SJR 5 Senate Joint Resolution

BILL NUMBER: SJR 5	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 22, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 19, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Nguyen
   (  Coauthor:   Senator  
Hertzberg   Coauthors:   Senators  
Hertzberg   and Huff  )
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Chávez, Chu,  and Kim
  Kim,   and McCarty  )

                        MARCH 10, 2015

   Relative to humanitarian resettlement.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 5, as amended, Nguyen. Vietnam: humanitarian resettlement.
   This measure would urge Congress and the President of the United
States to expand the Humanitarian Resettlement Program to allow
disabled veteran officers of the South Vietnamese Army currently
living in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to enter the United
States.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, The Vietnamese-American community plays an important role
in the social, cultural, and economic landscape of the State of
California and the United States; and 
   WHEREAS, The Socialist Republic of Vietnam's human rights
violations and corrupt judicial system have resulted in the
incarceration of peaceful dissidents without due process; and
 
   WHEREAS, Despite the renewal of diplomatic relations between the
United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995, and the
launching of the United States-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership in
July 2013, significant human rights violations continue to persist;
and  
   WHEREAS, The Global Network for Rights and Development's 2014
International Human Rights Rank Indicator ranks the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam as one of the 15 countries who are the worst
offenders of human rights in the world; and 
   WHEREAS, The United States government and the American people have
a commitment to assisting individuals that fought as allies in the
Vietnam War and continue to face persecution and threats from the
Communist government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and
   WHEREAS, The veterans of the South Vietnamese Army, also known as
the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Hòa, showed their commitment to the United
States by fighting alongside the United States Armed Forces during
the Vietnam  War and have suffered greatly since April 30,
1975;   War;  and
   WHEREAS, The Humanitarian Resettlement Program  , also
known as   and  the Orderly Departure Program
 , has   have  allowed for the resettlement
to the United States of former reeducation center detainees, former
Vietnamese employees of the United States government, and former
Vietnamese employees of private American companies and organizations
prior to April 30, 1975;   1975, and from 1997
to 2009, inclusive, sons and daughters of former Vietnamese were
included in what became known as the McCain Amendment;  and
   WHEREAS, Disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army, also
known as the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Hòa, have suffered a lifetime of
great challenges and discrimination. Yet,  some  disabled
veterans were excluded from the Humanitarian Resettlement Program
 and the Orderly Departure Program  because they were not
detained in reeducation camps for the requisite number of years due
to their physical disabilities; and 
   WHEREAS, Thousands of disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese
Army, also known as the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Hòa, and their
families are still living in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
facing continued persecution from the government, including a lack of
access to jobs, housing, and education; and 
   WHEREAS, April 30, 2015, marks the 40th year since the Fall of
Saigon; and
   WHEREAS,  Amending   Promoting  the
Humanitarian Resettlement Program , also known as 
 and  the Orderly Departure  Program,  
Program  to include disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese
Army, also known as the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Hòa,  and their
sons and daughters,  would rightfully bring these veterans 
and their families  into  a program that was meant to
include them but inadvertently left them out;   programs
that, by their terms, excluded some disable veterans;  now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully urges the
President and the Vice President of the United States and the United
States Congress to  expand   reauthorize 
the Humanitarian Resettlement Program  and the Orderly Departure
Program  to allow disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army
 and their families  currently living in the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam to  apply to  enter the United States;
and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United
States, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from
California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author
for appropriate distribution.