Date: 2001-07-26
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. and I rise in opposition to this resolution and urge Members to continue the MFN status for Vietnam. as we have done in the past with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority. I. like many Members of Congress. have had an opportunity to travel to Vietnam and to visit with governmental leaders and with private citizens there. and with workers and others that are a part of that community. and with our former ambassador. Pete Peterson. who has been one of the most passionate supporters of improved political and economic relations with Vietnam. He has devoted countless hours to improving these relationships and to addressing the key issues that are before us today. and I think we ought to salute his tenure as our first ambassador to Hanoi. I think we have to understand that. in fact. progress has been made. Many of my colleagues have raised a number of troubling subjects to us that I think we have to continue to bear down on and understand that problems do exist. but I think also in my discussions with Ambassador Peterson and with people in Vietnam. improvements. in fact. I believe. have been made. Enough? No. not at all. Do we need further progress? Clearly we do on the issues of emigration. I also have had an opportunity to witness the Joint Task Forces efforts to locate and identify and to recover the remains of our many missing soldiers and airmen and see this extraordinary effort that is taking place. We are. hopefully. building a new and a positive relationship with Vietnam. which is the 12th largest population in the world and plays a key role in political and economic security in Southeast Asia. .Last year. Congress enacted legislation that I helped write creating a program to promote higher education exchanges between our countries. We should continue to build on these efforts because they are in the best interests of both nations. At the same time. we must be very clear. and many of our colleagues have touched upon these subjects here today. we must continue to work with this government and to include this government to assure the .rights of all working people to form independent unions and engage in collective bargaining as provided under the rules of the International Labor Organization. Vietnam clearly must accelerate its policies to ensure freedom of religion and political expression. We need to. continue to work with several local and international environmental organizations to reduce the water pollution and protect the threatened species and generally ensure that economic development is not undertaken at the expense of the Nations natural resources. which not only affects Vietnam but the entire region. Free trade unionism. improved environmental policies. expanded political religious rights for all Vietnamese. These are all legitimate factors for securingimproved and lasting trade relations with the United States and other democracies. and we should continue to work for those in Vietnam. But we must understand that this is a step that allows us to continue to engage with the Vietnamese on these matters. and we also know that there are other instruments that are waiting in terms of trade agreements. bilateral agreements. and. obviously. at some point. Vietnams seeking. down the road. to engage with the WTO. Clearly. these thresholds must be continued to be raised as we grant those other relations. So I think it is incumbent upon all of us to understand here and in Vietnam that this debate is about an evolving relationship. not about an acceptance of the status quo that we have today.