S. 484

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

To provide for the granting of refugee status in the United States to nationals

of certain foreign countries in which American Vietnam War POW/MIAs or American Korean War POW/MIAs may be present, if those nationals assist in the

return to the United States of those POW/MIAs alive.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bring Them Home Alive Act

of 2000’’.

SEC. 2. AMERICAN VIETNAM WAR POW/MIA ASYLUM PROGRAM.

(a) ASYLUM FOR ELIGIBLE ALIENS.—Notwithstanding any other

provision of law, the Attorney General shall grant refugee status

in the United States to any alien described in subsection (b), upon

the application of that alien.

(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Refugee status shall be granted under subsection (a) to—

(1) any alien who—

(A) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China,

or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union;

and

(B) personally delivers into the custody of the United

States Government a living American Vietnam War POW/

MIA; and

(2) any parent, spouse, or child of an alien described in

paragraph (1).

(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

(1) AMERICAN VIETNAM WAR POW/MIA.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph

(B), the term ‘‘American Vietnam War POW/MIA’’ means

an individual—

(i) who is a member of a uniformed service (within

the meaning of section 101(3) of title 37, United States

Code) in a missing status (as defined in section 551(2)

of such title and this subsection) as a result of the

Vietnam War; or

(ii) who is an employee (as defined in section

5561(2) of title 5, United States Code) in a missing

status (as defined in section 5561(5) of such title) as

a result of the Vietnam War.

(B) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not include an individual with respect to whom it is officially determined

under section 552(c) of title 37, United States Code, that
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such individual is officially absent from such individual’s

post of duty without authority.

(2) MISSING STATUS.—The term ‘‘missing status’’, with

respect to the Vietnam War, means the status of an individual

as a result of the Vietnam War if immediately before that

status began the individual—

(A) was performing service in Vietnam; or

(B) was performing service in Southeast Asia in direct

support of military operations in Vietnam.

(3) VIETNAM WAR.—The term ‘‘Vietnam War’’ means the

conflict in Southeast Asia during the period that began on

February 28, 1961, and ended on May 7, 1975.

SEC. 3. AMERICAN KOREAN WAR POW/MIA ASYLUM PROGRAM.

(a) ASYLUM FOR ELIGIBLE ALIENS.—Notwithstanding any other

provision of law, the Attorney General shall grant refugee status

in the United States to any alien described in subsection (b), upon

the application of that alien.

(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Refugee status shall be granted under subsection (a) to—

(1) any alien—

(A) who is a national of North Korea, China, or any

of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and

(B) who personally delivers into the custody of the

United States Government a living American Korean War

POW/MIA; and

(2) any parent, spouse, or child of an alien described in

paragraph (1).

(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

(1) AMERICAN KOREAN WAR POW/MIA.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph

(B), the term ‘‘American Korean War POW/MIA’’ means

an individual—

(i) who is a member of a uniformed service (within

the meaning of section 101(3) of title 37, United States

Code) in a missing status (as defined in section 551(2)

of such title and this subsection) as a result of the

Korean War; or

(ii) who is an employee (as defined in section

5561(2) of title 5, United States Code) in a missing

status (as defined in section 5561(5) of such title) as

a result of the Korean War.

(B) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not include an individual with respect to whom it is officially determined

under section 552(c) of title 37, United States Code, that

such individual is officially absent from such individual’s

post of duty without authority.

(2) KOREAN WAR.—The term ‘‘Korean War’’ means the conflict on the Korean peninsula during the period that began

on June 27, 1950, and ended January 31, 1955.

(3) MISSING STATUS.—The term ‘‘missing status’’, with

respect to the Korean War, means the status of an individual

as a result of the Korean War if immediately before that status

began the individual—

(A) was performing service in the Korean peninsula;

or
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(B) was performing service in Asia in direct support

of military operations in the Korean peninsula.

SEC. 4. BROADCASTING INFORMATION ON THE ‘‘BRING THEM HOME

ALIVE’’ PROGRAM.

(a) REQUIREMENT.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The International Broadcasting Bureau

shall broadcast, through WORLDNET Television and Film

Service and Radio, VOA–TV, VOA Radio, or otherwise, information that promotes the ‘‘Bring Them Home Alive’’ refugee program under this Act to foreign countries covered by paragraph

(2).

(2) COVERED COUNTRIES.—The foreign countries covered

by paragraph (1) are—

(A) Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, and North Korea;

and

(B) Russia and the other independent states of the

former Soviet Union.

(b) LEVEL OF PROGRAMMING.—The International Broadcasting

Bureau shall broadcast—

(1) at least 20 hours of the programming described in

subsection (a)(1) during the 30-day period that begins 15 days

after the date of enactment of this Act; and

(2) at least 10 hours of the programming described in

subsection (a)(1) in each calendar quarter during the period

beginning with the first calendar quarter that begins after

the date of enactment of this Act and ending five years after

the date of enactment of this Act.

(c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET.—The

International Broadcasting Bureau shall ensure that information

regarding the ‘‘Bring Them Home Alive’’ refugee program under

this Act is readily available on the World Wide Web sites of the

Bureau.

(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that

RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, and any other recipient

of Federal grants that engages in international broadcasting to

the countries covered by subsection (a)(2) should broadcast information similar to the information required to be broadcast by subsection (a)(1).

(e) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘International Broadcasting Bureau’’

means the International Broadcasting Bureau of the United States

Information Agency or, on and after the effective date of title

XIII of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998

(as contained in division G of Public Law 105–277), the International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
S. 484—4

SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT STATES OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

DEFINED.

In this Act, the term ‘‘independent states of the former Soviet

Union’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the

FREEDOM Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801).

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.