Recognizing the historical significance and the heroic struggles and sacrifices of the Vietnamese people who fled their war-torn country by boat and other means in search of freedom and democracy.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 941 Recognizing the historical significance and the heroic struggles and sacrifices of the Vietnamese people who fled their war-torn country by boat and other means in search of freedom and democracy. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 28, 2020 Mr. CORREA (for himself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. LOFGREN, and Ms. LEE of California) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing the historical significance and the heroic strug- gles and sacrifices of the Vietnamese people who fled their war-torn country by boat and other means in search of freedom and democracy. Whereas, after the Fall of Saigon in 1975 marked the end to the Vietnam war, many Vietnamese civilians were stripped from their basic human freedoms, such as free- dom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of religion, and even faced relentless discrimination in their own homeland; Whereas many Vietnamese civilians feared the possible reality of reeducation camps where conditions were life-threat- ening and torturous; meanwhile, farmlands, personal pos- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR941.IH HR941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 941 IH sessions, and private commerce were all eradicated and regulated under the new Vietnamese regime; Whereas, following the end of the Vietnam war, from 1975 to 1992, approximately 1,200,000 Vietnamese refugees fled their country by boat or ship seeking a better future because of the bleakness of their reality; Whereas while 900,000 Vietnamese refugees made it safely to shore, about 300,000 refugees were lost at sea; Whereas, as Vietnamese refugees took the opportunity to flee by boat, all faced daunting fears and unforeseeable chal- lenges such as starvation, dehydration, illness, drowning, kidnapping and killings by pirates, overcrowded boats, unpredictable weather, or simply failure to reach shore; Whereas while thousands of Vietnamese refugees found shel- ter at refugee camps within those Southeast Asian coun- tries, a great majority of people fleeing by boat were re- settled in developed countries, such as the United States, Canada, Italy, France, West Germany, the United King- dom, and Australia, to begin their new lives; Whereas approximately 800,000 Vietnamese refugees who fled persecution resettled in the United States; Whereas an estimated 1,700,000 Vietnamese Americans cur- rently reside in the United States, making the United States home to the largest number of individuals of Viet- namese descent outside of Vietnam; Whereas Vietnamese Americans are the fourth-largest Asian- American population in the United States; Whereas first- and second-generation Vietnamese Americans have overcome tremendous socioeconomic challenges, in- cluding discrimination, language and cultural barriers, VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR941.IH HR941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 941 IH and poverty, to emerge as significant contributors to American society; and Whereas Vietnamese Americans contribute to American soci- ety through their work in business, education, science and technology, engineering, mathematics, literature and the arts, gastronomy, the Armed Forces, and public serv- ice at every level of government: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives to recognize the hardships, sacrifice, and her- 2 oism of the Vietnamese refugees who fled their country 3 by boat and other means 45 years ago, since April 30, 4 1975, and to applaud their accomplishments and signifi- 5 cant contributions to the United States since their reset- 6 tlement. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR941.IH HR941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS