I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3172 
To advance United States national interests by prioritizing the protection 
of internationally recognized human rights and development of the rule 
of law in relations between the United States and Vietnam, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2023 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. STEEL, and Mr. 
CORREA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judi-
ciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To advance United States national interests by prioritizing 
the protection of internationally recognized human rights 
and development of the rule of law in relations between 
the United States and Vietnam, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Vietnam Human Rights Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Statement of policy. 
Sec. 3. Assistance for political and religious prisoners in Vietnam. 
Sec. 4. Sanctions with respect to human rights violations in Vietnam. 
Sec. 5. Actions to combat online censorship and surveillance in Vietnam. 
Sec. 6. Annual country reports on human rights practices. 
Sec. 7. Prohibition on funding for the Ministry of Public Security of the Gov-
ernment of Vietnam. 
Sec. 8. International religious freedom. 
Sec. 9. United States assistance to support counting of women and girls in 
Vietnam. 
Sec. 10. Annual reports on United States-Vietnam human rights dialogue meet-
ings. 
Sec. 11. Restrictions on nonhumanitarian assistance to the Government of Viet-
nam. 
Sec. 12. Definitions. 
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) prioritize as a matter of strategic impor-
tance the Government of Vietnam’s violations of uni-
versally recognized human rights, fundamental free-
doms, and the rule of law to ensure the long-term 
sustainability of the United States-Vietnam strategic 
partnership; 
(2) embed human rights concerns across the 
full spectrum of official interactions between the 
Government of the United States and the Govern-
ment of Vietnam and convey during diplomatic en-
gagements that concrete human rights improvements 
are key parts of any discussions on trade, security, 
humanitarian cooperation, and economic develop-
ment; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(3) assess Vietnam’s progress toward respecting 
the basic rights of workers, as described in each re-
port required by section 702 of the Foreign Rela-
tions Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public 
Law 107–228; 22 U.S.C. 2151n note) and in light 
of the commitments specified in the United States- 
Vietnam Plan for Enhancement of Trade and Labor 
Relations, notwithstanding the fact that the Trans 
Pacific Partnership did not go into effect; 
(4) press for Vietnam’s ratification of ILO Con-
ventions No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Pro-
tection of the Right to Organize) and No. 98 (Right 
to Organize and Collective Bargaining) and the rec-
ognition of independent labor unions; and 
(5) evaluate future trade negotiations with the 
Government of Vietnam in accordance with the cri-
teria set forth for country eligibility under sub-
sections (b)(2) and (c) of section 502 of the Trade 
Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462), relating to the Gen-
eralized System of Preferences, and in accordance 
with the provisions of the Bipartisan Congressional 
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 
(title I of Public Law 114–26; 19 U.S.C. 4201 et 
seq.). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS PRIS-
ONERS IN VIETNAM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) There are over 160 Vietnamese political and 
religious prisoners currently detained in Vietnam, 
nearly half of whom were arrested due to expression 
or activities online. 
(2) Prisoners include human rights defenders, 
bloggers, lawyers, religious leaders, trade unionists, 
land rights activists, political dissidents, environ-
mental campaigners, and others arrested for exer-
cising their internationally guaranteed rights or to 
promote and protect the rights of others. 
(b) ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 
provide assistance to individuals in Vietnam and ap-
propriate civil society organizations outside Vietnam 
that work to secure the release of political and reli-
gious prisoners in Vietnam, and to current and 
former political and religious prisoners in Vietnam. 
(2) ACTIVITIES.—Assistance required by this 
subsection shall include the following activities: 
(A) Support for the documentation of 
human rights violations with respect to political 
and religious prisoners. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(B) Support for advocacy to raise aware-
ness of issues relating to political and religious 
prisoners. 
(C) Support for efforts to repeal or amend 
laws or regulations used to detain individuals 
seeking to exercise internationally recognized 
human rights. 
(D) Support, including travel costs, legal 
fees, and other appropriate expenses, for fami-
lies of religious and political prisoners. 
(E) Support for health, including mental 
health, and post-incarceration assistance in 
gaining access to education and employment op-
portunities or other forms of reparation to en-
able former political and religious prisoners to 
resume a normal life. 
(c) DISCUSSIONS.—As part of a ‘‘whole of govern-
ment’’ approach to human rights improvements in Viet-
nam, the Secretary of State and other United States offi-
cials, in discussions with the Government of Vietnam, 
should seek, as a critical condition of stronger United 
States-Vietnam relations, the repeal of laws and regula-
tions used to detain political and religious prisoners and 
the immediate and unconditional release of all political 
and religious prisoners. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 4. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO HUMAN RIGHTS VIO-
LATIONS IN VIETNAM. 
(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States to regularly assess reporting from intel-
ligence, diplomatic, open source, congressional, and non-
governmental organization sources to identify and impose 
travel and financial restrictions on officials of the Govern-
ment of Vietnam and other foreign persons working di-
rectly or indirectly for the Government of Vietnam who, 
based on credible evidence— 
(1) are— 
(A) responsible for, ordered, or are 
complicit in the arbitrary detention, torture, en-
forced disappearances of individuals in Vietnam 
seeking to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote 
internationally recognized human rights; or 
(B) responsible for, ordered, or are 
complicit in acts of significant corruption, in-
cluding the expropriation of private or public 
assets for personal gain, corruption related to 
government contracts or the extraction of nat-
ural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or 
transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign 
jurisdictions; 
(2) are responsible for surveillance, censorship, 
or detention of individuals in Vietnam for exercising 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
the right to the freedom of expression online or 
those responsible for forcing United States compa-
nies to censor or reveal personally identifiable infor-
mation of any individual exercising this right; or 
(3) are responsible for particularly severe viola-
tions of religious freedom (as such term is defined 
in section 3 of the International Religious Freedom 
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402)). 
(b) SANCTIONS.— 
(1) GLOBAL
MAGNITSKY
HUMAN
RIGHTS
AC-
COUNTABILITY ACT.—The President should impose 
sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human 
Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) 
with respect to any person described in subsection 
(a)(1). 
(2) DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPER-
ATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS 
ACT, 2019.—The Secretary of State should impose 
sanctions described in section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the 
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Re-
lated Programs Appropriations Act, 2019 (division 
F of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019; 
Public Law 116–6) with respect to any person de-
scribed in subsection (a)(2). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(3) IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.—The 
Secretary of State should impose the sanctions de-
scribed in section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) to 
any foreign person described in subsection (a)(3). 
(c) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report on sanctions imposed on persons described 
in subsection (a) under the provisions of law de-
scribed in subsection (b), including information on— 
(A) the number of times sanctions were 
imposed on such persons under such provisions 
of law; 
(B) the reasons for imposing such sanc-
tions; and 
(C) where appropriate, an identification of 
the sanctioned persons. 
(2) INCLUSION.—The report required by this 
subsection shall be submitted as part of the report 
required by section 702 of the Foreign Relations Au-
thorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 
228; 22 U.S.C. 2151n note) (as amended by section 
10 of this Act). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO COMBAT ONLINE CENSORSHIP AND 
SURVEILLANCE IN VIETNAM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Vietnam continues to have one of the 
world’s most restrictive internet environments, with 
pervasive filtering of content and the frequent ar-
rests of bloggers and others whose only offense is to 
advocate online for positions different than those 
held by the government. 
(2) Since 2013, the Government of Vietnam has 
issued laws and decrees, including a cybersecurity 
law, that increased its ability to surveil its citizens 
without judicial oversight or recourse. The cyberse-
curity law has been used to charge Vietnamese citi-
zens with vague crimes of ‘‘negating revolutionary 
achievements’’ and distributing ‘‘misleading informa-
tion among the people’’. Vietnam’s Penal Code and 
Decree 15 have also been used to render many legiti-
mate online activities illegal, leading to the arrest 
and detentions of political prisoners. 
(3) The Government of Vietnam uses the cyber-
security law to require United States companies to 
store information in Vietnam, censor social media 
posts on demand, and to turn over sensitive personal 
information 
about 
users. 
Companies 
such 
as 
Facebook and Google comply with these requests, in-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
cluding through the censorship of social media con-
tent of United States citizens and permanent resi-
dent aliens. 
(4) United States companies Facebook and 
YouTube have been instrumental in this crackdown, 
complying with Vietnam’s request to censor and 
‘‘geoblock’’ content determined to violate local Viet-
namese law, which often contradicts international 
law and Vietnam’s treaty obligations. 
(5) In the first half of 2020, Facebook in-
creased its content restrictions in Vietnam by 983 
percent, a dramatic increase from the second half of 
2019. 
(6) Facebook complied with 90 percent of Viet-
nam’s censorship requests in 2020 and YouTube 
with 95 percent of such requests, a fact the Govern-
ment of Vietnam noted with satisfaction. 
