S.Amdt. 513

SA 513. Mr. SULLIVAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 for

[[Page S2650]]

military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

SEC. 10__. ACKNOWLEDGING COURAGE AND SACRIFICE OF VETERANS OF
VIETNAM WAR.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States began
serving in an advisory role to the Government of South
Vietnam in 1955.
(2) In 1965, ground combat units of the Armed Forces of the
United States arrived in the Republic of Vietnam to join
approximately 23,000 personnel of the Armed Forces who were
already present there.
(3) By 1969, the number of such troops reached a peak of
approximately 549,500, including members of the Armed Forces
in the region who were supporting the combat
operations;Whereas, on January 27, 1973, the Agreement on
Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet-Nam (commonly
known as the Paris Peace Accords) was signed, which required
the release of all prisoners of war of the United States held
in North Vietnam and the withdrawal of all Armed Forces of
the United States from South Vietnam.
(4) On March 29, 1973, the Armed Forces of the United
States completed the withdrawal of combat units and combat
support units from South Vietnam.
(5) On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured
Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, effectively placing
South Vietnam under Communist control.
(6) More than 58,000 members of the Armed Forces of the
United States lost their lives in the Vietnam war, and more
than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces of the United States
were wounded in Vietnam.
(7) The Vietnam war was an extremely divisive issue back
home in the United States as a result of biased and shameful
attacks from the media, academia, politicians, and many
others.
(8) Some opponents of the war did not limit their
opposition to normal political discourse, but engaged in
violent protests, including the targeting of Reserve
Officers' Training Corps facilities, recruiting stations, and
the bombing of the Army Math Research Center at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(9) Members of the Armed Forces who served bravely and
faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam war were
repeatedly targeted with shameful attacks as the result of
decisions that were beyond their control.
(b) Resolution of Apology.--The United States, acting
through Congress--
(1) recognizes the extraordinary sacrifice of veterans of
the Vietnam war and commends them for their unwavering and
courageous sacrifice to our Nation;
(2) urges the President of the United States to formally
acknowledge the widespread mistreatment of veterans of the
Vietnam war;
(3) on behalf of the American people, issues the long-
overdue formal apology to veterans of the Vietnam war and
their families for the mistreatment they endured during and
after the war; and
(4) expresses urgent support for increased education in our
Nation's schools to better reflect the courage and sacrifice
of veterans of the Vietnam war and the lack of support back
home.
______