Dave Camp: “I wish everyone could have heard his very powerful and compelling testimony before the Subcommittee on Trade about…”

“I wish everyone could have heard his very powerful and compelling testimony before the Subcommittee on Trade about reconciliation and engagement in Vietnam. This is not about MFN. I have heard some references to MFN or normal trade relations. That only occurs after a negotiated bilateral trade agreement. This is about allowing private overseas investment loan guarantees. We must talk about our relations with Vietnam and what kind of leverage we have if we do not engage Vietnam. We lose leverage in obtaining more information from the Vietnamese government on those POWs and MIAs that we are still not sure about. The VFW in a statement released on July 28 said that disapproving the waiver would harm the prospects for the cooperation between our governments that is necessary for a successful resolution and accounting for our missing Americans. We also lose leverage in bringing Vietnam closer into the community of nations. We lose leverage in encouraging Vietnam to promote the freedom of immigration, the very point of the Jackson-Vanik amendment when it was passed back in 1974. I urge the defeat of H.J. Res. 120.”