[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 30, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1014-E1015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING VIET BAO DAILY NEWS AND WRITING ON AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. J. LUIS CORREA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 30, 2019

  Mr. CORREA. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate Viet Bao Daily News 
for the 20th anniversary of the Writing on America program. Viet Bao 
Daily News introduced Writing on America twenty years ago, on April 30, 
2000, which marked the 25th anniversary of the beginning of a new 
Vietnamese population in the United States of America.
  In the face of adversity, the Vietnamese community in the U.S. has 
demonstrated commendable resilience and strength, building a home for 
themselves and laying a strong foundation for generations of Vietnamese 
Americans to come. Viet Bao, one of the most well-respected and widely 
read sources of Vietnamese daily news, has become an integral part of 
this legacy.
  Outside of being a reliable news source for the Vietnamese community, 
Viet Bao's Writing on America program has fostered the stories of 
Vietnamese and Vietnamese American individuals traversing the negative 
impacts of the Vietnam War and the Vietnamese diaspora. The program 
hosts an annual writing contest for the Vietnamese community to submit 
essays on their unique overseas experiences. The top winners of the 
contest are given a monetary award, but all approved submissions are 
published daily in Viet Bao and aggregated into a book available for 
purchase online. These stories attract more than 80,000 readers per 
year.
  The Writing on America program became a tool of healing for the 
individuals sharing their stories and for the individuals who could 
relate to their experiences. It is also an archive of Vietnamese 
history in America, one that is filled with the grief of leaving one's 
home country, an unrelenting belief in the American dream, and the hope 
for a future of happiness and prosperity. Over time, it has become a 
forum for celebrating the achievements and joys of the Vietnamese 
community.

[[Page E1015]]

  Viet Bao is an exceptional example of the balance between the 
preservation of the Vietnamese language and culture with the need to 
establish a strong presence in America. For the past twenty years, Viet 
Bao has been building a collection of the most heartfelt and humanizing 
stories of Vietnamese survival, family, and revitalization, and 
uplifting these stories to a broader audience. I ask that my colleagues 
join me in congratulating Viet Bao on cementing their place as a bridge 
between Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans, old and young, and I wish 
them success for many more years to come. Thank you for your commitment 
to enriching the lives and experiences of the Vietnamese community in 
the U.S.

                          ____________________