Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the urgent need for freedom, democratic reform, and international monitoring of elections, human rights, and religious liberty in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his kind words.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution, urging improved human rights, democratic reform and religious freedom in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the U.S. Ambassador in Laos, Douglas Hartwick, and his hardworking, dedicated staff at our embassy in Vientiane for their commitment toward human rights and reform in Laos.

Mr. Speaker, most Americans do not know very much about the country of Laos, but many people in my congressional district know this country very well. Minnesota is home to over 53,000 Hmong and Lao Americans. I represent one of the largest Hmong constituencies in the United States. My constituents and I strongly support improving human rights and the quality of life for the people of Laos. The Lao Government has been working cooperatively with the United States on international terrorism and helping to provide a full accounting of Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War. The Lao Government has taken steps to protect religious freedom and the hundreds of Hmong and Laotians from my district who have traveled to Laos have seen some improvement; but I want to state clearly, despite these steps, greater progress is still needed on human rights, religious tolerance, democratic rule of law, and transparency.

One way the Lao Government can demonstrate their commitment to reform is by allowing international humanitarian workers the ability to monitor the Hmong amnesty and resettlement program in order to ensure that the Hmong are receiving the humanitarian assistance they need and they deserve. My constituents and I are committed to advancing these efforts in Laos. If Laos is going to truly reform into a more open and democratic society, the United States needs to play a greater role in working with the Lao people and the Lao Government.

The United States policy of economic isolation has made it very difficult for the Hmong and Laotian Americans in my district to engage in economic activity that will improve the quality of life for their relatives in Laos. This failed U.S. policy of economic isolation has lasted close to 30 years, and it has had real human consequences, as extreme poverty is a fact of life for much of the people who live in Laos. The United Nations development program ranks Laos 143rd out of 173 countries in

terms of human development. Only half the population can read, 30 percent of the people will die before they are 40 years old, and 26 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. One out of every 10 children will die before they reach the age of 5. I consider this fact a human rights tragedy.

The people of Laos also endure the deadly remnants of U.S. bombing from the Vietnam War. The United States flew more than 580,000 bombing runs over Laos. More than 2 million tons of ordnance were dropped on the country of Laos, double the amount dropped on Europe during World War II. Thousands of Laotian children and adults continue to die or become maimed as a result of this unexploded American ordnance. This, too, is a human rights tragedy and was documented by The Washington Post in an article this weekend. I insert this article for the Record.

[From the Washington Post Foreign Service, May 1, 2004]

In Laos, Sifting the Earth for American Dead

(By Ellen Nakashima)

Saravan, Laos.-- On the first day of the dig, Franklin

Damann spied what appeared to be a bone fragment resting on

the soil surface. But he could not be sure. He put it in a

Ziploc bag labeled ``Possible Osseous Remains.''

He hoped that the fragment, and several more found over the

next few days, would yield DNA to help identify U.S. Air

Force Col. Norman Dale Eaton or his navigator, Lt. Col. Paul

E. Getchell. Their B-57 exploded and crashed on a remote hill

in southern Laos in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War.

Damann, a forensic anthropologist, and about a dozen U.S.

service members shoveled and sifted hundreds of buckets of

dirt from that metal-pocked hill in February. In several

equally isolated and treacherous sites in Cambodia and

Vietnam, other teams were also scanning for every shard of

steel, canvas, plastic, bone or, best of all, tooth that

might help identify men who died in the Vietnam War, more

than 1,800 of whom are still missing.

Since 1992, 10 times a year, the military has sent teams to

the old battlegrounds of Southeast Asia to search for Vietnam

combatants' remains. Two to six teams go on each trip. So

far, they have accounted for 724 Americans, according to the

Pentagon.

But time is running out. Witnesses are dying. Investigators

are now talking to people who can remember their fathers

telling them about a crash site. The most accessible areas

already have been excavated, and bone disintegrates more

readily in the acidic soil of Southeast Asia.

It is an arduous yet optimistic endeavor, costing $100

million a year spread over five agencies. Though the military

has long proclaimed that no man or woman shall be left behind

on the battlefield--and made recovery efforts for several

years after World War II and the Korean War--it took the

emotional upheaval of the Vietnam War to spur the government

to undertake a continuous search effort. Scientists and

recovery teams have been finding and identifying remains of

those killed in World War II, the Korean War and the Cold

War in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

They have identified remains of about 500 service members

from World War II, Korea and the Cold War. The U.S. military

estimates that 88,000 service members are still missing from

all wars. The effort to find them is destined to continue,

officials say, as long as the United States sends its men and

women into battle zones.

