[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 17, 2007

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
3096, the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2007. H.R. 3096 makes important 
contributions to the ongoing dialogue with our ally the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam regarding the importance of the protection of human 
rights in Vietnam.
  Vietnam, to further it role as a responsible member of the 
international community, must release individuals imprisoned for 
political and religious beliefs. The government, though its policies 
and actions, must display a greater respect for religious freedoms and 
the rights of minorities. Essential to achieving this goal is for 
Vietnam to allow individuals who seek such protections full access to 
U.S. sponsored refugee programs. Further, Vietnam must end any and all 
support its government officials provide for trafficking of humans. 
H.R. 3096 makes future non-humanitarian U.S. assistance to Vietnam 
conditional upon the President of the United States certifying to 
Congress progress made by the government of Vietnam on these important 
matters.
  I am concerned by reports the government of Vietnam blocks the Radio 
Free Asia programming. I fully support the provision in H.R. 3096 to 
authorize appropriate efforts be made to overcome such interference. I 
also fully support provisions in H.R. 3096 supporting the educational 
and cultural exchange programs with Vietnam to promote progress toward 
freedom and democracy.
  The protection of the human rights in Vietnam is particularly 
important to me and the people of Guam. The fall of the Republic of 
Vietnam in 1975 displaced approximately three million Vietnamese. My 
late husband Ricardo J. Bordallo, then Governor of Guam, welcomed the 
150,000 Vietnamese refugees who landed on Guam's shores in April 1975. 
I vividly remember how the Guam community came together in solidarity 
with the Vietnamese people and worked hard to help comfort these brave 
individuals who had left all their worldly possessions behind in the 
name of freedom.
  The people of Guam empathized with the Vietnamese refugees, and we 
opened our hearts as well as our island to them. As First Lady, I 
organized care for the hundreds of orphan babies who arrived as a 
result of Operation Baby Lift. A poignant experience, this effort 
remains as one of my fondest memories of my husband's first term as 
Governor of Guam.
  Vietnam today is a country that seeks peace with its neighbors, 
prosperity at home, and friendly relations with the United States. The 
provisions contained in H.R. 3096 will help towards achieving those 
ends.

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