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[House Report 107-199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

107th Congress                                            Rept. 107-199
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     Part 1

======================================================================

 
                       VIET NAM HUMAN RIGHTS ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 5, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Hyde, from the Committee on International Relations, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2368]

    The Committee on International Relations, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 2368) to promote freedom and democracy 
in Viet Nam, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as 
amended do pass.

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                    Page

The Amendment...........................................               2
Purpose and Summary.....................................               7
Background and Need for the Legislation.................               7
Hearings................................................               9
Committee Consideration.................................               9
Committee Oversight Findings............................               9
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures...............               9
Committee Cost Estimate.................................               9
Performance Goals and Objectives........................              10
Constitutional Authority Statement......................              10
Section-by-Section Analysis.............................              10
New Advisory Committees.................................              12

                             The Amendment

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Viet Nam Human 
Rights Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

                      TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Purpose.

        TITLE II--PROMOTION OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIET NAM

Subtitle A--Prohibition on Nonhumanitarian Assistance to the Government 
                              of Viet Nam

Sec. 201. Bilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.
Sec. 202. Multilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.

        Subtitle B--Assistance to Support Democracy in Viet Nam

Sec. 211. Assistance.

               Subtitle C--United States Public Diplomacy

Sec. 221. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Viet Nam.
Sec. 222. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with 
Viet Nam.

                Subtitle D--United States Refugee Policy

Sec. 232. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Viet Nam.

 Subtitle E--Annual Report on Progress Toward Freedom and Democracy in 
                                Viet Nam

Sec. 241. Annual report.

