IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1331 
Recognizing and appreciating the historical significance and the heroic strug-
gle and sacrifice of the Vietnamese people for the cause of freedom 
and commending the Vietnamese-American community and nongovern-
mental organizations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2010 
Mr. CAO submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and appreciating the historical significance and 
the heroic struggle and sacrifice of the Vietnamese people 
for the cause of freedom and commending the Viet-
namese-American community and nongovernmental orga-
nizations. 
Whereas citizens of the Republic of Vietnam valiantly fought, 
with the support of the United States and other allies, 
to defend freedom and democracy for over two decades 
before Communist forces broke the Paris Peace Accord 
by invading South Vietnam and establishing a totali-
tarian regime throughout the country; 
Whereas after the Communist takeover on April 30, 1975, 
over 1,000,000 former soldiers and civil servants of the 
Republic of Vietnam were sent to hundreds of ‘‘re-edu-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:55 May 05, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1331.IH
HR1331
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1331 IH 
cation’’ camps, where tens of thousands died of forced 
labor, starvation, torture, diseases, or summary execu-
tion; 
Whereas in the final days of the Vietnam War, the United 
States 7th Fleet rescued and brought to freedom 130,000 
evacuees who, after a brief stay in Guam, became the 
first Vietnamese refugees resettled in the United States; 
Whereas according to the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees, 840,000 Vietnamese subsequently fled the 
country by boat and arrived as refugees in Indonesia, 
Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong 
Kong, and Brunei, and tens of thousands of Vietnamese 
refugees crossed Cambodia and Laos to reach Thailand; 
Whereas from this mass exodus, which came to be known to 
the world as the Vietnamese boat people saga, over 
755,000 of these refugees resettled in the United States, 
Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hong 
Kong, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and many 
other countries, and over 81,000 were deported to Viet-
nam; 
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refu-
gees estimates that over 250,000 boat people died at sea 
as a result of storms, illness, and starvation, as well as 
kidnappings and killings by pirates; 
Whereas hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees and 
immigrants subsequently arrived in the United States 
under programs such as Humanitarian Operation (HO), 
Humanitarian Resettlement (HR), U11, V11, McCain- 
Davis Amendment, Priority One In-Country Refugee Pro-
gram (P1), Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Re-
turnees, and Amerasian Homecoming Act; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:55 May 05, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1331.IH
HR1331
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1331 IH 
Whereas Catholic Charities, the United States Catholic Con-
ference of Bishops, and many nongovernmental organiza-
tions assisted Vietnamese refugees to resettle in the 
United States; 
Whereas generous United States families, churches, and or-
ganizations helped sponsor the newly arrived refugees to 
establish new lives in the Nation; 
Whereas the Vietnamese-American community, non-existent 
35 years ago and now making up about half of all over-
seas Vietnamese and the fourth largest Asian-American 
group in the United States, has contributed significantly 
to all aspects of life and society in the United States, in-
cluding business, engineering, science, law, academia, 
medicine, engineering, arts, media, military, civil service, 
and community service; 
Whereas Vietnamese-Americans have been recognized to be 
among the most politically assimilated citizens in the 
United States and have produced many candidates run-
ning for public office and winning seats on local gov-
erning bodies and school boards, in State legislatures in 
California and Texas, and in the United States Congress; 
Whereas Vietnamese-Americans are a highly upwardly mobile 
group, ranking among the most successful socioeconomic 
groups in the United States, pursuing many different ca-
reers and owning numerous businesses; 
Whereas by 2006, 72 percent of Vietnamese-Americans were 
naturalized United States citizens, the highest rate 
among all Asian-American groups; 
Whereas refugees advocacy nongovernmental organizations 
such as BPSOS, Hong Bang, Inc., World Vision, and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:55 May 05, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1331.IH
HR1331
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1331 IH 
others provided direct relief care and assistance to refu-
gees in temporary asylum camps; 
Whereas founded in 1980 by boat people to rescue and bring 
other boat people to freedom, Boat People SOS (BPSOS) 
conducted rescue-at-sea missions, rescuing over 3,300 
boat people in the South China Sea and in the 1990s 
successfully advocated for humanitarian resettlement of 
18,000 former boat people after repatriation to Com-
munist Vietnam; 
Whereas since 1997, BPSOS has built capacity for local Viet-
namese-American communities across the United States 
to achieve self-reliance, served tens of thousands new ref-
ugees and immigrants, and when Hurricane Katrina and 
Hurricane Ike devastated the Gulf Coast and left thou-
sands of families and individuals homeless, traumatized, 
and dispirited, BPSOS acted as First Responder, coordi-
nating relief efforts and assisting over 4,000 families re-
build their lives; 
Whereas BPSOS has effectively fought human trafficking in 
Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and the United States, including 
making significant contributions to the investigation and 
successful prosecution of the American Samoa case, the 
largest labor trafficking case in United States history; 
Whereas the year 2010 marks BPSOS’ 30 years of service 
to individuals and communities in crisis and 35 years of 
the Vietnamese-American history, and in 2010, BPSOS 
launched its 30/35 national public education and aware-
ness campaign to showcase every development phase of 
the history of the Vietnamese-American community; 
Whereas Congress has designated every May as Asian/Pacific 
American Heritage Month to pay tribute to the genera-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:55 May 05, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1331.IH
HR1331
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS