily wage, were already there. They 
     formed a bucket brigade down the slope, men and women with 
     high cheekbones and broad faces, wearing old jeans, Nike caps 
     and wool head scarves.
        Pairs of villagers rocked trays slung from bamboo poles, 
     massaging red dirt through quarter-inch wire mesh. As a 
     boombox blared a Motown mix, the American team members 
     scanned for pieces of zipper, boot, oxygen hose--what the 
     investigators call life support material.
        The hill was not an easy one. At a 35-degree angle, it had 
     a view at 3,700 feet of a valley below filling with 
     deceptively fast-moving clouds. Army Sgt. Robert Bryson, in 
     charge of team safety, warned the crew: ``This site is 
     dangerous. When the pilots say go, there's no lollygagging or 
     we'll be here overnight.''
        During a mission three years ago, seven military personnel 
     and nine Vietnamese died when their Mi-17 helicopter slammed 
     into a fog-shrouded hill.
        The site was surveyed last summer by Joan Baker, an 
     anthropologist, who also works at the Honolulu forensics lab. 
     She found no crash crater, leading her to conclude that the 
     plane had exploded before it plunged. Her investigative team 
     found hundreds of pieces of fan blades, wires and bolts 
     strewn over more than 350 square yards. Then she saw a small 
     metal object nestled in the roots of a tree. It was a dog 
     tag, bearing Eaton's name. ``It was pretty exciting,'' Baker 
     recalled. ``I couldn't believe it for a minute. I was like, 
     `No!' '' Team members planted a yellow stake wherever they 
     found even a jot of debris, turning the hill into a dandelion 
     field of stakes.
        Damann held up a slice of rusted metal to the gray light 
     filtering through the trees. The words ``cylinder hydraulic 
     actuating'' were still visible. The metal plate was engraved 
     with the manufacturer's name, Glenn L. Martin Ltd., 
     Baltimore, Md., which in the 1960s retooled the British-made 
     B-57s from straight-and-level planes to dive bombers.
        ``We'll be pulling stuff all day.'' said Damann, a lanky 
     Louisianan who analyzes skeletal remains to figure out a 
     person's size, sex, race and other characteristics.
       As it turned out, the team would not be pulling stuff all 
     day. After lunch, the clouds rolled in, obscuring the valley 
     below. Bryson gave the word to load up the buckets and gather 
     the tools. ``It's time to get off the hill,'' he said.
       The son of a Vietnam Navy veteran, Bryson is a mortuary 
     affairs specialist, or 92-Mike in Army lingo. He was on his 
     31st recovery mission to Southeast Asia, has worked directly 
     with MIA families and relishes the satisfaction of delivering 
     a memento to a wife or parent.
       ``There are cases where a family member said, `He always 
     carried a 1945 buffalo nickel,' and then you go to the site 
     and dig and pull it out of the dirt,'' he said. ``There are 
     wedding rings, the crucifixes, wallets with pictures.'' 
     Working one World War II case, he said, he found letters 
     ready to be mailed home. ``You bring them home to a wife or 
     mother, and the gratitude is immense. That's pretty amazing 
     you can do stuff like that.''

                          Unexploded Ordnance

       Elderly locals are another source of information. Khampoy 
     Khun, a grandfatherly man with an impish grin, was trying to 
     clear a rice field about a decade ago when he came upon metal 
     aircraft parts poking up from the soil. He eventually told 
     his story to American investigators and led them to a site 
     where a Navy pilot had plowed into a hill in April 1970.
       ``I would be very glad if the Americans find what they are 
     looking for and can return the remains to the families,'' 
     said Khampoy, 70, cheering on the Americans and Laotians 
     digging, hauling and screening soil. ``I think the families 
     back home are hoping the remains will be found.''
       He had one request, though: that the United States do more 
     to remove unexploded ordnance left from the war. ``I am very 
     poor,'' Khampoy said. ``And I cannot work my rice fields with 
     the unexploded bombs. It's all over the place.''
       In February, the team looking for the Navy pilot's remains 
     unearthed a 500-pound unexploded bomb.
       Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. air campaign dropped more 
     than 2 million tons of explosive ordnance on the hills and 
     valleys of Laos, the world's most heavily bombed nation per 
     capita, according to United Nations Development Program 
     statistics. Some of the craters were as large as houses. Up 
     to 30 percent of the ordnance, it is estimated, failed to 
     detonate and continues to kill about 200 people, many of whom 
     are children, each year, according to the program.
       In fiscal 2003 the United States spent $1.2 million on 
     clearing the ordnance in Laos, about one-fourth of the total 
     international donor aid to the effort, U.S. officials said.
       After 30 days, Damann, Bryson and their team flew back to 
     Honolulu. Another team took their place in March to continue 
     the dig. All the evidence found is bagged and sent to the 
     lab. There, a different set of anthropologists examines the 
     remains and the life support material.
       The lab, which is part of the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting 
     Command, identifies on average two Americans a week. The best 
     way to make an identification is to match a tooth, especially 
     one that has had a filling or a drilling, to dental records, 
     Thomas Holland, the lab's scientific director, explained in 
     a telephone interview from Honolulu. ``No two fillings are 
     alike,'' he said. ``That's really how most identifications 
     are made.''
       Even as the difficulty of the missions has increased, the 
     technology has improved, Holland said. These days, up to 70 
     percent of cases are identified by matching mitochondrial 
     DNA, which is passed down through the maternal line, from 
     remains to a relative from the same maternal line, he said. 
     About five grams of dense bone, the type found in the arm or 
     leg, is needed to gather enough DNA for an identification.
       In the mid-1990s, the military began taking a DNA sample 
     from all service members in case it is needed for 
     identification.