                      TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Viet Nam is a one-party state, ruled and controlled by 
        the Vietnamese Communist Party.
            (2) The Government of Viet Nam denies the people of Viet 
        Nam the right to change their government and prohibits 
        independent political, social, and labor organizations.
            (3)(A) The Government of Viet Nam consistently pursues a 
        policy of harassment, discrimination, and intimidation, and 
        sometimes of imprisonment and other forms of detention, against 
        those who peacefully express dissent from government or party 
        policy.
            (B) Recent victims of such mistreatment, which violates the 
        rights to freedom of expression and association recognized in 
        the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, include Dr. Nguyen 
        Dan Que, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giang, General Tran Do, Most 
        Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, 
        Father Nguyen Van Ly, numerous leaders of the Hoa Hao Buddhist 
        Church and of independent Protestant churches, and an 
        undetermined number of members of the Montagnard ethnic 
        minority groups who participated in peaceful demonstrations in 
        the Central Highlands of Viet Nam during February 2001.
            (4) The Government of Viet Nam systematically deprives its 
        citizens of the fundamental right to freedom of religion. 
        Although some freedom of worship is permitted, believers are 
        forbidden to participate in religious activities except under 
        circumstances rigidly defined and controlled by the government:
                    (A) In 1999 the Government issued a Decree 
                Concerning Religious Activities, which declared in 
                pertinent part that ``[a]ll activities using religious 
                belief in order to oppose the State of the Socialist 
                Republic of Viet Nam, to prevent the believers from 
                carrying out civic responsibilities, to sabotage the 
                union of all the people, to against the healthy culture 
                of our nation, as well as superstitious activities, 
                will be punished in conformity with the law''.
                    (B) The Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam (UCBV), 
                the largest religious denomination in the country, has 
                been declared illegal by the Government, and over the 
                last twenty-five years its clergy have often been 
                imprisoned and subjected to other forms of persecution. 
                The Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church, 83-year-
                old Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, has been detained 
                for 21 years in a ruined temple in an isolated area of 
                central Viet Nam. Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, the 
                Executive President of the Unified Buddhist Church, has 
                also been in various forms of detention for many years, 
                and was recently rearrested and placed under house 
                arrest after he had proposed to bring Most Venerable 
                Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon for medical treatment.
                    (C) The Hoa Hao Buddhist Church was also declared 
                to be illegal until 1999, when the Government 
                established an organization which purports to govern 
                the Hoa Hao. According to the United States Commission 
                on International Religious Freedom, ``[t]his 
                organization is made up almost entirely of Communist 
                Party members and apparently is not recognized as 
                legitimate by the vast majority of Hoa Haos . . . 
                [n]evertheless, [this government-sponsored 
                organization] has sought to control all Hoa Hao 
                religious activity, particularly at the Hoa Hao 
                village, which is the center of Hoa Hao religious 
                life''. Hoa Hao believers who do not recognize the 
                legitimacy of the government organization are denied 
                the right to visit the Hoa Hao village, to conduct 
                traditional religious celebrations, or to display Hoa 
                Hao symbols. Many have been arrested and subjected to 
                administrative detention, and several Hoa Hao have been 
                sentenced to prison terms for protesting these denials 
                of religious freedom.
                    (D) Independent Protestants, most of whom are 
                members of ethnic minority groups, are subjected to 
                particularly harsh treatment by the Government of Viet 
                Nam. According to the United States Commission on 
                International Religious Freedom, such treatment 
                includes ``police raids on homes and house churches, 
                detention, imprisonment, confiscation of religious and 
                personal property, physical and psychological abuse, 
                and fines for engaging in unapproved religious 
                activities (such as collective worship, public 
                religious expression and distribution of religious 
                literature, and performing baptisms, marriages, or 
                funeral services) . . . [i]n addition, it is reported 
                that ethnic Hmong Protestants have been forced by local 
                officials to agree to abandon their faith''.
                    (E) Other religious organizations, such as the 
                Catholic Church, are formally recognized by the 
                Government but are subjected to pervasive regulation 
                which violates the right to freedom of religion. For 
                instance, the Catholic Church is forbidden to appoint 
                its own bishops without Government consent, which is 
                frequently denied, to accept seminarians without 
                specific official permission, and to profess Catholic 
                doctrines which are inconsistent with Government 
                policy. A Catholic priest, Father Nguyen Van Ly, was 
                arrested in March 2001 and remains in detention after 
                submitting written testimony to the United States 
                Commission on International Religious Freedom.
                    (F) The Government has also confiscated numerous 
                churches, temples, and other properties belonging to 
                religious organizations. The vast majority of these 
                properties--even those belonging to religious 
                organizations formally recognized by the Government--
                have never been returned.
            (5) Since 1975 the Government of Viet Nam has persecuted 
        veterans of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam and other 
        Vietnamese who had opposed the Viet Cong insurgency and the 
        North Vietnamese invasion of South Viet Nam. Such persecution 
        typically included substantial terms in ``re-education camps'', 
        where detainees were often subjected to torture and other forms 
        of physical abuse, and in which many died. Re-education camp 
        survivors and their families were often forced into internal 
        exile in ``New Economic Zones''. Many of these former allies of 
        the United States, as well as members of their families, 
        continue until the present day to suffer various forms of 
        harassment and discrimination, including denial of basic social 
        benefits and exclusion from higher education and employment.
            (6)(A) The Government of Viet Nam has been particularly 
        harsh in its treatment of members of the Montagnard ethnic 
        minority groups of the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, who were 
        the first line in the defense of South Viet Nam against 
        invasion from the North and who fought courageously beside 
        members of the Special Forces of the United States Army, 
        suffering disproportionately heavy casualties, and saving the 
        lives of many of their American and Vietnamese comrades-in-
        arms.
            (B) Since 1975 the Montagnard peoples have been singled out 
        for severe repression, in part because of their past 
        association with the United States and in part because their 
        strong commitment to their traditional way of life and to their 
        Christian religion is regarded as inconsistent with the 
        absolute loyalty and control demanded by the Communist system.
            (C) In February 2001 several thousand Montagnards 
        participated in a series of peaceful demonstrations throughout 
        the Central Highlands, demanding religious freedom and 
        restoration of their confiscated lands, and the Government 
        responded by closing off the Central Highlands and sending in 
        military forces, tanks, and helicopter gunships.
            (D) Credible reports by refugees who have escaped to 
        Cambodia indicate that the Government has executed some 
        participants in the demonstrations and has subjected others to 
        imprisonment, torture, and other forms of physical abuse.
            (E) The Government of Viet Nam has also taken steps to 
        prevent further Montagnards from escaping, and there are 
        credible reports that Vietnamese security forces in Cambodia 
        are offering bounties for the surrender of Montagnard asylum 
        seekers.
            (7) The Government of Viet Nam has also persecuted members 
        of other ethnic minority groups, including the Khmer Krom from 
        the Mekong Delta, many of whom fought alongside United States 
        military personnel during the Viet Nam war and whose Hinayana 
        Buddhist religion is not among those recognized by the 
        Government.
            (8) The Government of Viet Nam also engages in or condones 
        serious violations of the rights of workers. In August 1997, 
        the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that child 
        labor exploitation is on the rise in Viet Nam with tens of 
        thousands of children under 15 years of age being subjected to 
        such exploitation. The government's official labor export 
        program also has subjected workers, many of whom are women, to 
        involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse, 
        and the reaction of government officials to worker complaints 
        of such abuse has been to threaten the workers with punishment 
        if they do not desist in their complaints.
            (9)(A) United States refugee resettlement programs for 
        Vietnamese nationals, including the Orderly Departure Program 
        (ODP), the Resettlement Opportunities for Returning Vietnamese 
        (ROVR) program, and resettlement of boat people from refugee 
        camps throughout Southeast Asia, were authorized by law in 
        order to rescue Vietnamese nationals who have suffered 
        persecution on account of their wartime associations with the 
        United States, as well as those who currently have a well-
        founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, 
        nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular 
        social group.
            (B) In general, these programs have served their purpose 
        well. However, many refugees who were eligible for these 
        programs were unfairly denied or excluded, in some cases by 
        vindictive or corrupt Communist officials who controlled access 
        to the programs, and in others by United States personnel who 
        imposed unduly restrictive interpretations of program criteria. 
        These unfairly excluded refugees include some of those with the 
        most compelling cases, including many Montagnard combat 
        veterans and their families.
            (10) The Government of Viet Nam systematically jams 
        broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, an independent broadcast service 
        funded by the United States in order to provide news and 
        entertainment to the people of countries in Asia whose 
        governments deny the right to freedom of expression and of the 
        press.
            (11) In 1995 the Governments of the United States and Viet 
        Nam announced the ``normalization'' of diplomatic relations. In 
        1998 then-President Clinton waived the application of section 
        402 of the Trade Act of 1974 (commonly known as the ``Jackson-
        Vanik Amendment''), which restricts economic assistance to 
        countries with non-market economies whose governments also 
        restrict freedom of emigration. In 1999 the Governments of the 
        United States and Viet Nam announced ``agreement in principle'' 
        on a bilateral trade agreement. This agreement was signed in 
        2000 and has been presented to Congress for approval or 
        disapproval.
            (12) The Congress and the American people are united in 
        their determination that the extension or expansion of trade 
        relations with a country whose government engages in serious 
        and systematic violations of fundamental human rights must not 
        be construed as a statement of approval or complacency about 
        such practices. The promotion of freedom and democracy around 
        the world--and particularly for people who have suffered in 
        large part because of their past associations with the United 
        States and because they share our values--is and must continue 
        to be a central objective of United States foreign policy.

SEC. 102. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to promote the development of freedom 
and democracy in Viet Nam.

        TITLE II--PROMOTION OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIET NAM

Subtitle A--Prohibition on Nonhumanitarian Assistance to the Government 
                              of Viet Nam

SEC. 201. BILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
        United States nonhumanitarian assistance may not be provided to 
        the Government of Viet Nam--
                    (A) for fiscal year 2002 unless not later than 30 
                days after the date of the enactment of this Act the 
                President determines and certifies to Congress that the 
                requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
                paragraph (2) have been met during the 12-month period 
                ending on the date of the certification; and
                    (B) for each subsequent fiscal year unless the 
                President determines and certifies to Congress in the 
                most recent annual report submitted pursuant to section 
                241 that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through 
                (D) of paragraph (2) have been met during the 12-month 
                period covered by the report.
            (2) Requirements.--The requirements of this paragraph are 
        that--
                    (A) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial 
                progress toward releasing all political and religious 
                prisoners from imprisonment, house arrest, and other 
                forms of detention;
                    (B) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial 
                progress toward respecting the right to freedom of 
                religion, including the right to participate in 
                religious activities and institutions without 
                interference by or involvement of the Government;
                    (C) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial 
                progress toward respecting the human rights of members 
                of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands or 
                elsewhere in Viet Nam; and
                    (D)(i) neither any official of the Government of 
                Viet Nam nor any agency or entity wholly or partly 
                owned by the Government of Viet Nam was complicit in a 
                severe form of trafficking in persons; or
                    (ii) the Government of Viet Nam took all 
                appropriate steps to end any such complicity and hold 
                such official, agency, or entity fully accountable for 
                its conduct.
    (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply for any fiscal year 
with respect to the provision of United States nonhumanitarian 
assistance for any program or activity for which such assistance was 
provided to the Government of Viet Nam for fiscal year 2001 in an 
amount not to exceed the amount so provided for fiscal year 2001.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Severe form of trafficking in persons.--The term 
        ``severe form of trafficking in persons'' means any activity 
        described in section 103(8) of the Trafficking Victims 
        Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22 
        U.S.C. 7102(8)).
            (2) United states nonhumanitarian assistance.--The term 
        ``United States nonhumanitarian assistance'' means--
                    (A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act 
                of 1961 (including programs under title IV of chapter 2 
                of part I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private 
                Investment Corporation), other than--
                            (i) disaster relief assistance, including 
                        any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 
                        that Act;
                            (ii) assistance which involves the 
                        provision of food (including monetization of 
                        food) or medicine; and
                            (iii) assistance for refugees;
                    (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the 
                Arms Export Control Act; and
                    (C) financing under the Export-Import Bank Act of 
                1945.

SEC. 202. MULTILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
Executive Director of each multilateral development bank and of the 
International Monetary Fund to use the voice, vote, and influence of 
the United States to deny any loan or other utilization of the funds of 
such bank or institution (other than for humanitarian assistance) to 
Viet Nam for fiscal year 2002 and each subsequent fiscal year unless 
the President determines and certifies to Congress for such fiscal year 
that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 
201(a)(2) have been met.

        Subtitle B--Assistance to Support Democracy in Viet Nam

SEC. 211. ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide assistance, 
through appropriate nongovernmental organizations, for the support of 
individuals and organizations to promote human rights and nonviolent 
democratic change in Viet Nam.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the President to carry out subsection (a) $2,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

               Subtitle C--United States Public Diplomacy

SEC. 221. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIET NAM.

    (a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United 
States to take such measures as are necessary to overcome the jamming 
of Radio Free Asia by the Government of Viet Nam.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to such amounts 
as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the Broadcasting 
Board of Governors, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out the policy under subsection (a) $9,100,000 for the fiscal year 2002 
and $1,100,000 for the fiscal year 2003.

SEC. 222. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH 
                    VIET NAM.

    It is the policy of the United States that programs of educational 
and cultural exchange with Viet Nam should actively promote progress 
toward freedom and democracy in Viet Nam by providing opportunities to 
Vietnamese nationals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives 
to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by ensuring that 
Vietnamese nationals who have already demonstrated a commitment to 
these values are included in such programs.

                Subtitle D--United States Refugee Policy

SEC. 232. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF VIET NAM.

    (a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United 
States to offer refugee resettlement to nationals of Viet Nam 
(including members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were 
eligible for the Orderly Departure Program or any other United States 
refugee program and who were deemed ineligible due to administrative 
error or who for reasons beyond the control of such individuals 
(including the inability to pay bribes demanded by officials of the 
Government of Viet Nam) were unable to apply for such programs in 
compliance with deadlines imposed by the Department of State.
    (b) Authorized Activity.--Of the amounts authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of State for Migration and Refugee 
Assistance for each of the fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003, such sums 
as may be necessary are authorized to be made available for the 
protection (including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese 
refugees and asylum seekers, including Montagnards in Cambodia.

 Subtitle E--Annual Report on Progress Toward Freedom and Democracy in 
                                Viet Nam

SEC. 241. ANNUAL REPORT.

    Not later than May 31 of each year, the Secretary of State shall 
submit to Congress a report for the 12-month period ending on the date 
of submission of the report, on the following:
            (1) The determination and certification of the President 
        that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
        section 201(a)(2) have been met, if applicable.
            (2) Efforts by the United States Government to secure 
        transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in countries in close 
        geographical proximity to Viet Nam in accordance with section 
        221(a).
            (3) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet Nam promote 
        the policy set forth in section 222 and with section 102 of the 
        Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act 
        of 1996 regarding participation in programs of educational and 
        cultural exchange.
            (4) Steps taken to carry out the policy under section 
        232(a).

                          Purpose and Summary

  H.R. 2368, the Viet Nam Human Rights Act, is designed to 
ensure that the promotion of freedom and democracy will be a 
central element in U.S. policy toward Viet Nam.
  First, the Act contains an honest and detailed assessment of 
the human rights situation in Viet Nam. It describes violations 
by the Government of Viet Nam of the rights to freedom of 
expression, association, and religion, and the rights of 
workers, as well as persecution of ethnic minorities including 
the Montagnards and of persons associated with the U.S. prior 
to 1975.
  The Act conditions future increases in foreign assistance 
(other than humanitarian assistance) to the government of Viet 
Nam in each fiscal year after FY 2001 on a finding by the 
President that the government of Viet Nam has made 
``substantial progress'' during the previous year toward 
meeting certain human rights benchmarks.
  The Act also authorizes assistance to nongovernmental 
organizations committed to promoting freedom and democracy in 
Viet Nam; supports efforts to overcome the jamming of Radio 
Free Asia by the government of Viet Nam; requires efforts by 
the State Department to ensure that U.S. cultural and 
educational exchange programs are open to people who share our 
values, not just to Vietnamese government and Communist Party 
officials and persons close to such officials; and declares it 
to be the policy of the United States to offer refugee 
resettlement to residents of Viet Nam who meet the statutory 
criteria for U.S. refugee programs but have been wrongly 
excluded from such programs.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

  Viet Nam is a one-party state, ruled and controlled by the 
Vietnamese Communist Party. The Government of Viet Nam denies 
the people of Viet Nam the right to change their government and 
prohibits independent political, social, and labor 
organizations. The Government consistently pursues a policy of 
harassment, discrimination, and intimidation, and sometimes of 
imprisonment and other forms of detention, against those who 
peacefully express dissent from government or party policy. The 
Government also systematically deprives its citizens of the 
fundamental right to freedom of religion. Although some freedom 
of worship is permitted, believers are forbidden to participate 
in religious activities except under circumstances rigidly 
defined and controlled by the government.
  Since 1975 the Government of Viet Nam has persecuted veterans 
of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam and other Vietnamese 
who had opposed the Viet Cong insurgency and the North 
Vietnamese invasion of South Viet Nam. Such persecution 
typically included substantial terms in `re-education camps', 
where detainees were often subjected to torture and other forms 
of physical abuse, and in which many died. Re-education camp 
survivors and their families were often forced into internal 
exile in `New Economic Zones'. Many of these former allies of 
the United States, as well as members of their families, 
continue until the present day to suffer various forms of 
harassment and discrimination, including denial of basic social 
benefits and exclusion from higher education and employment.
  The Government of Viet Nam has been particularly harsh in its 
treatment of members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups 
of the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, who were the first line 
in the defense of South Viet Nam against invasion from the 
North and who fought courageously beside members of the Special 
Forces of the United States Army, suffering disproportionately 
heavy casualties, and saving the lives of many of their 
American and Vietnamese comrades-in-arms. Since 1975 the 
Montagnard peoples have been singled out for severe repression, 
in part because of their past association with the United 
States and in part because their strong commitment to their 
traditional way of life and to their Christian religion is 
regarded as inconsistent with the absolute loyalty and control 
demanded by the Communist system. The Government of Viet Nam 
has also persecuted members of other ethnic minority groups, 
including the Khmer Krom from the Mekong Delta, many of whom 
fought alongside United States military personnel during the 
Viet Nam war and whose Hinayana Buddhist religion is not among 
those recognized by the Government.
  The Government of Viet Nam also engages in or condones 
serious violations of the rights of workers. In August 1997, 
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that child 
labor exploitation is on the rise in Viet Nam with tens of 
thousands of children under 15 years of age being subjected to 
such exploitation. The government's official labor export 
program also has subjected workers, many of whom are women, to 
involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse, 
and the reaction of government officials to worker complaints 
of such abuse has been to threaten the workers with punishment 
if they do not desist in their complaints. The Government 
systematically jams broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, an 
independent broadcast service funded by the United States in 
order to provide news and entertainment to the people of 
countries in Asia whose governments deny the right to freedom 
of expression and of the press.
  Enactment of comprehensive Viet Nam human rights legislation 
is particularly important in light of pending Congressional 
consideration of a resolution approving the U.S.-Viet Nam 
Bilateral Trade Agreement. Passage of H.R. 2368 
contemporaneously with approval of the trade agreement will 
send a balanced message to Hanoi and to the world: that the 
United States wishes to have free trade with Viet Nam, in part 
because we believe that in the long run trade will help to open 
up Vietnamese society, but that approval of expanded trade 
relations should not be construed as a United States ``stamp of 
approval'' of Hanoi's human rights record. This nuanced message 
is particularly important in light of recent government 
crackdowns on Buddhist and Christian religious believers and on 
members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups.

                                Hearings

  The Committee and its subcommittees have held a number of 
hearings on the issues addressed by H.R. 2368. Most recently, 
on May 24, 2001, the Committee held a hearing on the Annual 
Report of the United States Commission on International 
Religious Freedom, at which testimony was taken on recent 
actions by the government of Viet Nam against believers and 
clergy of the Catholic, Protestant, Unified Buddhist, and Hoa 
Hao Buddhist churches. The Committee's Subcommittee on East 
Asian and Pacific Affairs held a hearing on September 19, 2000, 
on the U.S.-Viet Nam bilateral trade agreement, at which the 
testimony also assessed the government's human rights record 
and mechanisms to seek improvements in this record. The 
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights has 
held a number of hearings on human rights in Viet Nam and on 
United States programs for the resettlement of Vietnamese 
refugees, most recently a hearing on March 3, 1999, in which 
several witnesses addressed deficiencies in the operation of 
these programs that were described as resulting in the 
systematic wrongful exclusion of persons who had been 
persecuted for their wartime associations with the United 
States.

                        Committee Consideration

  On August 1, 2001, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 2368 with an amendment 
by unanimous consent, a quorum being present.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

  In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

  Clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

  In compliance with clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee believes that 
the bill will have no significant net cost either for the 
current fiscal year or for the next 5 fiscal years. The bill 
authorizes expenditures in the total amount of $16.2 million 
over the next 3 fiscal years for democracy promotion and for 
enhanced transmission facilities to overcome the jamming of 
Radio Free Asia, but the bill also restricts expenditures for 
nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to the government of Viet 
Nam which, in the absence of such restrictions, could 
substantially exceed the expenditures authorized by the bill.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

  The bill will promote democracy and human rights in Viet Nam, 
including the release of political and religious prisoners, 
respect for the right to freedom of religion and for the rights 
of members of ethnic minority groups, and an end to government 
complicity in severe forms of trafficking in human beings. The 
bill will also promote efforts by the United States to end the 
jamming of Radio Free Asia, to ensure wider and more diverse 
access to educational and cultural exchange programs with Viet 
Nam, and to resettle refugees who have been wrongly excluded 
from United States programs for which they are eligible.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

  Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in article I, section 8, clauses 1, 3, and 18 
of the Constitution.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

  Section 1. Short Title; Table of Contents. The Act may be 
cited as the ``Viet Nam Human Rights Act.''

                      Title I--General Provisions

  Section 101. Findings. This section describes violations by 
the Government of Viet Nam of the rights to freedom of 
expression, association, and religion, and the rights of 
workers, as well as persecution of Montagnards, other ethnic 
minorities, and persons associated with the U.S. prior to 1975. 
The section also summarizes the history of U.S. policy toward 
Vietnamese refugees and of ``normalization'' of U.S.-Viet Nam 
diplomatic and trade relations. Finally, the section concludes 
that Congress and the American people are united in their 
determination that expansion of trade relations should not be 
construed as approval or complacency about human rights 
violations, and that the promotion of freedom and democracy 
must be central to U.S. foreign policy.
  Section 102. Purpose. This section provides that the purpose 
of this Act is to promote the development of freedom and 
democracy in Viet Nam.

        Title II--Promotion of Freedom and Democracy in Viet Nam

Subtitle A--Prohibition on Nonhumanitarian Assistance to the Government 
                              of Viet Nam

