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 struggles 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 freedom 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-threatening and torturous; meanwhile, farmlands, personal posVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR941.IH HR941

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•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 challenges 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 shelter at refugee camps within those Southeast Asian countries, a great majority of people fleeing by boat were resettled in developed countries, such as the United States, 

Canada, Italy, France, West Germany, the United Kingdom, 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 currently reside in the United States, making the United 

States home to the largest number of individuals of Vietnamese descent outside of Vietnam; 

Whereas Vietnamese Americans are the fourth-largest AsianAmerican population in the United States; 

Whereas first- and second-generation Vietnamese Americans 

have overcome tremendous socioeconomic challenges, including discrimination, language and cultural barriers, 


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•HRES 941 IH 

and poverty, to emerge as significant contributors to 

American society; and 

Whereas Vietnamese Americans contribute to American society through their work in business, education, science 

and technology, engineering, mathematics, literature and 

the arts, gastronomy, the Armed Forces, and public service at every level of government: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives to recognize the hardships, sacrifice, and her3 oism of the Vietnamese refugees who fled their country 

4 by boat and other means 45 years ago, since April 30, 

5 1975, and to applaud their accomplishments and signifi6 cant contributions to the United States since their reset7 tlement. 

Æ 


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