[[Page H2610]]

                              `Off Target'

       On the night of Jan. 13, 1969, Eaton and Getchell took off 
     from Phan Rang Air Base in South Vietnam. They flew west 
     toward Laos, to drop bombs and napalm on a target along the 
     Ho Chi Minh Trail in an effort to disrupt the enemy's supply 
     line.
       Eaton's last recorded words before the plane crashed were 
     ``Off target,'' according to a wartime Air Force report. A C-
     130 pilot who was flying nearby, directing Eaton's strike, 
     said that his cockpit was lit up by the flash from the bomb 
     Eaton dropped, and lit up again five seconds later by the B-
     57's crash, according to the report. No parachutes were seen. 
     A two-second emergency beeper signal was heard by another 
     aircraft in the area, but it was unclear if that was from 
     Eaton or Getchell.
       Eaton, then 43, had always said that when he went, he 
     wanted to ``go down in a ball of fire,'' his wife, Jeanne 
     Eaton, now 75, recalled in a telephone interview from 
     Alexandria. He loved to fly, loved ``that wonderful, 
     celestial feeling,'' she said, though he had his concerns 
     about the war.
       Eaton's oldest son, Paul Eaton, 53, is now a major general 
     in the Army, stationed in Baghdad, the commander in charge of 
     training the nascent postwar Iraqi army.
       Gethell was 32, slender, dark-haired and a carpenter with a 
     philosophy degree. ``He was always learning and reading,'' 
     and looked forward to teaching, recalled his widow, Teresa 
     Getchell, 67.
       As the years passed, the two women, who have never 
     remarried, gradually came to terms with their husbands' 
     deaths. For Getchell, it has been so long since her husband 
     died, she said, that finding any remains now will not mean 
     much. ``It will just verify what I feel is already the case, 
     that he's gone,'' she said from her winter home in Bradenton, 
     Fla.
       For Eaton, the search holds out hope for some peace of 
     heart.
       ``The very fact that they found my husband's dog tags, at 
     least there's a substance there, there's a reality,'' she 
     said. ``Hopefully, they will find some tangible evidence of 
     him.''
       In March, the team that took over from Damann found more 
     possible remains at the site. The evidence will be sent to 
     the lab. A new team returns in June to continue the hunt.
  The United States must work with the Lao Government to remove this 
unexploded ordnance. To address this issue, I have submitted a request 
to the Committee on Appropriations to expand the cleanup of unexploded 
ordnance in Laos. I ask my colleagues today who care so deeply about 
human rights in Laos to join me in this effort. Today I support this 
resolution because my constituents who have family members in Laos want 
reform now.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind).
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from California for yielding 
me this time and for his leadership on this issue, and I thank my 
colleague from Indiana for offering this resolution of which I am a 
proud cosponsor.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope the body tomorrow when it comes up for 
consideration will adopt this resolution. This is a very serious matter 
in regard to some of the practices and the abuses I feel that are 
currently taking place in Laos. The resolution is very simple, 
expressing the sense of the House regarding the urgent need for freedom 
and democratic reform and international monitoring of elections, human 
rights and religious liberty in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
  The United States owes a debt of gratitude to the Hmong veterans and 
their families who served as loyal and dedicated allies during the so-
called secret war in southeast Asia and the Vietnam conflict, a war 
that many Hmong members participated in on the side of U.S. soldiers in 
the jungles of southeast Asia. Between 20,000 and 30,000 Hmong lost 
their lives during this time and more than 100,000 Hmong were forced to 
either flee or live in refugee camps after the U.S. pullout in 
southeast Asia. Through their sacrifices, many American lives were 
saved, and our Nation must remain committed to recognizing their 
service.
  Today, approximately 170,000 Hmong currently reside in the United 
States, including 35,000 in my home State of Wisconsin. Many of these 
Hmong Americans have family members still in Laos facing constant 
allegations of harassment, imprisonment, even kidnapping and killing of 
ethnic Hmong by Lao authorities. These have been brought to my 
attention, and these allegations have been raised in many different 
forums. Due to modern technology, many of these reports are coming out 
of Laos almost simultaneously when they are occurring through the 
advent of cell phones documenting the abuse and some of the atrocities 
being committed there.
  I believe it is time for this Congress and the administration to 
support international observance teams to go into Laos to observe 
firsthand the conditions that are occurring there. We need the support 
from our administration and from the Congress, I think, to put pressure 
on the government there to accept these international teams of 
observers. The Lao Government has one of the most egregious human 
rights records in the world. The State Department's own country report 
on human rights practices in Laos makes clear the lack of respect for 
human rights demonstrated by the Lao Government.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, there are many Hmong families still in 
Wisconsin and throughout the country who are very concerned in regards 
to the conditions of their own families or relatives or friends who are 
still in Laos. They come to Washington from time to time. These are a 
proud people, many of whom have now achieved their U.S. citizenship. 
They are productive members of our society. Their children are in our 
schools, growing up to get an American education and be productive 
citizens in the country. But their ties back to Laos still remain very 
strong, and it runs very deep. I think this body, this United States 
Congress, owes it to them, our friends and allies and in many instances 
our neighbors and citizens in our own community, to take these 
allegations seriously, to increase the pressure on the Lao Government 
to allow inspections, to allow the investigation to go forward within 
that country so we can document and definitively determine what the 
situation is inside that border. I encourage my colleagues to support 
the resolution. I thank my colleagues for bringing it forward this 
evening.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 4 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I thank the gentleman from 
California for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from several days of meetings in 
Vientiane and Luang Prabang not only with our own very able Ambassador 
Doug Hartwick but his excellent embassy staff and also with Lao 
Government officials and many private citizens, Americans and others, 
who are living and working in Laos. There is a more complex and 
changing pictures than the wording of this resolution portrays.
  Our discussions covered a wide range of topics, including the 
government's deficiencies in addressing human rights and political 
transparency issues as detailed in H. Res. 402, and I was very clear in 
my conversations with the Lao leaders about the urgency of meeting 
international standards particularly with respect to the Hmong and 
other indigenous people who have been the subject of ill treatment and 
repression.

                              {time}  1800

  I share the concerns of the authors of this resolution that Laos, 
like many other countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, should make 
substantial improvements in the openness of their political and 
judicial processes and comply with internationally recognized human, 
religious, and labor rights and promote economic reforms that will 
raise the standard of living of its citizens through improved 
investment and trade.
  This resolution addresses those issues, and I do not think that many 
would argue with the historical record. My concern, however, is that 
the resolution fails to take into account the many significant 
developments of the U.S.-Lao relationship as well as the internal 
changes that are not only noteworthy, but address some of the issues 
raised in this resolution. We are involved in major efforts, and we are 
getting major cooperation in antidrug efforts in Laos through the 
cooperation of the Lao government aimed at reducing opium and 
amphetamine trade that reaches from Southeast Asia to the streets of 
the American cities.
  Our people report a strong cooperation in this effort with the Lao 
authorities. In the areas of POW/MIA, hundreds of Americans from the 
Vietnam era are still missing in Laos, and we are sending forensic 
teams to Laos

[[Page H2611]]

several times a year to locate and repatriate the remains of those 
service people. Again, according to our government, we are receiving 
strong cooperation from the Lao government, but this resolution has 
been silent on that important effort.
  Certainly the issue of human rights and the Hmong population, as well 
as other minorities, is a particularly sensitive subject in the Lao-
American community in the United States, and I imagine that is the 
issue pushing this resolution to the forefront at this time. This 
resolution fails, however, to note that for a variety of reasons, some 
having to do with international pressure and some having to do with 
internal economics and politics, the Lao government has been urging 
Hmong and other dissidents to come out of the mountains where they have 
been hidden for many decades. The government has pledged to assist in 
the relocation and settlement of these groups, and I would note that 
Secretary of State Powell has told the Lao government the United States 
would like to offer assistance in these efforts.
  While there is reason aplenty for hesitation given the fate of others 
throughout the world who have acquiesced in ``resettlement'' campaigns, 
the reports I received while in Laos, across the board, testified to 
the positive response of the refugees. Moreover, there were few, if 
any, reports of abusive or unhelpful treatment by the government. There 
is no mention of that in this resolution.
  The concerns that this resolution raise about conditions in Laos are 
justified, and we should be clear that virtually identical situations 
exist in far too many countries. I would also like to make it very 
clear that the Lao government fully cooperate with the opinion of the 
international community that has long been concerned with the treatment 
of minority groups within their country and make sure they, in fact, 
are open to allowing our ambassador to travel to the areas in question 
where people are engaged in coming out, the Hmongs and others, to make 
sure that the resettlement issues are occurring, that these people are 
being treated properly, and that there is no action taken against them.
  So I would hope that the Lao government would be more open to the 
request of Secretary Powell, of our ambassador, of the international 
community. But again, I would state for those who have been there, for 
the international community, the international press, the suggestion is 
that this resettlement is going very fairly well, given the tensions 
that have existed for over so many years.
  So I appreciate this resolution coming forward. I would hope that it 
would have given a little bit more recognition to those areas that we 
are getting cooperation, and that we will continue to work on opening 
this relationship with the Lao people, and clearly the support of the 
normal trade relations that we may have an opportunity to vote on later 
would go a long way in terms of improving the economy and some of the 
human rights issues within the Nation of Laos.
  Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from several days of meetings in 
Vientiane and Luang Prabang with not only our own very able ambassador, 
Douglas Hartwick and his excellent embassy staff, but also with Lao 
government officials and other private citizens--American and others--
who are living and working in Laos. There is a more complex and 
changing picture than the wording of this resolution portrays.
  Our discussions covered a wide range of topics, including that 
government's deficiencies in addressing human rights and political 
transparency issues that are detailed in H. Res. 402, and I was very 
clear in my conversations with Lao leaders about the urgency of meeting 
international standards particularly with respect to Hmong and other 
indigenous groups that have been the subject of ill-treatment and 
repression. I share the concerns of the authors of this resolution that 
Laos, like many other countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, should 
make substantial improvements in the openness of their political and 
judicial processes, comply with internationally recognized human, 
religious and labor rights, and promote the economic reforms that will 
raise the standard of living of their citizens through improved 
investment and trade.
  This resolution addresses those issues, and I do not think many would 
argue with the historical record. My concern, however, is that this 
resolution fails to take into account very significant developments in 
the U.S.-Lao relationship, as well as internal changes that are not 
only noteworthy, but that address some of the issues raised in the 
resolution.
  This is a delicate state in U.S.-Lao relations. We are deeply 
involved with that government in a range of initiatives that are 
critical to our own national security. I met with several U.S. 
personnel, for example, involved in major anti-drug efforts in 
cooperation with the Lao government aimed at reducing the opium and 
amphetamine trade that reaches from Southeast Asia to the streets of 
American cities. Our people reported strong cooperation from the Lao 
authorities and progress in turning Lao citizens against the drug 
trade, but this resolution ignores this cooperation.
  We are also deeply involved in POW-MIA efforts in Laos, as was 
documented last week in the New York Times. Hundreds of Americans from 
the Vietnam War era are still missing in Laos, and we are sending 
forensic recovery teams to Laos several times a year to locate and 
repatriate the remains of servicemen. Again according to our 
government, we are receiving strong cooperation of the Lao government, 
but this resolution is silent on this important initiative.
  Certainly the issue of human rights and the Hmong population, as well 
as other minorities, is a particularly sensitive subject in the Lao-
American community in the United States, and I imagine that is the 
issue pushing this resolution to the forefront at this time. The 
resolution fails, however, to note that for a variety of reasons--some 
having to do with international pressure and some having to do with 
internal economics and politics--the Lao government has been urging 
Hmong and other dissidents to come out of the mountains where some have 
hidden for several decades. The government has pledged to assist in the 
relocation and settlement of these groups, and I would note that 
Secretary of State Powell has told the Lao government that the United 
States would like to offer its assistance in these efforts. While there 
is reason aplenty for hesitation given the fate of others throughout 
the world who have acquiesced in ``resettlement'' campaigns, the 
reports I received in Laos, across the board, testified to the positive 
response of the refugees; moreover, there were few if any reports of 
abusive or unhelpful treatment by the government. But there is no 
mention of that cooperation in this resolution.
  It is also important that the House understand that there have been 
some very serious incidents of violence and threats of violence with 
the Lao-American community in recent weeks, including assaults on those 
peacefully demonstrating in support of expanded trade with Laos, arson, 
and threats of assassination on certain radio stations. Members of the 
House should be helping to defuse this situation, not adding to the 
ill-feelings. So it is very important that what we say and do regarding 
Laos and the Lao community not be misunderstood or mis-stated.
  The concerns that this resolution raises about conditions in Laos are 
justified, but we should be clear that virtually identical statements 
could be made about many other countries in the region or elsewhere in 
the world, including those with which we have very extensive economic 
and political relations. We want improvements and we should continue 
our efforts both bilaterally and through the U.N. and N.G.O.s to build 
a free and open society in Laos. One important step would be for more 
Members of Congress to visit the country and deliver the same message I 
did; yet only one other Member of the House has been to Laos in the 
last 5 years, I am told.
  One important way for us to improve our relationship and encourage 
the kinds of reforms we would like to see in Laos is to grant Normal 
Trade Relations to that country. Laos is one of only three countries in 
the world with which we do not have NTR, and the only country with 
which we have full diplomatic relations lacking that status. Laos is 
far too small and poor to have an impact on the U.S. economy or jobs, 
but granting NTR will have a significant impact on the economy in that 
impoverished nation, allowing it to participate in the kind of positive 
economic improvements that have begun to transform Vietnam and 
Cambodia. Now that this resolution has been brought to the floor, I 
would hope that NTR for Laos would similarly be scheduled for House 
consideration.
  I have many Lao-Americans in my own district, and I have had a close 
working relationship with them for a number of years. Most are refugees 
themselves from the repression of the post-war Lao government. They 
have built families, businesses, social and political organizations, 
and productive and cooperative lives in the United States. And together 
with many other Lao-Americans, they have begun to re-engage in a 
relationship with the country of their birth.
  Members of the USA-Lao NTR Coalition, including the Lao-American 
Exchange Institute, the Laotian-American National Coalition and the 
Laotian-American Chamber of Commerce visited Laos last year and 
produced the important ``Citizen Initiative Report.'' I would like to

