[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S11592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE VALUE OF FREEDOM

  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, later today we will be considering the 
Vietnamese proposal for permanent normalized trade relations. Before 
consideration of that issue, I wanted to take a few moments to discuss 
what I believe to be the beauty of freedom and the power that just one 
individual can have in personifying a truly transcendent value.
  Recently I had the opportunity to come to know a young woman in 
Orlando, FL, a constituent of mine named Liz McCausland.
  She contacted my office some months ago with a seemingly simple 
request. She wanted to see her mother. Her mother is Thuong Nguyen 
Foshee. She goes by ``Cuc.'' At the time of the request, Mrs. Foshee, a 
U.S. citizen, born in Vietnam, was sitting in a Vietnamese jail. She 
had been in that jail for some period of time and she had not been 
charged with a crime. She had not had the benefit of counsel. She had 
not been informed of the charges against her in any way, shape or form.
  For several weeks immediately after her arrest, her family didn't 
even know where she was. This ordeal began in September 2005. She had 
no hope for due process. She had the need for some medical care and 
attention, and this went wanting for several weeks, if not months. She 
finally began to have contact with the U.S. consul, and it was a 20-
minute visit once a month.
  At the time of her arrest, Mrs. Foshee had gone to Vietnam, her 
native country, as a U.S. citizen to attend a nephew's wedding. The 
Vietnamese Government, at some point or another, finally said she was 
suspected of terrorist activity. The fact is that it should not come as 
a surprise that the Vietnamese Government was not fond of Mrs. Foshee 
because she was one of those people, whom I can certainly identify 
with, who believes it is the right of every person, no matter where 
they live, to elect their leaders--something as simple as what we did 
on November 7 in this country, which we take for granted. There are 
still people around the world who are denied such a right.
  The Vietnamese people today cannot elect their leaders. Cuc Foshee 
believes that a Vietnam that is free to elect their leadership is a 
Vietnam that would respect also the rights of all of its people. So 
because she was someone who was vocal in the Vietnamese-American 
community and spoke freely of her hope and wishes for her native land, 
she actually became an obvious target to a government that felt 
threatened by the voice of a common citizen who believed she should 
speak out.
  For that, Cuc Foshee and several other Americans, in fact, were 
arrested, interrogated, and sent to jail, without the knowledge of when 
or if they would ever be released or allowed to return to the United 
States. Many people went to work on this problem. Today, I thank our 
Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, for her interest in this matter, 
and I particularly thank U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Marine, 
and the staff of the U.S. State Department, and others, whether in 
Vietnam or in the State Department here, who worked on her case. 
Volunteers came to help. The law firm of Holland & Knight offered their 
services pro bono. In addition to that, I particularly note and thank 
members of my staff who worked diligently and passionately to seek the 
release of Mrs. Foshee. Melissa Hernandez, in my office in Florida, and 
John Goetchius, here in Washington, worked hand-in-glove with Mrs. 
Foshee's daughter, Liz McCausland, and others, to see that Mrs. Foshee 
came safely back to the United States. She has been returned to the 
United States, and it has been a wonderful blessing to her family.
  We recently celebrated, in Orlando, her return home. Congressman Ric 
Keller was also there, my colleague, who also step-by-step was a 
partner for me in seeking the release of Mrs. Foshee.
  So when the permanent normal trade relations between the U.S. and 
Vietnam came to be considered, I objected to the legislation being 
considered until I was confident that Mrs. Foshee would be able to 
receive the kind of due process that we expect as a matter of course, 
which she deserves under any observance of human rights, and until she 
would be back with her family in Orlando. That has now occurred.
  Mrs. Foshee's freedom has allowed me to lift any objections to 
consideration of the PNTR status as it relates to Vietnam. While I will 
vote for that today, I must say that concerns remain. Vietnam's 
disregard for the rule of law is something that is not only troubling, 
but it will make normal trade relations difficult with free societies.
  It would be good for the Government of Vietnam to understand that 
tolerance, as it relates to people's willingness to practice religion 
as they see fit, is important in order to join the family of nations in 
a full and complete way.
  I appreciate the cooperation of the Government of Vietnam in allowing 
Mrs. Foshee to come back to America and be free. But I must suggest 
that, at the same time, it is hollow if it is only for Mrs. Foshee 
because of the pressure brought to bear her case. The right of people 
to freely speak, elect their leaders, and to live in a democratic 
system is the only way for the people of Vietnam to fulfill the promise 
that they have, to fulfill the promise that can come through normalized 
trade relations with the United States.
  The people of Vietnam not only can have normal trade relations, they 
must live it. They will find that the rule of law will be a troubling 
matter if it is not observed. Whether it is foreign businesspeople 
traveling to Vietnam, whether it is the rule of law as it applies to 
contracts, it is a fundamental, essential, integral part of normal 
trade relations. Mrs. Foshee's hope was that others in Vietnam would 
have the opportunity to live in freedom such as she has tasted in 
America. I hope that day will come as well.
  My career as a public servant has been irrevocably influenced by this 
experience. I believe I will never do anything greater than to have 
played a part in securing the freedom of one individual. I know what it 
means. I understand what it is like to live under oppression. I believe 
that all people, no matter where they are, are entitled to live with 
the dignity and the hope that comes from understanding that there is 
freedom and there are human rights that are observed.
  Each of us owes a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Foshee for taking a stand 
for freedom and, in her own example, leading us to know that it has a 
value, even if at times a price must be paid for it.

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