[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13574-13577]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VIETNAMESE AMERICANS AND OTHERS WHO SEEK TO 
           IMPROVE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS IN VIETNAM

  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 322) expressing the sense of 
the Congress regarding Vietnamese Americans and others who seek to 
improve social and political conditions in Vietnam, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 322

       Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States and the Armed 
     Forces of the Republic of Vietnam fought together for the 
     causes of freedom and democracy in the former Republic of 
     Vietnam;
       Whereas the Armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam 
     suffered enormous casualties, including over 250,000 deaths 
     and more than 750,000 wounded between 1961 and 1975 for the 
     cause of freedom;
       Whereas many officers and enlisted personnel suffered 
     imprisonment and forcible reeducation at the direction of the 
     Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
       Whereas on June 19 of each year, the Vietnamese American 
     community traditionally commemorates those who gave their 
     lives in the struggle to preserve the freedom of the former 
     Republic of Vietnam;
       Whereas June 19 serves as a reminder to Vietnamese 
     Americans that the ideals and values of democracy are 
     precious and should be treasured; and
       Whereas the Vietnamese American community plays a critical 
     role in raising international awareness of human rights 
     concerns regarding the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) commends the sacrifices of those who served in the 
     Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam; and
       (2) applauds the contributions of all individuals whose 
     efforts have focused, and continue to focus, international 
     attention on human rights violations in Vietnam.
       Amend the title so as to read: ``Concurrent resolution 
     expressing the sense of Congress regarding the sacrifices of 
     individuals who served in the Armed Forces of the former 
     Republic of Vietnam.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and the gentleman from American 
Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H. Con. Res. 322.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, this Member rises in strong support of H. Con. Res. 
322, a resolution that recognizes the sacrifices made by Vietnamese 
Americans who served in the armed forces of the former Republic of 
Vietnam. This Member congratulates the efforts of the distinguished 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) to recognize the Vietnamese who 
fought bravely side by side with U.S. forces in Vietnam and to applaud 
all those whose efforts focus international attention on human rights 
violations in Vietnam. This Member is pleased to be a cosponsor of the 
legislation.
  Each year on June 19, the Vietnamese-American community traditionally 
commemorates those who gave their lives in the struggle to preserve the 
freedom of the former Republic of Vietnam. During the war, the armed 
forces of the Republic of Vietnam suffered enormous casualties 
including over 250,000 killed and more than 750,000 wounded. They 
continued to suffer after the fighting ended when many were imprisoned 
and forced to undergo so-called reeducation. They continue their 
efforts even now playing an important role in raising international 
awareness of human rights violations in the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam.
  Moreover, Vietnamese Americans, many of whom arrived as refugees with 
little but the clothes on their backs, have made tremendous 
achievements and have contributed greatly to this country.
  Earlier this year, this body approved H. Con. Res. 295 on Human 
Rights and Political Oppression in Vietnam. There was inevitably some 
duplication in the two initiatives. Therefore this Member, with the 
concurrence of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis), the sponsor of 
the resolution, amended H. Con. Res. 322 only to eliminate duplication. 
The resolution now focuses on commemorating the service and sacrifices 
of the former members of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam.
  This Member urges all his colleagues to support this laudable 
resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to strongly urge my colleagues to support 
this legislation. I certainly want to commend the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman), the chairman of our committee, for bringing this 
resolution to the floor. I also want to commend the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and 
the Pacific, for making the proper changes to this resolution that is 
now before us.

[[Page 13575]]

  Madam Speaker, while Vietnam has made a bit of progress in the past 
few years in opening up its society, we need to maintain pressure on 
the Vietnamese government to move more aggressively towards democracy.
  This resolution recognizes the important role that the more than 1 
million Vietnamese Americans in our nation play in raising the 
awareness of the Vietnam human rights record.
  The resolution also recognizes the sacrifices made by the armed 
forces of the United States and the former Republic of Vietnam in 
fighting to bring democracy and freedom to that nation. We are right to 
get the Congress on record on all of these issues.
