III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 157 

Recognizing the economic, cultural, and political contributions of the Southeast-Asian American community on the 40th anniversaries of the beginning of Khmer Rouge control over Cambodia and the beginning of 

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

‘‘Secret War’’ in the Kingdom of Laos. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2015 

Ms. HIRONO submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

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

the 40th anniversaries of the beginning of Khmer Rouge 

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

the ‘‘Secret War’’ in the Kingdom of Laos. 

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

beginning of 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; 

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

the end of the ‘‘Secret War’’ in which Communists deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:26 May 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR157.IS SR157

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•SRES 157 IS 

clared victory over the Kingdom of Laos and established 

a Communist regime in that country; 

Whereas those historic events led to the forced migration to 

the United States, after 1975, of over 1,000,000 refugees 

from Cambodia, the Kingdom of Laos, and Vietnam; 

Whereas over 600,000 Vietnamese refugees were resettled in 

the United States, many of whom had worked with the 

United States Government as translators and civil servants during the Vietnam War and were paroled into the 

United States after the enactment of the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 (Public Law 

94–23), and in the 1990s, over 30,000 survivors of Communist reeducation camps and 150,000 family members 

of those survivors were resettled in the United States; 

Whereas approximately 250,000 refugees from the Kingdom 

of Laos were resettled in the United States, many of 

whom assisted the war effort of the United States during 

the ‘‘Secret War’’ in Laos, including 35,000 individuals 

who served as Special Guerrilla Unit fighters in the surrogate army for the United States and others who served 

as civil servants; 

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 Southeast Asia prompted the United States to enact the Refugee Act of 1980 

(Public Law 96–212) and establish the Office of Refugee 

Resettlement, which established the first formal refugee 

resettlement system in the United States; 


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•SRES 157 IS 

Whereas the Office of Refugee Resettlement recognized the 

critical importance of Southeast Asian American Mutual 

Assistance Associations (MAAs) with the establishment 

in 1980 of a special grant program that lay the groundwork for a strong network of Southeast-Asian American 

community-based organizations in the United States; 

Whereas, as of April 2015, over 2,500,000 Southeast-Asian 

Americans trace their heritage to Cambodia, the Kingdom of Laos, and Vietnam; 

Whereas Southeast-Asian Americans include a broad diversity 

of ethnic groups, including— 

(1) Cham, Khmer, and Khmer Loeu from Cambodia; 

(2) Hmong, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Taidam, and Lao 

Theung from the Kingdom of Laos; and 

(3) ethnic Khmer, Montagnards, and Vietnamese 

from Vietnam; and 

Whereas Southeast-Asian Americans— 

(1) have blazed trails to own small businesses, lead 

community-based organizations, serve in public office, 

and nurture emerging leaders; 

(2) carry on a rich cultural tradition of music and 

dance, and pioneer hybrid art forms such as spoken word 

poetry and hip-hop; 

(3) 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 

(4) remain resilient, rooted both in Southeast-Asian 

heritage and in the society of the United States, and rising toward a hopeful, equitable future: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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•SRES 157 IS 

1 (1) recognizes the significance of the 40th anni2 versaries of— 

3 (A) the beginning of the Khmer Rouge 

4 rule in Cambodia and the Cambodian Genocide; 

5 (B) the end of the Vietnam War and the 

6 ‘‘Secret War’’ in Laos; 

7 (C) the humanitarian response of the peo8 ple and Government of the United States to re9 ceive over 1,000,000 refugees from Southeast 

10 Asia; and 

11 (D) the beginning of the Southeast-Asian 

12 American community in the United States; and 

13 (2) recognizes the ongoing contributions of the 

14 Southeast-Asian American community to the eco15 nomic, cultural, and political vitality of the United 

16 States. 

Æ 


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