On the recordMay 13, 2015
In addition, Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the service of Hmong and Lao Americans who fought for the United States during the Vietnam war. The Central Intelligence Agency in the 1960s covertly trained Hmong men and women in Laos, and the Hmong special guerilla unit was formed, otherwise known as the SGU. They directed them in the compact to support U.S. forces. These indigenous forces conducted direct missions against communists, fighting side-by-side American soldiers and saving countless American lives. That is why President Ford, in 1975, signed an executive order granting these Hmong soldiers and their families the ability to gain access as permanent residents for their service to our country if they could make it to America, and many of them did. More than 100,000 Hmong soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice. Today, approximately 6,000 of those veterans are still with us. To honor and to recognize the service of these brave veterans, the gentleman from California, Congressman Paul Cook, and I will be reintroducing a bipartisan piece of legislation, the Hmong Veterans' Service Recognition Act. This legislation would allow the burial of these Hmong veterans who live here today and their families in national cemeteries, like the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Merced County. This recognition is long overdue. We granted it to Filipino soldiers who fought side-by-side with American soldiers in World War II.…
