BILL NUMBER: SJR 5	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JULY 2, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 25, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 25, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 29, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 22, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 19, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Nguyen
   (Coauthors: Senators Hertzberg, Huff, and Runner)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Chávez, Chu, Kim, McCarty, Achadjian,
Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson,
Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and
Wood)

                        MARCH 10, 2015

   Relative to humanitarian resettlement.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 5, 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.




   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 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 Hňa, showed their commitment to the United
States by fighting alongside the United States Armed Forces during
the Vietnam War; and
   WHEREAS, The Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the Orderly
Departure Program 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, 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 Hňa, 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, April 30, 2015, marks the 40th year since the Fall of
Saigon; and
   WHEREAS, Promoting the Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the
Orderly Departure Program to include disabled veterans of the South
Vietnamese Army, also known as the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Hňa, and
their sons and daughters, would rightfully bring these veterans and
their families into programs that, by their terms, excluded some
disabled 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 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.