[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 57 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H4018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING MAJOR NHIA LONG VANG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by taking a moment to 
remember one of my constituents who lived an extraordinary life, Major 
Nhia Long Vang, who recently passed away.
  Major Vang was a longtime leader in the Fresno Hmong community and 
bravely served alongside American soldiers in Laos during the Vietnam 
war. This conflict also is known as the secret war in Laos. Major Vang 
was recruited at the age of 19 by the Central Intelligence Agency to 
serve in the Special Guerilla Unit, otherwise known as the SGU, during 
the secret war to help the U.S. fight against the North Vietnamese 
Communist Army and the Pathet Lao Communist troops.
  In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Major Vang led intelligence 
missions on the Ho Chi Minh Trail to gather surveillance on the 
Communist forces. He also oversaw missions that rescued American pilots 
during the Vietnam war when their planes were shot down.
  By 1980, Major Vang's family received asylum to come to the United 
States, where he would settle in Fresno in 1983. Once in the United 
States, Major Vang worked tirelessly to support the families of 
soldiers whom the secret war in Laos impacted.
  Major Vang was a leader and advisor to organizations like the Lao 
Veterans of America and the Special Guerilla Units Veterans and 
Families. Major Vang was also instrumental and a partner in helping my 
efforts to secure burial rights in national cemeteries and other 
benefits for Special Guerilla Unit veterans who fought alongside with 
American soldiers.
  It has been an honor in my career to get to know a hero like Major 
Vang and work with him as an advocate for the SGU veterans and get them 
the recognition they so deserve.


                         Women's History Month

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I want to turn now to recognize Women's 
History Month. While it is the end of March now, we so honor always the 
contributions that women make in our country and in our valley. Across 
the world they make a difference every day, as we know.
  I would like to take this opportunity to recognize just some of the 
so many talented and incredible women that I interact with and I get a 
chance to work with:
  Dora Westerlund is president and CEO of the Fresno Area Hispanic 
Foundation. Dora has changed the lives of more than 15,000 Hispanic and 
non-Hispanic-owned businesses to become economically self-sufficient 
and add to the vibrancy of our economy in the San Joaquin Valley.
  Sara Bosse serves as the public health director for Madera County. 
During this pandemic she has been incredibly responsive and led the 
county's response to combat COVID-19 by expanding testing, 
vaccinations, and managing the outbreaks in Madera County.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to recognize Gammelah Mohammed of Merced who 
founded the Merced County Freedom Coalition, which fosters 
collaboration between law enforcement, government agencies, and other 
community partners in the fight against human trafficking. As co-chair 
of the Victims Rights Caucus, I know her efforts are very important. 
She has provided essential resources to support survivors and victims 
of crime.


                     America's Supply Chain Issues

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I now want to turn to an important issue that 
is affecting our economy, and that is the supply chain issue. Congress 
can take effective action by cracking down on foreign-owned shipping 
companies that have monopolized the industry and that are creating 
inflationary pressures.
  My bill, the Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act, subjects 
foreign-owned ocean shipping carriers to American antitrust law, as 
they should be. This builds on provisions in the Ocean Shipping Reform 
Act that Representative Garamendi and I and others are supporting that 
has already passed the House.
  Together, these pieces of legislation protect American exporters from 
unfair trade practices like container rate increases, sudden change in 
shipping schedules, unreasonable fees by shipping companies, and ships 
leaving ports with empty containers after they have offloaded their 
goods here in America.
  Agricultural producers in California are suffering. A University of 
California study found that in the fall of 2021, an empty container 
leaving California ports hit almost 80 percent, pre-pandemic it was 
about 30 percent. This is an unfair trade practice.
  President Biden said in this very Chamber during the State of the 
Union--on the topic of ocean shipping reform--that capitalism without 
competition is exploitation. It is. We must answer the President's call 
to get this meaningful ocean shipping reform legislation to his desk.


                           God Bless Ukraine

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, let me close by saying, God bless the people 
of Ukraine and the suffering during this horrific war taken on by the 
pariah Putin, who is a war criminal and must be punished for it. God 
bless them.

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