  I want to note also, Madam Speaker, the tremendous contributions 1 
million Vietnamese Americans make to the betterment of our Nation 
becoming mainstream Americans. They are such an industrious people in 
education, business, and all walks of life. I want to commend the 1 
million Vietnamese Americans that we have who are members of our 
Nation.
  Yet with all this, I think we can also recognize that their hearts 
are still with the mother country, hopefully, in some way, and somehow 
that the greater sense of democracy will come about with the current 
administration of Vietnam in that country.
  Madam Speaker, I do urge my colleagues to support this resolution. 
Again, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for managing 
this legislation on the floor.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as 
he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. 
Bilbray), who has followed Vietnamese-American relations very carefully 
and has a direct knowledge of the contributions of the Vietnamese-
American community to this country in his part of the Nation.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. 
Res. 322. I want to publicly thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Davis) and the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman), but most 
importantly, because he is here today, the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Chairman Bereuter) for allowing this resolution to come to the floor.
  Madam Speaker, many of us from all over the country know about the 
problems and the trials and tribulations of individuals who immigrated 
to this country from the Republic of Vietnam.
  I think that it's appropriate to repeat why so many Vietnamese fought 
and died for freedom and democracy in their country. Over 250,000 
Vietnamese from the Republic of Vietnam died in this struggle. Let me 
say this sincerely, they not only died for themselves, but also in the 
struggle against tyrannies, against oppression.
  Frankly, I think too often we talk about a lot of inconsequential 
issues, but we need to remember that there is a long black wall down at 
the other end of the Mall. Many Americans and Vietnamese Americans walk 
that wall and trace out names. I think too often that, when we talk 
about that long black wall, we think about it as something that is in 
the past, something that is over, something that somebody else did or 
another generation did.
  Madam Speaker, I am here to remind us all that the war may be over; 
but the struggle for what that wall symbolizes, the struggle for what 
the Vietnamese people in the Republic of Vietnam were fighting for, the 
struggle for what American men and women fought and died for is still 
going on today.
  There are still individuals in Vietnam who are being tagged as ``hard 
core'', and who are in reeducation facilities. Now I think we all know 
what kind of catch word ``reeducation'' means. It basically means, if 
one does not think like the government, the government will teach one 
how to rethink so one thinks only their way.
  Madam Speaker, I think that, as we address this resolution today, we 
should commit ourselves to the fact that the men and women that are 
symbolized on our wall at the other end of the Mall and the men and 
women who died from the Republic of Vietnam will be remembered by our 
constant quest to make sure that this struggle for freedom does 
continue.
  I want to say, though, too, I guess too often we talk about 
``hyphenated Americans'', and maybe being a son of a so-called 
``hyphenated American'', I am always reminded that we are really not 
talking about Vietnamese. We are talking about Americans who came from 
Vietnam. We are talking about people that have made, not only a great 
struggle in Vietnam fighting Communism, but also a great struggle and 
great success at becoming new Americans, at becoming what this country 
has always promised the rest of the world: that if one works hard, one 
studies hard, one strives to do their best, if one is willing to make a 
contribution to this free society, this free society will reward one 
through one's own sweat of one's own brow.
  I think that we all need to remind ourselves that these immigrants 
who came from the Republic of Vietnam, and as an example to all of us 
no matter what our race, what our creed, what our gender, that there 
still is the opportunity for those who are willing to work hard, to 
strive, and to contribute.
  In closing, in San Diego County, we have a very large population of 
individuals who emigrated from the Republic of Vietnam, and their 
children now are as American as anyone who has been here for 200, 300 
years. I am very proud that, when I go to review ROTC units, when we 
see the military young men and women lining up in San Diego, we will 
see the sons and the daughters of men and women who fought for their 
homeland and emigrated from the Republic of Vietnam in the worst of 
circumstances, but have learned the best of lessons both from their 
country of the past and their newly adopted country of the future.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I also want to compliment the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Bilbray) for his comments on this piece of legislation.
