[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2649-S2650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 513. Mr. SULLIVAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 for

[[Page S2650]]

military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

     SEC. 10__. ACKNOWLEDGING COURAGE AND SACRIFICE OF VETERANS OF 
                   VIETNAM WAR.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States began 
     serving in an advisory role to the Government of South 
     Vietnam in 1955.
       (2) In 1965, ground combat units of the Armed Forces of the 
     United States arrived in the Republic of Vietnam to join 
     approximately 23,000 personnel of the Armed Forces who were 
     already present there.
       (3) By 1969, the number of such troops reached a peak of 
     approximately 549,500, including members of the Armed Forces 
     in the region who were supporting the combat 
     operations;Whereas, on January 27, 1973, the Agreement on 
     Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet-Nam (commonly 
     known as the Paris Peace Accords) was signed, which required 
     the release of all prisoners of war of the United States held 
     in North Vietnam and the withdrawal of all Armed Forces of 
     the United States from South Vietnam.
       (4) On March 29, 1973, the Armed Forces of the United 
     States completed the withdrawal of combat units and combat 
     support units from South Vietnam.
       (5) On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured 
     Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, effectively placing 
     South Vietnam under Communist control.
       (6) More than 58,000 members of the Armed Forces of the 
     United States lost their lives in the Vietnam war, and more 
     than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces of the United States 
     were wounded in Vietnam.
       (7) The Vietnam war was an extremely divisive issue back 
     home in the United States as a result of biased and shameful 
     attacks from the media, academia, politicians, and many 
     others.
       (8) Some opponents of the war did not limit their 
     opposition to normal political discourse, but engaged in 
     violent protests, including the targeting of Reserve 
     Officers' Training Corps facilities, recruiting stations, and 
     the bombing of the Army Math Research Center at the 
     University of Wisconsin-Madison.
       (9) Members of the Armed Forces who served bravely and 
     faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam war were 
     repeatedly targeted with shameful attacks as the result of 
     decisions that were beyond their control.
       (b) Resolution of Apology.--The United States, acting 
     through Congress--
       (1) recognizes the extraordinary sacrifice of veterans of 
     the Vietnam war and commends them for their unwavering and 
     courageous sacrifice to our Nation;
       (2) urges the President of the United States to formally 
     acknowledge the widespread mistreatment of veterans of the 
     Vietnam war;
       (3) on behalf of the American people, issues the long-
     overdue formal apology to veterans of the Vietnam war and 
     their families for the mistreatment they endured during and 
     after the war; and
       (4) expresses urgent support for increased education in our 
     Nation's schools to better reflect the courage and sacrifice 
     of veterans of the Vietnam war and the lack of support back 
     home.
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