Eni Faleomavaega: “As a Vietnam veteran, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1410. In 1967, I was deployed to Vietnam and served my country in Nha…”

“As a Vietnam veteran, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1410. In 1967, I was deployed to Vietnam and served my country in Nha Trang. My brother also served, and has since passed away. On the matter of human rights, the U.S. cannot assume the moral high ground when it comes to Vietnam. From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. sprayed more than 11 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam, subjecting millions of innocent civilians to dioxin--a toxic known to be one of the deadliest chemicals made by man. Despite the suffering that has occurred ever since, there seems to be no real interest on the part of the U.S. to clean up the mess we left behind. Instead, we spend our time offering up language like this which fails to make anything right. While I appreciate that more than 1 million Vietnamese-Americans still have strong feelings about the Vietnam War, the fact is it is time for us to rebuild our relationship with Vietnam just like we did with Germany and Japan after WWII. Regrettably, H.R. 1410 has an adverse impact on our efforts. H.R. 1410 purports to promote the development of freedom and democracy in Vietnam but fails in its purpose. As noted by the Congressional Research Service, ``the bill could chill the recent warming of bilateral political and security ties and could weaken economic reformers in ongoing domestic political battles inside Vietnam.'' Put another way, H.R. 1410 is not in the best interest of the United States or the Vietnamese-American community. H.R.…”