  I should also note the fact that 58,000 American lives were lost in 
that terrible conflict. I think, if we are to assess what lesson our 
Nation has learned from Vietnam, I can say that, if we are ever to 
commit our men and women in uniform to engage in a war against enemy 
forces, our Nation's political and military leaders must all be 
committed to one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to win the 
war, nothing less, nothing more.
  There is no such thing as a half-baked war, Madam Speaker. We are 
there to win, or do not waste the resources or the valuable blood of 
the men and women in uniform. That is probably the lesson I learned 
from Vietnam, Madam Speaker.
  I think more important, in essence, is the fact we have 1 million 
Vietnamese Americans who believe in democracy, who believe in our form 
of government, who believe in the system where everybody is given 
better treatment, that no one is above the law. That is what America is 
about.
  I want to commend again the many Vietnamese Americans who have made 
tremendous sacrifice, not only for their country, but their willingness 
to come here and make tremendous contributions for the betterment of 
our own Nation.
  Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for 
managing this piece of legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) for his insightful statement. As a Vietnam-era veteran, I 
certainly appreciate the wisdom of what he has just said regarding 
appropriate foreign and security policy.
  I would also like to compliment the distinguished gentleman from 
California (Mr. Bilbray) for his insightful statement, very much 
focused on the many contributions that Vietnamese, who happen now to be 
American citizens, are making to this country and to all of those who 
are striving for citizenship.
  Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume 
to

[[Page 13576]]

the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), vice chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
  Madam Speaker, I have on two occasions seen the rapport and the 
attention that the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) gives to 
Asians who are living in his district, immigrants, refugees, and to 
those many who have become citizens actively participating in the 
economy and the politics of California.
  Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Nebraska (Chairman 
Bereuter) is the author of this particular legislation, of this 
approach, of which I am a cosponsor. I want to thank him for 
introducing this bill.
  It is important that we honor those in the Armed Forces in the United 
States and in the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam who fought 
together. These brave individuals risked their lives for liberty, and 
their actions should be honored 25 years now after the fall of Saigon. 
We must remember their deeds while working for increased political and 
economic freedom in the socialist Republic of Vietnam.
  I recently visited Vietnam. During my trip there, I paid a visit to 
the Venerable Thich Quang Do, who is the 72-year-old leader of the 
banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.
  Because of his peaceful protests, those protests that he engaged in 
in support of political freedom and religious freedom, Thich Quang Do 
has been imprisoned and exiled. Even though he was under surveillance, 
Thich Quang Do welcomed my visit.
  My private visits to him and Le Quang Liem, another dissident, were 
quickly denounced by the government. It is obvious the Vietnamese 
government is sensitive to international criticism. This obligates the 
United States to speak out constantly against the Vietnamese 
government's human rights violations. We may not always realize it, but 
protests by the American government and by the American people do help 
the cause of freedom in Vietnam. Silence is no alternative.
  This international criticism has come about in large part due to the 
tireless work of the Vietnamese-American communities. Their efforts to 
raise awareness about human rights and about the violations of basic 
freedoms of Vietnam have a critical, critical effect.
  It is imperative that we continue pressuring for increased openness 
in Vietnam. A two-track policy of engaging the Vietnamese government on 
economic reform on one hand while pressuring it on its political and 
religious repression, that approach requires diplomatic finesse. But if 
done right, it promises to bring long-sought freedom to the Vietnamese 
people, freedom for which many Americans have sacrificed.
  I want to commend the gentleman from Nebraska (Chairman Bereuter) for 
his authorship of this two-pronged approach. We all hope that it is 
successful in engaging and changing Vietnam.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume to compliment the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), who 
just spoke, for focusing on the policy implications and the direction 
that we should take in our relationship with the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam. Certainly all of us want to work closely with our 
distinguished former colleague, Ambassador Pete Peterson, and we have 
been doing that on a variety of programs and votes in this effort here.
