[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 121 (Tuesday, July 18, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4057-S4059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. 
        Rubio):
  S. 1574. A bill to impose sanctions on individuals who are complicit 
in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their 
family members, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1574

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Vietnam Human Rights 
     Sanctions Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The relationship between the United States and the 
     Socialist Republic of Vietnam has grown substantially since 
     the end of the trade embargo in 1994, with annual trade 
     between the countries reaching more than $36,000,000,000 in 
     2014.
       (2) However, the transition by the Government of Vietnam 
     toward greater economic activity and trade, which has led to 
     increased bilateral engagement between the United States and 
     Vietnam, has not been matched by greater political freedom or 
     substantial improvements in basic human rights for the people 
     of Vietnam.
       (3) Vietnam remains an authoritarian state ruled by the 
     Communist Party of Vietnam, which continues to deny the right 
     of the people of Vietnam to participate in free and fair 
     elections.
       (4) According to the Department of State's 2014 Country 
     Reports on Human Rights Practices, Vietnam's ``most 
     significant human rights problems . . . were severe 
     government restrictions of citizens' political rights, 
     particularly their right to change their government through 
     free and fair elections; limits

[[Page S4058]]

     on citizens' civil liberties, including freedom of assembly 
     and expression; and inadequate protection of citizens' due 
     process rights, including protection against arbitrary 
     detention''.
       (5) The Country Reports also state that the Government of 
     Vietnam ``continued to restrict speech that criticized 
     individual government leaders; promoted political pluralism 
     or multi-party democracy; or questioned policies on sensitive 
     matters, such as human rights, religious freedom, or 
     sovereignty disputes with China'' and ``sought to impede 
     criticism by monitoring meetings and communications of 
     political activists''.
       (6) Furthermore, the Department of State documents that 
     ``arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly for political 
     activists, remained a problem'', with the Government of 
     Vietnam sentencing 29 arrested activists during 2014. Of 
     those, 6 activists were convicted on national security 
     charges in the penal code for ``undermining the unity 
     policy'', 17 for ``causing public disorder'', and 6 for 
     ``abusing democratic freedoms''.
       (7) At the end of 2014, the Government of Vietnam 
     reportedly held more than 125 political prisoners.
       (8) On September 24, 2012, 3 prominent Vietnamese 
     bloggers--Nguyen Van Hai (also known as Dieu Cay), Ta Phong 
     Tan, and Phan Thanh Hai (also known as Anh Ba Saigon)--were 
     sentenced to prison based on 3-year-old blog postings 
     criticizing the Government and leaders of Vietnam and the 
     Communist Party of Vietnam. Nguyen Van Hai served 2 years of 
     a 12-year prison sentence on charges of ``conducting 
     propaganda against the state'' but was later released and 
     departed from Vietnam. If he were to return, he would likely 
     have to complete his prison sentence.
       (9) United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi 
     Pillay responded to the sentencing of the bloggers on 
     September 25, 2012, stating that ``[t]he harsh prison terms 
     handed down to bloggers exemplify the severe restrictions on 
     freedom of expression in Vietnam'' and calling the sentences 
     an ``unfortunate development that undermines the commitments 
     Vietnam has made internationally . . . to protect and promote 
     the right to freedom of expression''.
       (10) On March 21, 2013, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State 
     for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Daniel B. Baer 
     testified before the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific 
     Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
     that ``in Vietnam we've been disappointed in recent years to 
     see backsliding, particularly on . . . freedom of expression 
     issues . . . people are being prosecuted for what they say 
     online under really draconian national security laws . . . 
     that is an issue that we continue to raise, both in our human 
     rights dialogue with the Vietnamese as well as in other 
     bilateral engagements''.
       (11) Although the Constitution of Vietnam provides for 
     freedom of religion, the Department of State's 2013 
     International Religious Freedom Report maintains, 
     ``Government practices and bureaucratic impediments 
     restricted religious freedom. Unregistered and unrecognized 
     religious groups were often subject to harassment, as well as 
     coercive and punitive actions by authorities.''.
       (12) Likewise, the United States Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom 2015 Annual Report states, 
     ``The Vietnamese government continues to control all 
     religious activities through law and administrative 
     oversight, restrict severely independent religious practice, 
     and repress individuals and religious groups it views as 
     challenging its authority, including independent Buddhists, 
     Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Catholics, and Protestants.''.
       (13) The 2013 Annual Report notes that in 2004 the United 
     States designated Vietnam as a country of particular concern 
     for religious freedom pursuant to section 402(b)(1) of the 
     International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
     6442(b)(1)), and that Vietnam responded at that time by 
     releasing prisoners, prohibiting the policy of forced 
     renunciations of faith, and expanding protections for 
     religious groups, and that ``[m]ost religious leaders in 
     Vietnam attributed these positive changes to the [country of 
     particular concern] designation and the priority placed on 
     religious freedom concerns in U.S.-Vietnamese bilateral 
     relations''.
       (14) However, the 2013 Annual Report concludes that since 
     the designation as a country of particular concern was lifted 
     from Vietnam in 2006, ``religious freedom conditions in 
     Vietnam remain mixed'', and therefore recommends to the 
     Department of State that Vietnam should be redesignated as a 
     country of particular concern.
       (15) Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Baer likewise 
     testified that ``[i]n Vietnam the right to religious freedom, 
     which seemed to be improving several years ago, has been 
     stagnant for several years''.

     SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHO 
                   ARE COMPLICIT IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES COMMITTED 
                   AGAINST NATIONALS OF VIETNAM OR THEIR FAMILY 
                   MEMBERS.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Admitted; alien; immigration laws; national.--The terms 
     ``admitted'', ``alien'', ``immigration laws'', and 
     ``national'' have the meanings given those terms in section 
     101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
       (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Banking, 
     Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
     the House of Representatives.
       (3) Convention against torture.--The term ``Convention 
     against Torture'' means the United Nations Convention against 
     Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 
     Punishment, done at New York on December 10, 1984.
       (4) United states person.--The term ``United States 
     person'' means--
       (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted 
     for permanent residence to the United States; or
       (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States 
     or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a 
     foreign branch of such an entity.
       (b) Imposition of Sanctions.--Except as provided in 
     subsections (e) and (f), the President shall impose the 
     sanctions described in subsection (d) with respect to each 
     individual on the list required by subsection (c)(1).
       (c) List of Individuals Who Are Complicit in Certain Human 
     Rights Abuses.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a list of individuals 
     who are nationals of Vietnam that the President determines 
     are complicit in human rights abuses committed against 
     nationals of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of 
     whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam.
       (2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees an updated list under 
     paragraph (1) as new information becomes available and not 
     less frequently than annually.
       (3) Public availability.--The list required by paragraph 
     (1) shall be made available to the public and posted on the 
     Web sites of the Department of the Treasury and the 
     Department of State.
       (4) Consideration of data from other countries and 
     nongovernmental organizations.--In preparing the list 
     required by paragraph (1), the President shall consider data 
     already obtained by other countries and nongovernmental 
     organizations, including organizations in Vietnam, that 
     monitor the human rights abuses of the Government of Vietnam.
       (d) Sanctions.--
       (1) Prohibition on entry and admission to the united 
     states.--An individual on the list required by subsection 
     (c)(1) may not--
       (A) be admitted to, enter, or transit through the United 
     States;
       (B) receive any lawful immigration status in the United 
     States under the immigration laws, including any relief under 
     the Convention Against Torture; or
       (C) file any application or petition to obtain such 
     admission, entry, or status.
       (2) Financial sanctions.--The President shall block and 
     prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in 
     property of an individual on the list required by subsection 
     (c)(1) if such property and interests in property are in the 
     United States, come within the United States, or are or come 
     within the possession or control of a United States person.
       (e) Exceptions To Comply With International Agreements.--
     The President may, by regulation, authorize exceptions to the 
     imposition of sanctions under this section to permit the 
     United States to comply with the Agreement regarding the 
     Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success 
     June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 
     between the United Nations and the United States, and other 
     applicable international agreements.
       (f) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirement to 
     impose or maintain sanctions with respect to an individual 
     under subsection (b) or the requirement to include an 
     individual on the list required by subsection (c)(1) if the 
     President--
       (1) determines that such a waiver is in the national 
     interest of the United States; and
       (2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a 
     report describing the reasons for the determination.
       (g) Termination of Sanctions.--The provisions of this 
     section shall terminate on the date on which the President 
     determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional 
     committees that the Government of Vietnam has--
       (1) unconditionally released all political prisoners;
       (2) ceased its practices of violence, unlawful detention, 
     torture, and abuse of nationals of Vietnam while those 
     nationals are engaging in peaceful political activity; and
       (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the 
     killings, arrest, and abuse of peaceful political activists 
     in Vietnam and prosecuted those responsible.

     SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DESIGNATION OF VIETNAM AS A 
                   COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN WITH RESPECT TO 
                   RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the relationship between the United States and Vietnam 
     cannot progress while the record of the Government of Vietnam 
     with respect to human rights and the rule of law continues to 
     deteriorate;
       (2) the designation of Vietnam as a country of particular 
     concern for religious freedom

[[Page S4059]]

     pursuant to section 402(b)(1) of the International Religious 
     Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)) would be a 
     powerful and effective tool in highlighting abuses of 
     religious freedom in Vietnam and in encouraging improvement 
     in the respect for human rights in Vietnam; and
       (3) the Secretary of State should, in accordance with the 
     recommendation of the United States Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom, designate Vietnam as a 
     country of particular concern for religious freedom.

                          ____________________