``I can't think of a more noble mission,'' said Marine

Capt. William P. ``Bay'' Dobbins, 29, leader of a team

searching for the remains of a Navy pilot downed in southern

Laos. Dobbins, who served in Iraq last year, said he had been

waiting for this job with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting

Command. ``I love the idea of bringing these guys home,'' he

said.

So it was that on a chilly morning in February, a dozen

soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines and Damann, who works at

the Army's Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu,

piled into an aging Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter at the

team's base camp in southern Laos. Twenty minutes later, they

landed on a hill in Saravan province that was traversed by

the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of paths used by the North

Vietnamese to ferry supplies along the border with Laos into

South Vietnam. The team hiked down a long, steep slope and,

putting spade to soil, dug in a space roughly as long and

wide as an Olympic swimming pool.

About 90 Laotian villagers, who live a day's trek away and

were hired for a small daily wage, were already there. They

formed a bucket brigade down the slope, men and women with

high cheekbones and broad faces, wearing old jeans, Nike caps

and wool head scarves.

Pairs of villagers rocked trays slung from bamboo poles,

massaging red dirt through quarter-inch wire mesh. As a

boombox blared a Motown mix, the American team members

scanned for pieces of zipper, boot, oxygen hose--what the

investigators call life support material.

The hill was not an easy one. At a 35-degree angle, it had

a view at 3,700 feet of a valley below filling with

deceptively fast-moving clouds. Army Sgt. Robert Bryson, in

charge of team safety, warned the crew: ``This site is

dangerous. When the pilots say go, there's no lollygagging or

we'll be here overnight.''

During a mission three years ago, seven military personnel

and nine Vietnamese died when their Mi-17 helicopter slammed

into a fog-shrouded hill.

The site was surveyed last summer by Joan Baker, an

anthropologist, who also works at the Honolulu forensics lab.

She found no crash crater, leading her to conclude that the

plane had exploded before it plunged. Her investigative team

found hundreds of pieces of fan blades, wires and bolts

strewn over more than 350 square yards. Then she saw a small

metal object nestled in the roots of a tree. It was a dog

tag, bearing Eaton's name. ``It was pretty exciting,'' Baker

recalled. ``I couldn't believe it for a minute. I was like,

`No!' '' Team members planted a yellow stake wherever they

found even a jot of debris, turning the hill into a dandelion

field of stakes.

Damann held up a slice of rusted metal to the gray light

filtering through the trees. The words ``cylinder hydraulic

actuating'' were still visible. The metal plate was engraved

with the manufacturer's name, Glenn L. Martin Ltd.,

Baltimore, Md., which in the 1960s retooled the British-made

B-57s from straight-and-level planes to dive bombers.

``We'll be pulling stuff all day.'' said Damann, a lanky

Louisianan who analyzes skeletal remains to figure out a

person's size, sex, race and other characteristics.

As it turned out, the team would not be pulling stuff all

day. After lunch, the clouds rolled in, obscuring the valley

below. Bryson gave the word to load up the buckets and gather

the tools. ``It's time to get off the hill,'' he said.

The son of a Vietnam Navy veteran, Bryson is a mortuary

affairs specialist, or 92-Mike in Army lingo. He was on his

31st recovery mission to Southeast Asia, has worked directly

with MIA families and relishes the satisfaction of delivering

a memento to a wife or parent.

``There are cases where a family member said, `He always

carried a 1945 buffalo nickel,' and then you go to the site

and dig and pull it out of the dirt,'' he said. ``There are

wedding rings, the crucifixes, wallets with pictures.''

Working one World War II case, he said, he found letters

ready to be mailed home. ``You bring them home to a wife or

mother, and the gratitude is immense. That's pretty amazing

you can do stuff like that.''

Unexploded Ordnance

Elderly locals are another source of information. Khampoy

Khun, a grandfatherly man with an impish grin, was trying to

clear a rice field about a decade ago when he came upon metal

aircraft parts poking up from the soil. He eventually told

his story to American investigators and led them to a site

where a Navy pilot had plowed into a hill in April 1970.

``I would be very glad if the Americans find what they are

looking for and can return the remains to the families,''

said Khampoy, 70, cheering on the Americans and Laotians

digging, hauling and screening soil. ``I think the families

back home are hoping the remains will be found.''

He had one request, though: that the United States do more

to remove unexploded ordnance left from the war. ``I am very

poor,'' Khampoy said. ``And I cannot work my rice fields with

the unexploded bombs. It's all over the place.''

In February, the team looking for the Navy pilot's remains

unearthed a 500-pound unexploded bomb.

Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. air campaign dropped more

than 2 million tons of explosive ordnance on the hills and

valleys of Laos, the world's most heavily bombed nation per

capita, according to United Nations Development Program

statistics. Some of the craters were as large as houses. Up

to 30 percent of the ordnance, it is estimated, failed to

detonate and continues to kill about 200 people, many of whom

are children, each year, according to the program.

In fiscal 2003 the United States spent $1.2 million on

clearing the ordnance in Laos, about one-fourth of the total

international donor aid to the effort, U.S. officials said.

After 30 days, Damann, Bryson and their team flew back to

Honolulu. Another team took their place in March to continue

the dig. All the evidence found is bagged and sent to the

lab. There, a different set of anthropologists examines the

remains and the life support material.

The lab, which is part of the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting

Command, identifies on average two Americans a week. The best

way to make an identification is to match a tooth, especially

one that has had a filling or a drilling, to dental records,

Thomas Holland, the lab's scientific director, explained in

a telephone interview from Honolulu. ``No two fillings are

alike,'' he said. ``That's really how most identifications

are made.''

Even as the difficulty of the missions has increased, the

technology has improved, Holland said. These days, up to 70

percent of cases are identified by matching mitochondrial

DNA, which is passed down through the maternal line, from

remains to a relative from the same maternal line, he said.

About five grams of dense bone, the type found in the arm or

leg, is needed to gather enough DNA for an identification.

In the mid-1990s, the military began taking a DNA sample

from all service members in case it is needed for

identification.

`Off Target'

On the night of Jan. 13, 1969, Eaton and Getchell took off

from Phan Rang Air Base in South Vietnam. They flew west

toward Laos, to drop bombs and napalm on a target along the

Ho Chi Minh Trail in an effort to disrupt the enemy's supply

line.

Eaton's last recorded words before the plane crashed were

``Off target,'' according to a wartime Air Force report. A C-

130 pilot who was flying nearby, directing Eaton's strike,

said that his cockpit was lit up by the flash from the bomb

Eaton dropped, and lit up again five seconds later by the B-

57's crash, according to the report. No parachutes were seen.

A two-second emergency beeper signal was heard by another

aircraft in the area, but it was unclear if that was from

Eaton or Getchell.

Eaton, then 43, had always said that when he went, he

wanted to ``go down in a ball of fire,'' his wife, Jeanne

Eaton, now 75, recalled in a telephone interview from

Alexandria. He loved to fly, loved ``that wonderful,

celestial feeling,'' she said, though he had his concerns

about the war.

Eaton's oldest son, Paul Eaton, 53, is now a major general

in the Army, stationed in Baghdad, the commander in charge of

training the nascent postwar Iraqi army.

Gethell was 32, slender, dark-haired and a carpenter with a

philosophy degree. ``He was always learning and reading,''

and looked forward to teaching, recalled his widow, Teresa

Getchell, 67.

As the years passed, the two women, who have never

remarried, gradually came to terms with their husbands'

deaths. For Getchell, it has been so long since her husband

died, she said, that finding any remains now will not mean

much. ``It will just verify what I feel is already the case,

that he's gone,'' she said from her winter home in Bradenton,

Fla.

For Eaton, the search holds out hope for some peace of

heart.

``The very fact that they found my husband's dog tags, at

least there's a substance there, there's a reality,'' she

said. ``Hopefully, they will find some tangible evidence of

him.''

In March, the team that took over from Damann found more

possible remains at the site. The evidence will be sent to

the lab. A new team returns in June to continue the hunt.

The United States must work with the Lao Government to remove this unexploded ordnance. To address this issue, I have submitted a request to the Committee on Appropriations to expand the cleanup of unexploded ordnance in Laos. I ask my colleagues today who care so deeply about human rights in Laos to join me in this effort. Today I support this resolution because my constituents who have family members in Laos want reform now.

I thank the gentleman from California for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from several days of meetings in Vientiane and Luang Prabang not only with our own very able Ambassador Doug Hartwick but his excellent embassy staff and also with Lao Government officials and many private citizens, Americans and others, who are living and working in Laos. There is a more complex and changing pictures than the wording of this resolution portrays.

Our discussions covered a wide range of topics, including the government's deficiencies in addressing human rights and political transparency issues as detailed in H. Res. 402, and I was very clear in my conversations with the Lao leaders about the urgency of meeting international standards particularly with respect to the Hmong and other indigenous people who have been the subject of ill treatment and repression.

I share the concerns of the authors of this resolution that Laos, like many other countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, should make substantial improvements in the openness of their political and judicial processes and comply with internationally recognized human, religious, and labor rights and promote economic reforms that will raise the standard of living of its citizens through improved investment and trade.

This resolution addresses those issues, and I do not think that many would argue with the historical record. My concern, however, is that the resolution fails to take into account the many significant developments of the U.S.-Lao relationship as well as the internal changes that are not only noteworthy, but address some of the issues raised in this resolution. We are involved in major efforts, and we are getting major cooperation in antidrug efforts in Laos through the cooperation of the Lao government aimed at reducing opium and amphetamine trade that reaches from Southeast Asia to the streets of the American cities.

Our people report a strong cooperation in this effort with the Lao authorities. In the areas of POW/MIA, hundreds of Americans from the Vietnam era are still missing in Laos, and we are sending forensic teams to Laos

several times a year to locate and repatriate the remains of those service people. Again, according to our government, we are receiving strong cooperation from the Lao government, but this resolution has been silent on that important effort.

Certainly the issue of human rights and the Hmong population, as well as other minorities, is a particularly sensitive subject in the Lao- American community in the United States, and I imagine that is the issue pushing this resolution to the forefront at this time. This resolution fails, however, to note that for a variety of reasons, some having to do with international pressure and some having to do with internal economics and politics, the Lao government has been urging Hmong and other dissidents to come out of the mountains where they have been hidden for many decades. The government has pledged to assist in the relocation and settlement of these groups, and I would note that Secretary of State Powell has told the Lao government the United States would like to offer assistance in these efforts.

While there is reason aplenty for hesitation given the fate of others throughout the world who have acquiesced in ``resettlement'' campaigns, the reports I received while in Laos, across the board, testified to the positive response of the refugees. Moreover, there were few, if any, reports of abusive or unhelpful treatment by the government. There is no mention of that in this resolution.

The concerns that this resolution raise about conditions in Laos are justified, and we should be clear that virtually identical situations exist in far too many countries. I would also like to make it very clear that the Lao government fully cooperate with the opinion of the international community that has long been concerned with the treatment of minority groups within their country and make sure they, in fact, are open to allowing our ambassador to travel to the areas in question where people are engaged in coming out, the Hmongs and others, to make sure that the resettlement issues are occurring, that these people are being treated properly, and that there is no action taken against them.

So I would hope that the Lao government would be more open to the request of Secretary Powell, of our ambassador, of the international community. But again, I would state for those who have been there, for the international community, the international press, the suggestion is that this resettlement is going very fairly well, given the tensions that have existed for over so many years.

So I appreciate this resolution coming forward. I would hope that it would have given a little bit more recognition to those areas that we are getting cooperation, and that we will continue to work on opening this relationship with the Lao people, and clearly the support of the normal trade relations that we may have an opportunity to vote on later would go a long way in terms of improving the economy and some of the human rights issues within the Nation of Laos.

Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from several days of meetings in Vientiane and Luang Prabang with not only our own very able ambassador, Douglas Hartwick and his excellent embassy staff, but also with Lao government officials and other private citizens--American and others-- who are living and working in Laos. There is a more complex and changing picture than the wording of this resolution portrays.

Our discussions covered a wide range of topics, including that government's deficiencies in addressing human rights and political transparency issues that are detailed in H. Res. 402, and I was very clear in my conversations with Lao leaders about the urgency of meeting international standards particularly with respect to Hmong and other indigenous groups that have been the subject of ill-treatment and repression. I share the concerns of the authors of this resolution that Laos, like many other countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, should make substantial improvements in the openness of their political and judicial processes, comply with internationally recognized human, religious and labor rights, and promote the economic reforms that will raise the standard of living of their citizens through improved investment and trade.

This resolution addresses those issues, and I do not think many would argue with the historical record. My concern, however, is that this resolution fails to take into account very significant developments in the U.S.-Lao relationship, as well as internal changes that are not only noteworthy, but that address some of the issues raised in the resolution.

This is a delicate state in U.S.-Lao relations. We are deeply involved with that government in a range of initiatives that are critical to our own national security. I met with several U.S. personnel, for example, involved in major anti-drug efforts in cooperation with the Lao government aimed at reducing the opium and amphetamine trade that reaches from Southeast Asia to the streets of American cities. Our people reported strong cooperation from the Lao authorities and progress in turning Lao citizens against the drug trade, but this resolution ignores this cooperation.

We are also deeply involved in POW-MIA efforts in Laos, as was documented last week in the New York Times. Hundreds of Americans from the Vietnam War era are still missing in Laos, and we are sending forensic recovery teams to Laos several times a year to locate and repatriate the remains of servicemen. Again according to our government, we are receiving strong cooperation of the Lao government, but this resolution is silent on this important initiative.

Certainly the issue of human rights and the Hmong population, as well as other minorities, is a particularly sensitive subject in the Lao- American community in the United States, and I imagine that is the issue pushing this resolution to the forefront at this time. The resolution fails, however, to note that for a variety of reasons--some having to do with international pressure and some having to do with internal economics and politics--the Lao government has been urging Hmong and other dissidents to come out of the mountains where some have hidden for several decades. The government has pledged to assist in the relocation and settlement of these groups, and I would note that Secretary of State Powell has told the Lao government that the United States would like to offer its assistance in these efforts. While there is reason aplenty for hesitation given the fate of others throughout the world who have acquiesced in ``resettlement'' campaigns, the reports I received in Laos, across the board, testified to the positive response of the refugees; moreover, there were few if any reports of abusive or unhelpful treatment by the government. But there is no mention of that cooperation in this resolution.

It is also important that the House understand that there have been some very serious incidents of violence and threats of violence with the Lao-American community in recent weeks, including assaults on those peacefully demonstrating in support of expanded trade with Laos, arson, and threats of assassination on certain radio stations. Members of the House should be helping to defuse this situation, not adding to the ill-feelings. So it is very important that what we say and do regarding Laos and the Lao community not be misunderstood or mis-stated.

The concerns that this resolution raises about conditions in Laos are justified, but we should be clear that virtually identical statements could be made about many other countries in the region or elsewhere in the world, including those with which we have very extensive economic and political relations. We want improvements and we should continue our efforts both bilaterally and through the U.N. and N.G.O.s to build a free and open society in Laos. One important step would be for more Members of Congress to visit the country and deliver the same message I did; yet only one other Member of the House has been to Laos in the last 5 years, I am told.

One important way for us to improve our relationship and encourage the kinds of reforms we would like to see in Laos is to grant Normal Trade Relations to that country. Laos is one of only three countries in the world with which we do not have NTR, and the only country with which we have full diplomatic relations lacking that status. Laos is far too small and poor to have an impact on the U.S. economy or jobs, but granting NTR will have a significant impact on the economy in that impoverished nation, allowing it to participate in the kind of positive economic improvements that have begun to transform Vietnam and Cambodia. Now that this resolution has been brought to the floor, I would hope that NTR for Laos would similarly be scheduled for House consideration.

I have many Lao-Americans in my own district, and I have had a close working relationship with them for a number of years. Most are refugees themselves from the repression of the post-war Lao government. They have built families, businesses, social and political organizations, and productive and cooperative lives in the United States. And together with many other Lao-Americans, they have begun to re-engage in a relationship with the country of their birth.