(7) The local legal provisions that directly en-
abled Facebook and YouTube’s censorship, articles 
117 and 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, also were 
used to imprison most of the 27 prisoners of con-
science who were jailed in 2020. 
(8) A free and open internet and the free flow 
of news and information— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(A) are fundamental components of United 
States foreign policy because they foster eco-
nomic growth, protect individual liberties, and 
advance national security; 
(B) are critical to the advancement of both 
United States economic interests and inter-
nationally recognized human rights globally; 
and 
(C) are severely hindered by Vietnam’s cy-
bersecurity law which would allow the Govern-
ment of Vietnam to access private data, spy on 
users, require United States businesses to turn 
over personally identifiable information or block 
content of users, including outside of Vietnam, 
and further restrict already limited online 
speech. 
(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States to— 
(1) pursue an open and free internet in Viet-
nam as an issue promoting United States economic 
interests and advancing internationally recognized 
human rights; 
(2) engage all appropriate United States Gov-
ernment agencies to promote the free flow of news 
and information in Vietnam; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(3) use all appropriate United States diplomatic 
instruments to pressure the Government of Vietnam 
to halt requests to force social media companies to 
block accounts and content of individuals whose con-
tent the Government disapproves; 
(4) use all available diplomatic instruments 
available to pursue trade policies with Vietnam that 
expand internet freedom and the information econ-
omy in Vietnam by— 
(A) ensuring the free flow of information 
across the global network; 
(B) 
promoting 
stronger 
international 
transparency rules; and 
(C) ensuring fair and equal treatment of 
online services regardless of country of origin; 
and 
(5) require companies with contracts with the 
United States Government that accede to requests of 
the Government of Vietnam to engage in censorship 
or to reveal sensitive personal information to report 
such requests to the Department of State at the 
time such requests occur and to report the nature of 
such requests and the companies’ responses publicly. 
(c) ACTIONS.—The Office of Internet Freedom of the 
United States Agency for Global Media and the Internet 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
Freedom and Business and Human Rights Section in the 
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the 
Department of State shall take such actions as may be 
necessary to— 
(1) prioritize the immediate distribution of cen-
sorship circumvention tools for computers and smart 
phones in Vietnam; and 
(2) prioritize projects to ensure the safety and 
privacy of bloggers and journalists and human rights 
defenders in Vietnam. 
(d) REPORT.—The Secretary of State, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Commerce and the United States 
Trade Representative, shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a report that outlines a strategy 
to— 
(1) promote internet freedom and the free flow 
of news and information in Vietnam; and 
(2) promote efforts to assist United States 
internet companies to fulfill their stated missions to 
promote openness, transparency, and connectivity by 
opposing requests by the Government of Vietnam to 
remove political speech or content of journalists, es-
pecially when content is removed from the accounts 
of users in the United States. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 6. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
PRACTICES. 
(a) REPORT
RELATING
TO
ECONOMIC
ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(h)(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall 
include an assessment of freedom of expression with re-
spect to electronic information in each foreign country. 
Such assessment shall consist of the following: 
‘‘(A) An assessment of the extent to which gov-
ernment authorities in each country inappropriately 
attempt to filter, censor, or otherwise block or re-
move nonviolent expression of political or religious 
opinion or belief via the internet, including electronic 
mail, as well as a description of the means by which 
such authorities attempt to block or remove such ex-
pression. 
‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which gov-
ernment authorities in each country have persecuted 
or otherwise punished an individual or group for the 
nonviolent expression of political, religious, or ideo-
logical opinion or belief via the internet, including 
electronic mail. 
‘‘(C) An assessment of the extent to which gov-
ernment authorities in each country have sought to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
inappropriately collect, request, obtain, or disclose 
personally identifiable information of a person in 
connection with such person’s nonviolent expression 
of political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief, 
including expression that would be protected by the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
‘‘(D) An assessment of the extent to which wire 
communications and electronic communications are 
monitored without regard to the principles of pri-
vacy, human rights, democracy, and rule of law. 
‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments for 
the purposes of paragraph (1), United States diplomatic 
personnel shall consult with human rights organizations, 
technology and internet companies, and other appropriate 
nongovernmental organizations. 
‘‘(3) In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘electronic communication’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 2510 of title 
18, United States Code; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘internet’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 231(e)(3) of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3)); 
‘‘(C) the term ‘personally identifiable informa-
tion’ means data in a form that identifies a par-
ticular person; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:59 Jul 06, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3172.IH
H3172
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB