(b) EXCEPTION.— 
(1) CONTINUATION OF ASSISTANCE IN THE NA-
TIONAL INTEREST.—Notwithstanding the failure of 
the Government of Vietnam to meet the require-
ments of subsection (a)(2), the President may waive 
the application of subsection (a) for any fiscal year 
if the President determines that the provision to the 
Government of Vietnam of increased nonhumani-
tarian assistance would promote the purpose of this 
Act or is otherwise in the national interest of the 
United States. 
(2) EXERCISE
OF
WAIVER
AUTHORITY.—The 
President may exercise the authority under para-
graph (1) with respect to— 
(A) all United States nonhumanitarian as-
sistance to Vietnam; or 
(B) one or more programs, projects, or ac-
tivities of such assistance. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) 
NONHUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE.—The 
term ‘‘nonhumanitarian assistance’’ means— 
(A) any assistance under the Foreign As-
sistance Act of 1961 (including programs under 
title IV of chapter 2 of part I of that Act, relat-
ing to the Overseas Private Investment Cor-
poration), other than— 
(i) disaster relief assistance, including 
any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of 
that Act; 
(ii) assistance which involves the pro-
vision of food (including monetization of 
food) or medicine; 
(iii) assistance for environmental re-
mediation of dioxin-contaminated sites and 
related health activities; 
(iv) assistance to combat severe forms 
of trafficking in persons; 
(v) assistance to combat pandemic 
diseases; 
(vi) assistance for refugees; and 
(vii) assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, 
including any assistance under section 
104A of that Act; and 
(B) sales, or financing on any terms, under 
the Arms Export Control Act. 
(2) SEVERE FORM OF TRAFFICKING IN PER-
SONS.—The term ‘‘severe form of trafficking in per-
sons’’ means any activity described in section 103(8) 
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(Public Law 106–386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22 U.S.C. 
7102(8)). 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply 
with respect to the provision of nonhumanitarian assist-
ance to the Government of Vietnam during fiscal year 
2013 and subsequent fiscal years. 
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. 
(a) RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS
TO VIET-
NAM.—It is the sense of Congress that the United States 
should take measures to overcome the jamming of Radio 
Free Asia by the Government of Vietnam and that the 
Broadcasting Board of Governors should not cut staffing, 
funding, or broadcast hours for the Vietnamese language 
services of the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, 
which shall be done without reducing any other broadcast 
language services. 
(b) UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 
EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH VIETNAM.—It is the sense 
of Congress that any programs of educational and cultural 
exchange between the United States and Vietnam should 
actively promote progress toward freedom and democracy 
in Vietnam by providing opportunities to Vietnamese na-
tionals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives 
to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by en-
suring that Vietnamese nationals who have already dem-
onstrated a commitment to these values are included in 
such programs. 
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and every 12 months 
thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Con-
gress a report on the following: 
(1) The determination and certification of the 
President that the requirements of subparagraphs 
(A) through (G) of section 3(a)(2) have been met, 
if applicable. 
(2) Steps taken to carry out section 3(a)(1)(A), 
if applicable. 
(3) Efforts by the United States Government to 
promote access by the Vietnamese people to Radio 
Free Asia transmissions. 
(4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet-
nam promote the policy set forth in section 102 of 
the Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Pol-
icy Provisions Act of 1996 regarding participation in 
programs of educational and cultural exchange. 
(5) Lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, 
detained, or placed under house arrest, tortured, or 
otherwise persecuted by the Government of Vietnam
due to their pursuit of internationally recognized 
human rights. In compiling such lists, the Secretary 
shall exercise appropriate discretion, including con-
cerns regarding the safety and security of, and ben-
efit to, the persons who may be included on the lists 
and their families. In addition, the Secretary shall 
include a list of such persons and their families who 
may qualify for protections under United States ref-
ugee programs. 
(6) A description of the development of the rule 
of law in Vietnam, including— 
(A) progress toward the development of in-
stitutions of democratic governance; 
(B) processes by which statutes, regula-
tions, rules, and other legal acts of the Govern-
ment of Vietnam are developed and become 
binding within Vietnam; 
(C) the extent to which statutes, regula-
tions, rules, administrative and judicial deci-
sions, and other legal acts of the Government of 
Vietnam are published and are made accessible 
to the public; 
(D) the extent to which administrative and 
judicial decisions are supported by statements 
of reasons that are based upon written statutes,
regulations, rules, and other legal acts of the 
Government of Vietnam; 
(E) the extent to which individuals are 
treated equally under the laws of Vietnam with-
out regard to citizenship, race, religion, political 
opinion, or current or former associations; 
(F) the extent to which administrative and 
judicial decisions are independent of political 
pressure or governmental interference and are 
reviewed by entities of appellate jurisdiction; 
and 
(G) the extent to which laws in Vietnam 
are written and administered in ways that are 
consistent with international human rights 
standards, including the requirements of the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights. 
(b) CONTACTS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—In 
preparing the report under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall, as appropriate, seek out and maintain contacts with 
nongovernmental organizations and human rights advo-
cates (including Vietnamese-Americans and human rights 
advocates in Vietnam), including receiving reports and up-
dates from such organizations and evaluating such re-
ports. The Secretary shall also seek to consult with the
United States Commission on International Religious 
Freedom for appropriate sections of the report. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 11, 
2012. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1410 
AN ACT 
To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.