  Section 201. Bilateral Nonhumanitarian Assistance. This 
provision denies any increase in bilateral nonhumanitarian 
foreign assistance to the government of Viet Nam in any fiscal 
year, above the amount of such assistance received by such 
government in fiscal year 2001, unless the President certifies 
that during such year the Government of Viet Nam has made 
substantial progress toward compliance with certain human 
rights benchmarks, including: release of all political and 
religious prisoners from all forms of detention including 
imprisonment, house arrest, etc; respect for the right to 
freedom of religion, including the right to participate in 
religious organizations not connected to the government of Viet 
Nam; respect for the rights of members of ethnic minority 
groups in the Central Highlands and elsewhere; and an end to 
the complicity of entities and officials of the Government of 
Viet Nam in severe forms of trafficking in persons, as defined 
by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
  Section 202. Multilateral Nonhumanitarian Assistance. This 
section requires that the United States use its voice and vote 
to oppose nonhumanitarian loans and other extensions of funds 
from international financial institutions until the President 
certifies that these human rights benchmarks have been met. 
This section is in the jurisdiction of the Committee on 
Financial Services, which may report an amendment prior to 
House consideration of the Act.

        Subtitle B--Assistance to Support Democracy in Viet Nam

  Section 211. Assistance. This section authorizes foreign 
assistance (up to $2 million in each of fiscal years 2001, 
2002, and 2003) to organizations committed to promoting human 
rights and nonviolent democratic change in Viet Nam.

               Subtitle C--United States Public Diplomacy

  Section 221. Radio Free Asia Transmissions to Viet Nam. This 
section declares it to be the policy of the United States to 
take such measures as are necessary to overcome the jamming of 
Radio Free Asia by the government of Viet Nam. It authorizes a 
one-time expenditure of $9.1 million for fiscal year 2002 for 
enhanced transmission facilities and other measures to overcome 
the jamming, as well as $1.1 million for fiscal year 2003 for 
the ongoing expenses of operating and maintaining these 
facilities and other measures to overcome the jamming.
  Section 222. United States Educational and Cultural Exchange 
Programs with Viet Nam. This section requires the State 
Department to take steps to promote participation in U.S. 
cultural and exchange programs with Viet Nam by people from a 
wide range of occupations and perspectives, including those who 
share our commitment to freedom and democracy, rather than just 
to Vietnamese government and Communist Party officials and 
persons close to such officials.

               Subtitle D--United States Refugee Policy.

  Section 232. This section declares it to be the policy of the 
United States to offer refugee resettlement to residents of 
Viet Nam who met the statutory criteria for the Orderly 
Departure Program and other U.S. refugee programs, but who were 
incorrectly deemed ineligible for such programs or who, for 
reasons beyond their own control including but not limited to 
inability to pay bribes demanded by Vietnamese government 
officials, were unable to gain access to U.S. programs in time 
for deadlines imposed by State Department officials. The 
section authorizes such sums as are necessary out of funds 
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State for 
Migration and Refugee Assistance for the protection (including 
resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese refugees and 
asylum seekers, including the Montagnard refugees currently in 
Cambodia. This section does not create new eligibility for 
refugee programs or mandate that any particular person or group 
be admitted to the United States. Rather, it reiterates the 
principles upon which our in-country refugee programs in Viet 
Nam were founded, and reaffirms the policy of the United States 
to administer the programs in conformity with these principles.

 Subtitle E--Annual Report on Progress Toward Freedom and Democracy in 
                                Viet Nam

  Section 241. Annual Report. This section requires that not 
later than May 31 of each year, the Secretary of State shall 
submit a report to Congress on the extent of compliance by the 
Government of Viet Nam with the human rights benchmarks 
provided by the Act, as well as efforts by the Department of 
State and other United States Government agencies to discharge 
their responsibilities under the Act. The report provided by 
this section shall include: (1) the determinations and 
certifications of the President under section 201 with respect 
to whether the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial 
progress during the previous 12 months toward compliance with 
the four human rights benchmarks set forth in that section; (2) 
the status of efforts by the United States Government to secure 
transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in countries near Viet 
Nam; steps taken by the United States Government to promote 
participation in United States programs of educational and 
cultural exchange with Viet Nam by persons from a wide range of 
occupations and perspectives, as provided in section 222 of 
this Act and in section 102 of the Human Rights, Refugee, and 
Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act of 1996; and steps taken to 
provide persons wrongly excluded from United States refugee 
programs in Viet Nam with access to U.S. refugee resettlement, 
as provided in section 232 of this Act.

                        New Advisory Committees

  H.R. 2368 does not establish or authorize any new advisory 
committees.

                    Congressional Accountability Act

   H.R. 2368 does not apply to the legislative branch.

                            Federal Mandates

  H.R. 2368 provides no Federal mandates.

                                
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