I implore this Congress to pass the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2013 to send a strong signal to the Government of Vietnam to stand up for justice and human dignity.

Freedom, democracy, and human rights must be a part of any future partnership with Vietnam.

I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, and I again want to thank Chairman Poe and the Ranking Member Sherman for including the amendment in H.R. 1409, because I believe it makes the bill better.

The exclusion of the Pacific coast is consistent with the long-standing interest of Pacific Coast States...

I have many issues with this legislation. Including the opening up of new leases off to the coast of southern California.

We have a specific recommendation in our report to that very effect. We do not specify the level. We think it probably shouldn't be unlimited, but there should be a process with Congress to determine what that level should be.

I wanted to express my frustration that we are doing this and not spending our time on issues where we can work together.

It's really the dedication of all of you on this panel and all of us that are in this room that continue to shine a spotlight on human rights violations in Vietnam and pressure the Government of Vietnam to put an end to these violations.

I am very inspired by the thousands of young Vietnamese-Americans who were born and raised in the United States who wish to fight for freedom and democracy in the land of their parents and their grandparents.

My meetings with Ambassador Shear reassured me that the United States continues its commitment to human rights improvements in Vietnam.

the Government of Vietnam has yet to demonstrate its commitment to upholding international laws and norms such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.