[[Page H2612]]

recognize in particular Mr. Sary Tatpaporn, the Coalition's coordinator 
and vice president of the Laotian-American Chamber of Commerce, along 
with Dr. Richard Chansombat of the Lao-American Exchange, who authored 
the report on the trip detailing their meetings with government and 
private leaders. Many of these Lao-American leaders have reversed past 
opposition and now are urging the passage of NTR so that the economy of 
their former country can grow and more of their former countrymen can 
share in the prosperity that investment, trade and modernization can 
bring.
  Our relationship with Laos is long and complex, and it is changing 
for the better. We should be encouraging the positive steps Laos is 
taking on a wide range of issues, and we should be expanding our 
cooperation with that country as we have with other nations whose 
domestic policies we continue to question. We also need to recognize 
that some of the suspicion and distrust within the Lao leadership is 
due to continuing threats against that government from opposition 
elements within the United States, as was acknowledged during the 
recently held conference of Lao-American leaders at the State 
Department.
  At the same time, the Lao government must fully cooperate with the 
opinion of the international community that has long been concerned 
with the treatment of minority groups within the country, and wish to 
ensure that current resettlement effort comport with internationally 
recognized standards. As I have noted, our own Secretary of State has 
offered assistance in the resettlement efforts, and our Ambassador has 
requested permission for his staff to visit the areas where 
resettlement is occurring to assure that these citizens are being 
treated fairly. International relief agencies also are interested in 
monitoring the efforts. I would hope that the Lao government would 
fully cooperate with these initiatives and allow for independent 
observation of resettlement activities. That government should 
understand that a well-conducted, independently verified resettlement 
effort will dramatically affect the perception of Laos in the world 
community.
  Consideration of this resolution today should mark the beginning of a 
renewed interest and engagement in Laos by the House, not a one-time 
venting of opinion that ignores positive developments that are taking 
place and jeopardizes a longer agenda we should continue to pursue, 
including passage of NTR later this year. I look forward to working 
constructively with my colleagues towards a closer relationship with 
Laos which will encourage the kinds of reforms we all hope will be 
implemented in that nation.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I would like to just say the previous speaker made some very valid 
points, and I appreciate his remarks. However, the human rights 
violations in Laos continues to be widespread. There is a lot of 
suspicion on the part of the Hmongs who are being talked about being 
relocated, and that suspicion, I think, looking at the history of the 
Laotian government, is valid. And all I can say in closing, Mr. 
Speaker, is that human rights are just that, rights, and the Laotian 
government, which is a communist government, ought to take a hard look 
at history and realize that communism cannot last as long as it 
represses its people. And they ought to realize that long-term freedom 
and democracy is the only way to go, and if they do that, then I think 
the people in Laos have a bright future. But if they continue under 
this despotic communist regime, then I think they are in for more 
problems down the road.
  In any event, I appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) 
and his support and those who speak before me.
  Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, before this House today I would 
like to restate my strong support for H. Res. 402, of which I am a 
cosponsor. As a leading critic of the Laotian government in the U.S. 
House of Representatives, I am very pleased that this legislation has 
made it to the House floor today, and believe it speaks directly to the 
question--which has been hotly debated in recent years--of whether or 
not we ought to grant Laos Normal Trade Relations status. As most 
members of this House know, I am staunchly opposed to our nation 
providing the brutal regime in Laos with any improved relationship 
until it gets its act together on a whole host of issues. Granting Laos 
NTR before we see some real movement toward change is ill-advised, 
inappropriate, and just plain wrong.
  In support of H. Res. 402, I am asking today for a number of 
important items to be read into the Record. First, an article that 
recently appeared in the Appleton Post-Crescent on the case of Houa Ly, 
one of my Hmong-American constituents who went missing at the Thailand-
Laos border in 1999. Second, a pair of letters 21 other Members of 
Congress and I sent to the administration last year, detailing many of 
the problems we see with the Laotian government, and reiterating our 
opposition to NTR for Laos. I appreciate in advance your consideration 
of the issues presented in these documents, and look forward to 
continuing to work to advance the freedom of the Laotian people.

           Family's Plight at Heart of Trade Relations Clash

                            (By Ed Culhane)

       Neng Xiong Ly is consumed by sadness.
       It has been five years since the Appleton woman's husband, 
     Houa Ly, was waylaid on the banks of the Mekong River, the 
     border between Thailand and his home country of Laos.
       No one has seen him or heard from him since. Deprive of her 
     husband, Neng Xiong Ly teeters on the edge of poverty. Asked 
     to describe life without her husband, she wept softly. ``I 
     must be the poorest American,'' she said in her native 
     language. Houa Ly (pronounced HOO-AH LEE) was 55 when he 
     vanished, a veteran of the U.S. ``secret war'' in Laos, a 
     Vietnam-era medic who saved the lives of American pilots shot 
     down in the jungle. His disappearance, still shrouded in 
     mystery, has re-emerged at the center of a political fight on 
     the floor of the U.S. Congress. With the support of President 
     Bush and the U.S. State Department, the communist government 
     of Laos is seeking the benefits of Normal Trade Relations 
     status. But a group of 21 congressmen and senators, led by 
     Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, so far has blocked those 
     benefits. Green argues that the country's leaders--who deny 
     any knowledge of Ly--have not come clean. Even now, Green 
     said, the last of the rebellious Hmong in the jungles of 
     northern Laos are being systemically starved, raped, tortured 
     and killed by Laotian forces and by divisions of Vietnamese 
     soldiers operating in Laos. ``It's brutal, it's repressive 
     and it's barbaric,'' Green said. ``It's hard for Americans to 
     fully comprehend the barbarity and the contempt for human 
     rights that exists in that area.'' Yer Ly of St. Paul, Minn., 
     one of five daughters Houa Ly and Neng Xiong raised in the 
     Fox Valley, said she misses her father terribly. Her children 
     miss him. ``He is just the best,'' she said. ``There is no 
     word to say he is this or that. He is just the best.''


                              worlds apart

       Neng Xiong Ly speaks little English. She works nights on a 
     production line for a local manufacturer. Her take-home pay 
     is about $1,000 a month. All but $100 of that is swallowed by 
     the mortgage on their home. ``Se is really struggling a 
     lot,'' said her daughter, Ge, who acted as a translator. 
     Before they were drawn into the war, Neng Xiong and Houa Ly 
     lived the traditional tribal life of the Hmong people, 
     hunting and gathering and practicing small-scale agriculture 
     in the high plains and mountain jungles of northern Laos.
       ``Before the war, it was regular days,'' Neng Xiong Ly 
     said. ``Farm, cook, feed the animals.'' That life was lost 
     when divisions of North Vietnamese soldiers poured across the 
     northern Lao border in the 1960s. The Hmong, led by the 
     charismatic and prescient Gen. Vang Pao, abandoned the high 
     plains of Xiang Khoang province and established positions in 
     the surrounding mountains where there were armed and funded 
     by the CIA. As a young man, Houa Ly served as a medic with 
     Pao's freedom fighters. Trained as commandos, they were 
     fabled for their bravery and resourcefulness, for their 
     intimate knowledge of the mountain jungles. When American 
     pilots were shot down, the Hmong would find and rescue them, 
     engage in firefights to protect them. Hunted by communist 
     forces, these warrior farmers could no longer think in terms 
     of ``home.'' ``Because of the war between America and 
     Vietnam, the Vietnamese were always killing everyone,'' Neng 
     Xiong Ly said. ``There was no safety for the children and the 
     women. They would have to move all the time.'' Houa Ly saved 
     the lives of three American pilots during the war and helped 
     dozens of others. His wife and two of his daughters said he 
     did not carry weapons. ``He was not a fighter, he was a 
     nurse,'' said his youngest daughter, Yer Ly, who lives in St. 
     Paul. Neng Xiong Ly cooked for soldiers and pilots at Long 
     Cheng, a CIA airbase in the mountains of Xiang Khoang 
     province. A photograph of the base hands in her living room. 
     The United States abandoned Laos, and its Hmong allies, in 
     1973. Two years later, the country fell to the communist 
     Pathet Lao, backed by the North Vietnamese Army. Thousands of 
     Hmong were killed. Others were imprisoned in forced labor 
     camps. Tens of thousands fled for Thailand. In October 1978, 
     Houa Ly crossed the Mekong with his wife and four daughters. 
     Yer Ly was born in Thailand. She was 8 months old when the 
     family immigrated to the United States. They settled in the 
     Fox Valley. ``We are the people who helped the Americans,'' 
     Neng Xiong Ly said. ``That is why we had to move.''


                             a fateful trip

       Houa Ly had traveled to Thailand once before, around 1987, 
     to visit a sister who would later immigrate to the Fox 
     Cities. His return trip in 1999 was a break from work as a 
     machine operator with Wisconsin Tissue Mills.

[[Page H2613]]

     ``He said it had been a long time,'' Neng Xiong said. ``He 
     said he needed a vacation.'' At 6:30 a.m. May 7, 1999, Neng 
     Xiong received a call from the U.S. embassy in Thailand. She 
     was told her husband had been killed near the Laos border. 
     ``They just told me my husband went over the border to Laos 
     and that somebody had taken him,'' she said. She fainted. A 
     half-hour later, she called Yer Ly in St. Paul. She said she 
     had no reason to live. On her end, Yer Ly couldn't speak, 
     couldn't breathe. She fell to the floor, clutching the phone. 
     Various unconfirmed reports about what happened to Houa Ly 
     have emerged from congressional and private inquiries. He had 
     traveled to Thailand with a relative, Neng Lee. They met two 
     other Hmong-Americans, Michael and Hue Vang of California, on 
     the trip. The four were at a water festival in Chiang Kong, 
     Thailand, on the western bank of the Mekong. In Indochina, 
     the New Year is celebrated for a week in mid-April. In Chiang 
     Kong, the group was approached by a man who identified 
     himself as the police chief from Ban Houayxay in Laos, just 
     across the river. He said the police were allowing people 
     into the country without visas to celebrate the festival.
       Neng Lee and Hue Vang walked away to shop in Chiang Khong. 
     When they returned, Ly and Michael Vang were gone. Witnesses 
     said they were seen being forced into a boat that sped across 
     the river into Laos.
       An Associated Press story published in Asian Week in 2000 
     contained a similar version of the disappearance. A Hmong 
     investigator was told by sources that Ly and Michael Vang, 
     and two Hmong from Thailand, accepted the invitation to cross 
     the river. Once in Laos, they were arrested. The Thailand 
     Hmong escaped back across the river to tell the story.
       Some news stories have referred to speculation that Ly and 
     Michael Vang were in Indochina to provide assistance to Hmong 
     rebels in northern Laos.
       Green said he never has seen or heard any evidence to 
     support this.
       Hmong veterans in the Fox Cities said this theory makes no 
     sense. While some Hmong send money to relatives in Laos, 
     there is nothing two men could do for bands of Hmong hunted 
     by divisions of troops deep in the interior.


                            We won't give up

       Six months after word of Houa Ly's disappearance, Green 
     arranged a meeting in his office with Neng Xiong Ly, Yer Ly, 
     another of the sisters and three representatives from the 
     State Department. He also arranged a press conference for the 
     Ly family and for other families of people missing in Laos.
       State Department officials have conducted two on-site 
     investigations in Laos, but were largely at the mercy of Laos 
     officials, who at first delayed the effort and then placed 
     restrictions on it. U.S. officials have learned nothing, said 
     Green and family members.
       Five years ago, State Department officials said finding 
     Houa Ly and Michael Vang was a top priority.
       Yer Ly no longer believes that. She fears that her father, 
     a man who risked his life to save Americans in the jungles of 
     Laos, will be forgotten.
       Apart from Green, who has steadfastly pushed for a stronger 
     effort, no one from the government calls anymore. No one will 
     answer her questions.
       ``What I think is that he is an Asian-American citizen,'' 
     she said, ``and so it is not a top priority for them.''
       Green suspects Laotian officials were involved. At the very 
     least, he said, they impeded the investigation. Although the 
     State Department, pushing for Normal Trade Relations, now 
     gives Laos better marks, its staff was dissatisfied in 
     November 1999, reporting the Lao government ``has been slow 
     to respond to our requests for access to the area and has 
     tried to place restrictions on our investigators.''
       That was when it mattered, Green said. That was before the 
     trail grew cold.
       Still, Green said he would continue to press the U.S. 
     government, and the United Nations, to learn the fates of Ly 
     and Vang.
       He, too, has suggested the United States would be putting 
     greater pressure on Laos if the missing citizens were native-
     born Americans.
       ``This has been a great sadness for me,'' Green said. ``We 
     won't give up, as long as the families don't give up.''
       Neng Xiong Ly said she was deeply grateful to Green and to 
     his chief of staff, Chris Tuttle.
       ``I want thank them from the bottom of my heart,'' she 
     said. ``They are the only two Americans who went out of their 
     way to help.''
       Yer Ly thinks her father is still alive, locked away in a 
     prison camp. Her only evidence comes from her heart.
       ``I don't have anything to prove my father is alive,'' she 
     said. ``It is a gut feeling that I have, that my mother has, 
     that my whole family has.
       ``When someone you love . . . when they pass away . . . it 
     is a different feeling. We don't have that feeling.''
                                  ____

                                                September 9, 2003.
     Hon. Colin Powell,
     Secretary of State,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: Attached is a letter, signed by myself 
     and 21 of my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, 
     asking that you take no further steps toward granting Normal 
     Trade Relations (NTR) to Laos.
       Although the letter speaks largely for itself, many of my 
     colleagues and I feel it is important to note that, since 
     this letter was written and began circulating for co-
     signatures, several facts have come to light that further 
     reinforce our assertion that granting NTR to Laos is an 
     imprudent step at this time.
       Among these disturbing developments:
       (1) In June, the Laotian government arrested, imprisoned, 
     tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison a 
     Lutheran minister from St. Paul, Minnesota. While in 
     captivity, this U.S. citizen was denied consular access for 
     over a week and subjected to a ridiculous ``trial'' before 
     the Laotian judiciary system. Though eventually released 
     after more than a month, the Laotians' handling of this case 
     speaks volumes about their commitment to friendly relations 
     with the United States.
       (2) Two well-respected European journalists traveling with 
     the American mentioned above were subjected to the same 
     treatment, all apparently because of the group's 
     investigation of Laotian government human rights abuses 
     against ethnic Hmong minorities in remote areas of Laos.
       (3) According to the BBC, Laotian representatives met in 
     Pyongyang with representatives of North Korea just last 
     month. There, ``both sides . . . exchanged views on the need 
     to boost cooperation . . . (in) talks (that) proceeded in a 
     friendly atmosphere.'' This meeting is consistent with the 
     Laotian government's past close relationship with the North 
     Koreans.
       (4) According to the Vietnam News Agency and other sources, 
     in May ``Top leaders in Myanmar and Laos . . . underscored 
     the need to strengthen their cooperation in security and 
     other fields . . . the leaders expressed their delight with 
     the two countries' growing friendship and highly valued the 
     mutual assistance and successful cooperation in the spheres 
     of politics, security, economy, trade and socio-culture.'' 
     Obviously, myself and others in both houses of Congress find 
     such statements to be very troubling given what we all know 
     about the Burmese government.
       (5) Finally, according to this year's State Department 
     ``Voting Practices in the United Nations'' document, Laos 
     ranks 184 out of 186 countries in its record of agreement 
     with the United States in U.N. General Assembly votes. In 
     fact, this document shows that North Korea's record of 
     agreement with the U.S. (10.9 percent) is more than double 
     that of Laos' (5.4 percent). Iran, the world's most prominent 
     state sponsor of terrorism, was almost four times more likely 
     to support us (19.7 percent) than Laos (5.4 percent). This, 
     perhaps more than anything else, is the clearest statement 
     that Laos is not yet ready to improve relations between our 
     two countries.
       Thank you for your kind attention to this matter. I look 
     forward to working together with you on this and other issues 
     in the future.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Mark Green,
     Member of Congress.
                                  ____

                                                September 9, 2003.
     Hon. Phil Crane,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways and Means, 
         House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Sander Levin,
     Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways and 
         Means, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Crane and Ranking Member Levin: We write 
     today to implore you to take no further steps toward granting 
     Normal Trade Relations (NTR) status to the Lao People's 
     Democratic Republic (LPDR). We respectfully assert that 
     granting NTR to Laos at this time would in fact represent an 
     ill-conceived reward for the consistently dreadful behavior 
     the LPDR regime has exhibited in recent years at home, 
     abroad, and in its bilateral relations with the United 
     States. We offer the following seven facts as evidence the 
     LPDR has not yet earned such an upgrade in its trade status.
       (1) Two U.S. citizens remain missing after disappearing at 
     the Laotian border in 1999. The LPDR government has been 
     uncooperative in its dealings with U.S. authorities working 
     to investigate their case, and the LPDR government may have 
     been involved in the disappearance itself. According to 
     American eyewitnesses, U.S. citizens Houa Ly and Michael Vang 
     went missing on April 19, 1999 after having last been seen 
     with Lao government authorities near the Laos-Thailand 
     border. U.S. investigators have since pursued the case, but 
     the State Department has acknowledged a lack of cooperation 
     by the LPDR in the investigation, stating in November 1999 
     that the Lao government ``has been slow to respond to our 
     requests for access to the area and has tried to place 
     restrictions on our investigators.'' In July of 1999, staff 
     members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee traveled to 
     Laos and received information on the case from what they 
     characterized as a ``very credible source.'' The staff report 
     filed after the trip states that, ``with a great degree of 
     detail, the tip we received corroborated Hmong-American 
     suspicions that the men in fact crossed into Laos and that 
     the government of Laos captured and killed Messrs. Vang and 
     Ly.''
       (2) As documented in this year's State Department Report on 
     Human Rights Practices, the LPDR continues to be of the 
     world's most reprehensible abusers of human rights--with a 
     repertoire that includes torture, harsh restrictions on the 
     press and free

[[Page H2614]]

     speech, and imprisonment of people for their religious 
     beliefs. The report speaks for itself, stating that last 
     year: ``The (Lao) Government's human rights record remained 
     poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses. Citizens do 
     not have the right to change their government. Members of the 
     security forces abused detainees, especially those suspected 
     of insurgent or antigovernment activity. Prisoners were 
     abused and tortured, and prison conditions generally are 
     extremely harsh and life threatening. . . The judiciary was 
     subject to executive, legislative, and LPRP influence, was 
     corrupt, and did not ensure citizens due process. The 
     Government infringed on citizens' privacy rights. The 
     Government restricted freedom of speech, the press, assembly, 
     and association. The Government continued to restrict freedom 
     of religion, and police and provincial authorities arrested 
     and detained more than 60 members of Christian churches, with 
     4 members of religious communities in custody or incarcerated 
     for their religious beliefs at year's end.'' These appalling 
     human rights abuses are of particular concern in the so-
     called ``Saysamboun Special Zone'' in Laos, where reports of 
     LPDR military offenses against ethnic minorities are common 
     and disturbing. Finally, it is important to note that 
     independent human rights monitoring organizations such as 
     Amnesty International continue to be barred from entering 
     Laos by the LPDR government.
       (3) The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom 
     this year called Laos one of the world's worst violators of 
     religious freedom, stating that forced renunciations of faith 
     and imprisonment of people for their religious beliefs are 
     tragically frequent. In its 2003 report to the president and 
     Congress, the commission urged the Bush administration to 
     name Laos a ``Country of Particular Concern,'' which would 
     place it in the company of such terrifying regimes as Saddam 
     Hussein's Iraq, Sudan, Burma and North Korea. According to 
     the commissions report, ``for at least the last several 
     years, the government of Laos has engaged in particularly 
     severe violations of religious freedom . . . these include 
     the arrest and prolonged detention and imprisonment of 
     members of religious minorities on account of their religious 
     activities, as well as instances where Lao officials have 
     forced Christians to renounce their faith. Between 100 and 
     200 individuals have been arrested since 1999. At the same 
     time, dozens of churches have been closed. These violations 
     have continued to be committed in the past year. . .''
       (4) Shockingly, the LPDR continues to foster close ties 
     with Kim Jong-Il's Democratic People's Republic of Korea 
     (DPRK)--stating two years ago that relations ``of friendship 
     and cooperation'' between Laos and the North Korean pariah 
     state ``are steadily growing stronger,'' and congratulating 
     the North Korean people ``on the shining successes made in 
     their efforts to build a powerful nation . . . under the wise 
     leadership of Kim Jong-Il.'' In a joint communique issued 
     July 17, 2001 by the leadership of the LPDR and DPRK, the 
     North Korean government also commended the Lao government for 
     the ``great successes made in their efforts to consolidate 
     and develop the people's democratic system and estimated the 
     daily rising role and position of the LPDR.''
       (5) The LPDR recently held state-sanctioned rallies 
     speaking out against U.S. military action in Iraq in the most 
     inflammatory of terms--stating that ``the war will bring 
     disaster to the whole of humanity,'' and ``demand(ing) the 
     U.S. respect the peace and sovereignty of Iraq.'' These and 
     other similarly belligerent comments were transmitted 
     throughout Laos on state-run radio and around the globe 
     through various media services.
       (6) A substantial majority of Laotian-Americans--many of 
     whom know, first hand, the brutality meted out by the LPDR 
     regime--are strongly opposed to offering NTR to Laos. These 
     people, many of whom are Hmong-Americans who assisted the 
     United States military during the Vietnam War, view the offer 
     of NTR to the government of Laos as a fundamental betrayal of 
     not only them personally, but of our American principles. 
     According to the most recent census, there are approximately 
     170,000 Hmong living in the United States. An almost equal 
     number of Lao live in the United States as well.
       (7) Although some argue that Laos presents a potentially 
     lucrative market for U.S. companies, the facts show 
     otherwise. While proponents of improved trade relations with 
     Laos claim that the potential economic benefits outweigh the 
     significant moral questions about Laos as a trading partner, 
     the truth is that the LPDR's Gross Domestic Product in 2001 
     was estimated to be $9.2 billion. For comparison, the Gross 
     Municipal Product of Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2001 was more 
     than double that amount: $18.8 billion. Laos' authoritarian 
     internal economic policies, not a lack of trade with the 
     United States, has created this dismal reality. Without 
     substantial change in those policies, neither the people of 
     Laos nor the United States will ever benefit economically 
     from NTR.
       This letter should not be interpreted as a statement that 
     we believe the door to NTR for Laos should be shut forever. 
     In our opinion, however, Laos has failed miserably to 
     demonstrate that it is ready for or deserves NTR at this 
     time. In fact, in the six years since the negotiation of the 
     U.S.-LPDR bilateral trade agreement, the Lao regime's record 
     on basic issues like those mentioned above has actually 
     become worse, not better.
       We believe that if, over the next few years, the LPDR 
     government is able to successfully demonstrate concrete 
     improvements in these areas of concern, consideration of NTR 
     for Laos may be appropriate. Until then, however, we should 
     send a strong message to the LPDR regime that economic 
     rewards from the United States will not be forthcoming unless 
     it can improve its abysmal record.
           Respectfully,
         Mark Green, Barney Frank, Duncan Hunter, Earl Pomeroy, 
           John Doolittle, Patrick Kennedy, William Delahunt, Ron 
           Kind, James Langevin, Howard Coble, Robin Hayes, Sue 
           Myrick, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Christopher Smith, Gil 
           Gutknecht, Devin Nunes, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Thomas 
           Petri, George Radanovich, Mark Kennedy, Frank Wolf, 
           Dana Rohrabacher.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, as a long time supporter of Hmong veterans 
and their families in Wisconsin and across the United States, I am 
pleased to be a cosponsor and express my support for House Resolution 
402 which calls for democratic and human rights reforms in Laos.
  Many Americans don't realize the vital role Hmong soldiers played in 
the Vietnam War. School history books often ignore that before U.S. 
soldiers even landed in Vietnam or Laos, CIA agents arrived to train 
young Hmong men and women to fight against their oppressors. These 
brave Hmong fought valiantly for democracy and for freedom for their 
people. They rescued downed American pilots and took bullets that 
otherwise would have found their way to the bodies of American 
soldiers.
  In defense of their country and in service to U.S. troops, nearly 
40,000 Hmong troops were killed, approximately 58,000 were injured in 
combat and more than 2,500 are still missing in action today. These 
numbers don't begin to represent the thousands of Hmong soldiers and 
civilians hunted down and massacred by communist forces after the U.S. 
armed forces began their withdrawal from the region in 1975. The 
survivors lost many loved ones and lost their homeland. The United 
States owes these veterans a great deal.
  Edgar Buell, a former senior U.S. official working with the Hmong 
during the war years, best summed up their dedication to the U.S. and 
western democratic principles when he said, ``Everyone of them that 
died, that was an American back home that didn't die. Somebody in 
nearly every Hmong family was either fighting or died from fighting . . 
. They became refugees because we . . . encouraged them to fight for 
us. I promised them myself: `Have no fear, we will take care of you.' 
''
  Yet, we hear reports that the persecution of the Hmong in Laos 
continues to this day, with charges of starvation, families being 
separated, and other acts of violence.
  Over the last twenty years, thousands of Hmong have settled in 
Wisconsin and other places across the United States, sharing their 
tragic history and brave sacrifices with their fellow Americans. On 
their behalf, we must fulfill Edgar Buell's promise and encourage the 
government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to stop civil rights 
violations against the Hmong and others, and allow free and open 
political activities in Laos.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cole). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 402.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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