  We would hope that our policies and actions regarding the government 
of Vietnam might bring some better results. We have at the current time 
trade negotiations ongoing in this city, and we hope that, in fact, the 
kind of response from the Vietnamese will be forthcoming and will 
result in a better human rights record in Vietnam and an opportunity, 
therefore, to improve our relationship with that country.
  I thank my colleague for his outstanding statement, I thank the 
gentleman from American Samoa for his role, and I particularly wish to 
thank my staff director from the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, 
Mike Ennis, for his outstanding work in this effort, in working with 
the staff of the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis).
  Madam Speaker, I urge support of the resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this 
resolution commending the Vietnamese American Community for its work in 
bringing democratic principles and practices to the people of Vietnam. 
Social equality is the backbone of the American government and a 
fundamental principle in every democratic government.
  As the leading democratic country in the world, the United States 
should take care to applaud the efforts of all people who have worked 
to spread democracy throughout the earth including the contributions of 
the Vietnamese American people.
  After the fall of Saigon, the Vietnam's government punished those 
Vietnamese who had allied with the U.S. North Vietnam forces placed 
hundreds of thousands of southerners in prisons, re-education camps and 
economic zones in efforts to remove subversion and to consolidate the 
country.
  The Communists created a society of suspicion that hounded prisoners 
even after their release. The men were treated as second class 
citizens. Families were deprived of employment and their children could 
not attend college. Police interrogated families if ex-prisoners were 
not seen for more than a day.
  Prisoners were considered expendable, worked to death and forced to 
walk in rows down old minefields to find out where they were. Daughters 
of South Vietnamese military men were sometimes forced by destitution 
to become prostitutes.
  The re-education camps remained the predominant devise of social 
control in the late 1980s. Considered to be institutions where 
rehabilitation was accomplished through education and socially 
constructive labor, the camps were used to incarcerate members of 
certain social classes in order to coerce them to accept and conform to 
the new social norms.
  Sources say that up to 200,000 South Vietnamese spent at least a year 
in the camps, which range from model institutions visited by foreigners 
to remote jungle shacks were inmates died of malnutrition and disease. 
As late as 1987, Vietnamese officials stated that about 7,000 people 
remained in re-education camps.
  The first wave of refugees, in 1975, had no established Vietnamese 
American communities to rely upon for help. Assistance came from 
government programs, private individuals, nonprofit organizations and 
churches. Vietnamese men who held high positions in their homeland took 
whatever jobs they could get. Vietnamese woman became full-time wage 
earners, often for the first time.
  Most refugees in the first wave were young, well-educated urban 
elites, professionals and people with technical training. Despite the 
fact that many first wave arrivals were from privileged backgrounds, 
few were well prepared to take up new life in America. The majority did 
not speak English and all found themselves in the midst of a strange 
culture.
  The refugees who arrived in the US often suffered traumatic 
experiences while escaping Vietnam by sea. Those caught escaping after 
the fall of Saigon, including children, were jailed. Almost every 
Vietnamese American family has a member who arrived as a refugee or who 
died en route.
  Many Vietnamese Americans still refuse to accept the current 
communist government of their former homeland. For many, the pain, 
anger and hatred felt toward the communist regime that forced them into 
exile remains fresh. Fiercely proud of their heritage, yet left without 
a homeland, many Vietnamese Americans have vowed never to acknowledge 
that Vietnam is now one communist country.
  The story of Le Van Me and wife Sen is a typical one of many 
refugees. Me was a lieutenant colonel in the South Vietnamese Army when 
they came to the U.S. They spent time in a refugee camp in Fort 
Chaffee, Arkansas, until the government found a church in Warsaw, 
Missouri, to sponsor them. In the small rural town, Me worked as a 
janitor for the church and all the parishioners helped the family in 
any way they could--giving them clothes, canned preserves, even working 
together to renovate a house where the family could live.
  Me took classes at the community college. After 11 months, the family 
moved to California, drawn by the jobs rumored to be there. Me got a 
job as an electronic technician and started attending a neighborhood 
community college again. Sen was determined not to use food stamps for 
longer than two weeks. Within three years, they bought a three bedroom

[[Page 13577]]

house in north San Jose. As Me explained ``You really don't know what 
freedom is until you nearly die fighting for it.''
  Saigon fell 25 years ago, but the memories are still raw for many 
Vietnamese people. The exodus from Vietnam since 1975 has created a 
generation of exiles. The efforts of everyone, especially Vietnamese-
Americans, to bring democracy must be recognized. We should hesitate no 
longer to make it known that the United States Congress proudly 
recognizes these efforts.
  Madam Speaker, I urge each of my colleagues to support this 
Resolution.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 322 expressing the sense of Congress regarding 
the sacrifices of individuals who served in the Armed Forces of the 
former Republic of Vietnam.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Davis, for 
introducing this resolution and for his continuing commitment to human 
rights and democracy in Vietnam.
  I want to thank the chairman of the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee, Mr. 
Bereuter, for his work in crafting the final language in this measure.
  Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that 10 years after the end of the 
cold war, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is still a one-party state 
ruled and controlled by a Communist Party which represses political and 
religious freedoms and commits numerous human rights abuses.
  It is appropriate that we recognize those who fought to oppose this 
tyranny which has fallen across Vietnam and those who continue the 
vigil of struggling for freedom and democracy there today.
  Accordingly, I urge Hanoi to cease its violations of human rights and 
to undertake the long-overdue liberalization of its moribund and 
stifling political and economic system. The people of Vietnam clearly 
deserve better.
  Finally, I call upon the Vietnamese government to do all it can--
unilaterally--to assist in bringing our POW/MIAs home to American soil.
  I want to praise this resolution for pointing out the injustice that 
tragically exists in Vietnam today and those who have--and are--still 
opposing it.
  Once again I want to commend Mr. Davis for introducing this 
resolution and his abiding dedication to improving the lives of the 
people of Vietnam.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of this measure and I strongly urge my 
colleagues to support it and send a strong signal to Hanoi that it is 
time to free the minds and spirits of the Vietnamese people.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 322, which honors the wonderful contributions of 
our nation's Vietnamese-Americans in raising awareness of human rights 
abuses in Vietnam. I thank my colleagues Mr. Davis and Ms. Sanchez for 
their hard work on this issue. I am proud to be an original cosponsor 
of this important resolution, and urge my colleagues' overwhelming 
support today.
  I represent San Jose, California, a community greatly enriched by the 
presence of immigrants. Quite a few of my constituents came to San Jose 
as refugees, escaping the brutal and oppressive political regime in 
Hanoi. I worked with those refugees as a Santa Clara County Supervisor, 
and many of those people have become my friends throughout the years. I 
believe that they have a unique perspective on the state of our 
country's relationship with Vietnam that is of immense value.
  A quarter century after the fall of Saigon, the Communist government 
continues to oppress its citizens and violate their basic human rights. 
Stories of political repression, religious persecutions and extra-
judicial detentions are all too common. Many Vietnamese-Americans have 
worked tirelessly to bring these violations to light, here in the 
United States and to the international community. As a result of their 
extraordinary dedication, awareness of the abuses of the Vietnamese 
government is growing exponentially.
  I applaud their continued effort to bring democratic ideals and 
practices to Vietnam. This resolution is a small token of our gratitude 
for the hard work of the 1 million Vietnamese-Americans living in our 
country. I am proud to support it.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
322, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, was agreed to.
  The title of the concurrent resolution was amended so as to read: 
``Concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress regarding the 
sacrifices of individuals who served in the Armed Forces of the former 
Republic of Vietnam.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________