IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 240 

Recognizing the economic, cultural, and political contributions of the Southeast Asian American community at this time of the 40th anniversary 

of the Khmer Rouge control over Cambodia and the beginning of the 

Cambodian Genocide, and the end of the Vietnam War and Secret 

War in Laos. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2015 

Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 

SWALWELL of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. ELLISON, 

Mr. COSTA, Mr. POCAN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. HAHN, Ms. 

MOORE, and Mr. AL GREEN of Texas) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the economic, cultural, and political contributions of the Southeast Asian American community at 

this time of the 40th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge 

control over Cambodia and the beginning of the Cambodian Genocide, and the end of the Vietnam War and 

Secret War in Laos. 

Whereas April 17, 2015, marks the 40th Anniversary of the 

Khmer Rouge control over Cambodia and the beginning 

of the Cambodian Genocide; 

Whereas April 30, 2015, marks the 40th Anniversary of the 

end of the Vietnam War; 


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Whereas December 2, 2015, marks the 40th Anniversary of 

the end of ‘‘Secret War’’ when the communists declared 

the victory over the Kingdom of Laos and established a 

communist regime; 

Whereas these historical events led to the forced migration of 

over one million political refugees from Cambodia, Laos, 

and Vietnam to the United States after 1975; 

Whereas over 600,000 Vietnamese refugees were resettled in 

the United States, many of whom worked with the 

United States Government during the Vietnam War as 

translators and civil servants, and were paroled into the 

United States after the Indochina Migration and Refugee 

Assistance Act of 1975, and over 30,000 survivors of 

communist ‘‘re-education’’ camps and 150,000 of their 

family members were resettled in the 1990s; 

Whereas approximately 250,000 refugees from the Kingdom 

of Laos were resettled in the United States, many of 

whom assisted the United States War effort during the 

‘‘Secret War’’ in Laos, including as civil servants and 

35,000 Special Guerrilla Unit fighters in the United 

States Surrogate Army; 

Whereas at least 115,000 Cambodian refugees were resettled 

in the United States after one of the worst genocides of 

the 20th century, during which about 20 percent of the 

Cambodian population perished; 

Whereas the exodus of refugees from the region prompted the 

United States to pass the 1980 Refugee Act and to establish the Office of Refugee Resettlement, creating the 

country’s first formal refugee resettlement system; 

Whereas the Office of Refugee Resettlement recognized the 

critical importance of Southeast Asian American ‘‘Mutual 


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Assistance Associations’’ (MAAs) by creating a special 

grant program in 1980, laying the groundwork for a 

strong network of community-based organizations; 

Whereas over 2.5 million Southeast Asian Americans today 

trace their heritage to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; 

Whereas Southeast Asian Americans include a broad diversity 

of ethnic groups, including Cham, Khmer, and Khmer 

Loeu from Cambodia; Hmong, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Taidam, 

and Lao Theung from the Kingdom of Laos; and ethnic 

Khmer, Montagnards, and Vietnamese from Vietnam; 

Whereas Southeast Asian Americans today have blazed trails 

to own small businesses, lead community-based organizations, serve in public office, and nurture emerging leaders; 

Whereas Southeast Asian Americans continue a rich cultural 

arts tradition of music and dance, while pioneering hybrid art forms such as spoken word poetry and hip hop; 

Whereas Southeast Asian Americans continue to face significant challenges to full economic and social empowerment, 

such as low rates of high school completion, high rates 

of poverty, and disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration; and 

Whereas Southeast Asian American communities remain resilient, rooted both in Southeast Asian heritage and in 

American soil, and rising toward a hopeful, equitable future: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes the significance of the 40th anni3 versary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge rule 

4 and the Cambodian Genocide, the end of the VietVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:12 May 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR240.IH HR240

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1 nam War and the Secret War in Laos, the humani2 tarian response of the United States to receive over 

3 one million refugees from the region, and the begin4 ning of the Southeast Asian American community in 

5 the United States; and 

6 (2) recognizes the ongoing contributions of the 

7 Southeast Asian American community to the eco8 nomic, cultural, and political vitality of the United 

9 States. 

Æ 


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