Members of the USA-Lao NTR Coalition, including the Lao-American Exchange Institute, the Laotian-American National Coalition and the Laotian-American Chamber of Commerce visited Laos last year and produced the important ``Citizen Initiative Report.'' I would like to

recognize in particular Mr. Sary Tatpaporn, the Coalition's coordinator and vice president of the Laotian-American Chamber of Commerce, along with Dr. Richard Chansombat of the Lao-American Exchange, who authored the report on the trip detailing their meetings with government and private leaders. Many of these Lao-American leaders have reversed past opposition and now are urging the passage of NTR so that the economy of their former country can grow and more of their former countrymen can share in the prosperity that investment, trade and modernization can bring.

Our relationship with Laos is long and complex, and it is changing for the better. We should be encouraging the positive steps Laos is taking on a wide range of issues, and we should be expanding our cooperation with that country as we have with other nations whose domestic policies we continue to question. We also need to recognize that some of the suspicion and distrust within the Lao leadership is due to continuing threats against that government from opposition elements within the United States, as was acknowledged during the recently held conference of Lao-American leaders at the State Department.

At the same time, the Lao government must fully cooperate with the opinion of the international community that has long been concerned with the treatment of minority groups within the country, and wish to ensure that current resettlement effort comport with internationally recognized standards. As I have noted, our own Secretary of State has offered assistance in the resettlement efforts, and our Ambassador has requested permission for his staff to visit the areas where resettlement is occurring to assure that these citizens are being treated fairly. International relief agencies also are interested in monitoring the efforts. I would hope that the Lao government would fully cooperate with these initiatives and allow for independent observation of resettlement activities. That government should understand that a well-conducted, independently verified resettlement effort will dramatically affect the perception of Laos in the world community.

Consideration of this resolution today should mark the beginning of a renewed interest and engagement in Laos by the House, not a one-time venting of opinion that ignores positive developments that are taking place and jeopardizes a longer agenda we should continue to pursue, including passage of NTR later this year. I look forward to working constructively with my colleagues towards a closer relationship with Laos which will encourage the kinds of reforms we all hope will be implemented in that nation.

Mr. Speaker, before this House today I would like to restate my strong support for H. Res. 402, of which I am a cosponsor. As a leading critic of the Laotian government in the U.S. House of Representatives, I am very pleased that this legislation has made it to the House floor today, and believe it speaks directly to the question--which has been hotly debated in recent years--of whether or not we ought to grant Laos Normal Trade Relations status. As most members of this House know, I am staunchly opposed to our nation providing the brutal regime in Laos with any improved relationship until it gets its act together on a whole host of issues. Granting Laos NTR before we see some real movement toward change is ill-advised, inappropriate, and just plain wrong.

In support of H. Res. 402, I am asking today for a number of important items to be read into the Record. First, an article that recently appeared in the Appleton Post-Crescent on the case of Houa Ly, one of my Hmong-American constituents who went missing at the Thailand- Laos border in 1999. Second, a pair of letters 21 other Members of Congress and I sent to the administration last year, detailing many of the problems we see with the Laotian government, and reiterating our opposition to NTR for Laos. I appreciate in advance your consideration of the issues presented in these documents, and look forward to continuing to work to advance the freedom of the Laotian people.

Family's Plight at Heart of Trade Relations Clash

(By Ed Culhane)

Neng Xiong Ly is consumed by sadness.

It has been five years since the Appleton woman's husband,

Houa Ly, was waylaid on the banks of the Mekong River, the

border between Thailand and his home country of Laos.

No one has seen him or heard from him since. Deprive of her

husband, Neng Xiong Ly teeters on the edge of poverty. Asked

to describe life without her husband, she wept softly. ``I

must be the poorest American,'' she said in her native

language. Houa Ly (pronounced HOO-AH LEE) was 55 when he

vanished, a veteran of the U.S. ``secret war'' in Laos, a

Vietnam-era medic who saved the lives of American pilots shot

down in the jungle. His disappearance, still shrouded in

mystery, has re-emerged at the center of a political fight on

the floor of the U.S. Congress. With the support of President

Bush and the U.S. State Department, the communist government

of Laos is seeking the benefits of Normal Trade Relations

status. But a group of 21 congressmen and senators, led by

Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, so far has blocked those

benefits. Green argues that the country's leaders--who deny

any knowledge of Ly--have not come clean. Even now, Green

said, the last of the rebellious Hmong in the jungles of

northern Laos are being systemically starved, raped, tortured

and killed by Laotian forces and by divisions of Vietnamese

soldiers operating in Laos. ``It's brutal, it's repressive

and it's barbaric,'' Green said. ``It's hard for Americans to

fully comprehend the barbarity and the contempt for human

rights that exists in that area.'' Yer Ly of St. Paul, Minn.,

one of five daughters Houa Ly and Neng Xiong raised in the

Fox Valley, said she misses her father terribly. Her children

miss him. ``He is just the best,'' she said. ``There is no

word to say he is this or that. He is just the best.''

worlds apart

Neng Xiong Ly speaks little English. She works nights on a

production line for a local manufacturer. Her take-home pay

is about $1,000 a month. All but $100 of that is swallowed by

the mortgage on their home. ``Se is really struggling a

lot,'' said her daughter, Ge, who acted as a translator.

Before they were drawn into the war, Neng Xiong and Houa Ly

lived the traditional tribal life of the Hmong people,

hunting and gathering and practicing small-scale agriculture

in the high plains and mountain jungles of northern Laos.

``Before the war, it was regular days,'' Neng Xiong Ly

said. ``Farm, cook, feed the animals.'' That life was lost

when divisions of North Vietnamese soldiers poured across the

northern Lao border in the 1960s. The Hmong, led by the

charismatic and prescient Gen. Vang Pao, abandoned the high

plains of Xiang Khoang province and established positions in

the surrounding mountains where there were armed and funded

by the CIA. As a young man, Houa Ly served as a medic with

Pao's freedom fighters. Trained as commandos, they were

fabled for their bravery and resourcefulness, for their

intimate knowledge of the mountain jungles. When American

pilots were shot down, the Hmong would find and rescue them,

engage in firefights to protect them. Hunted by communist

forces, these warrior farmers could no longer think in terms

of ``home.'' ``Because of the war between America and

Vietnam, the Vietnamese were always killing everyone,'' Neng

Xiong Ly said. ``There was no safety for the children and the

women. They would have to move all the time.'' Houa Ly saved

the lives of three American pilots during the war and helped

dozens of others. His wife and two of his daughters said he

did not carry weapons. ``He was not a fighter, he was a

nurse,'' said his youngest daughter, Yer Ly, who lives in St.

Paul. Neng Xiong Ly cooked for soldiers and pilots at Long

Cheng, a CIA airbase in the mountains of Xiang Khoang

province. A photograph of the base hands in her living room.

The United States abandoned Laos, and its Hmong allies, in

1973. Two years later, the country fell to the communist

Pathet Lao, backed by the North Vietnamese Army. Thousands of

Hmong were killed. Others were imprisoned in forced labor

camps. Tens of thousands fled for Thailand. In October 1978,

Houa Ly crossed the Mekong with his wife and four daughters.

Yer Ly was born in Thailand. She was 8 months old when the

family immigrated to the United States. They settled in the

Fox Valley. ``We are the people who helped the Americans,''

Neng Xiong Ly said. ``That is why we had to move.''

a fateful trip

Houa Ly had traveled to Thailand once before, around 1987,

to visit a sister who would later immigrate to the Fox

Cities. His return trip in 1999 was a break from work as a

machine operator with Wisconsin Tissue Mills.

``He said it had been a long time,'' Neng Xiong said. ``He

said he needed a vacation.'' At 6:30 a.m. May 7, 1999, Neng

Xiong received a call from the U.S. embassy in Thailand. She

was told her husband had been killed near the Laos border.

``They just told me my husband went over the border to Laos

and that somebody had taken him,'' she said. She fainted. A

half-hour later, she called Yer Ly in St. Paul. She said she

had no reason to live. On her end, Yer Ly couldn't speak,

couldn't breathe. She fell to the floor, clutching the phone.

Various unconfirmed reports about what happened to Houa Ly

have emerged from congressional and private inquiries. He had

traveled to Thailand with a relative, Neng Lee. They met two

other Hmong-Americans, Michael and Hue Vang of California, on

the trip. The four were at a water festival in Chiang Kong,

Thailand, on the western bank of the Mekong. In Indochina,

the New Year is celebrated for a week in mid-April. In Chiang

Kong, the group was approached by a man who identified

himself as the police chief from Ban Houayxay in Laos, just

across the river. He said the police were allowing people

into the country without visas to celebrate the festival.

Neng Lee and Hue Vang walked away to shop in Chiang Khong.

When they returned, Ly and Michael Vang were gone. Witnesses

said they were seen being forced into a boat that sped across

the river into Laos.

An Associated Press story published in Asian Week in 2000

contained a similar version of the disappearance. A Hmong

investigator was told by sources that Ly and Michael Vang,

and two Hmong from Thailand, accepted the invitation to cross

the river. Once in Laos, they were arrested. The Thailand

Hmong escaped back across the river to tell the story.

Some news stories have referred to speculation that Ly and

Michael Vang were in Indochina to provide assistance to Hmong

rebels in northern Laos.

Green said he never has seen or heard any evidence to

support this.

Hmong veterans in the Fox Cities said this theory makes no

sense. While some Hmong send money to relatives in Laos,

there is nothing two men could do for bands of Hmong hunted

by divisions of troops deep in the interior.

We won't give up

Six months after word of Houa Ly's disappearance, Green

arranged a meeting in his office with Neng Xiong Ly, Yer Ly,

another of the sisters and three representatives from the

State Department. He also arranged a press conference for the

Ly family and for other families of people missing in Laos.

State Department officials have conducted two on-site

investigations in Laos, but were largely at the mercy of Laos

officials, who at first delayed the effort and then placed

restrictions on it. U.S. officials have learned nothing, said

Green and family members.

Five years ago, State Department officials said finding

Houa Ly and Michael Vang was a top priority.

Yer Ly no longer believes that. She fears that her father,

a man who risked his life to save Americans in the jungles of

Laos, will be forgotten.

Apart from Green, who has steadfastly pushed for a stronger

effort, no one from the government calls anymore. No one will

answer her questions.

``What I think is that he is an Asian-American citizen,''

she said, ``and so it is not a top priority for them.''

Green suspects Laotian officials were involved. At the very

least, he said, they impeded the investigation. Although the

State Department, pushing for Normal Trade Relations, now

gives Laos better marks, its staff was dissatisfied in

November 1999, reporting the Lao government ``has been slow

to respond to our requests for access to the area and has

tried to place restrictions on our investigators.''

That was when it mattered, Green said. That was before the

trail grew cold.

Still, Green said he would continue to press the U.S.

government, and the United Nations, to learn the fates of Ly

and Vang.

He, too, has suggested the United States would be putting

greater pressure on Laos if the missing citizens were native-

born Americans.

``This has been a great sadness for me,'' Green said. ``We

won't give up, as long as the families don't give up.''

Neng Xiong Ly said she was deeply grateful to Green and to

his chief of staff, Chris Tuttle.

``I want thank them from the bottom of my heart,'' she

said. ``They are the only two Americans who went out of their

way to help.''

Yer Ly thinks her father is still alive, locked away in a

prison camp. Her only evidence comes from her heart.

``I don't have anything to prove my father is alive,'' she

said. ``It is a gut feeling that I have, that my mother has,

that my whole family has.

``When someone you love . . . when they pass away . . . it

is a different feeling. We don't have that feeling.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from California for yielding me this time and for his leadership on this issue, and I thank my colleague from Indiana for offering this resolution of which I am a proud cosponsor.

Mr. Speaker, I hope the body tomorrow when it comes up for consideration will adopt this resolution. This is a very serious matter in regard to some of the practices and the abuses I feel that are currently taking place in Laos. The resolution is very simple, expressing the sense of the House regarding the urgent need for freedom and democratic reform and international monitoring of elections, human rights and religious liberty in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

The United States owes a debt of gratitude to the Hmong veterans and their families who served as loyal and dedicated allies during the so- called secret war in southeast Asia and the Vietnam conflict, a war that many Hmong members participated in on the side of U.S. soldiers in the jungles of southeast Asia. Between 20,000 and 30,000 Hmong lost their lives during this time and more than 100,000 Hmong were forced to either flee or live in refugee camps after the U.S. pullout in southeast Asia. Through their sacrifices, many American lives were saved, and our Nation must remain committed to recognizing their service.

Today, approximately 170,000 Hmong currently reside in the United States, including 35,000 in my home State of Wisconsin. Many of these Hmong Americans have family members still in Laos facing constant allegations of harassment, imprisonment, even kidnapping and killing of ethnic Hmong by Lao authorities. These have been brought to my attention, and these allegations have been raised in many different forums. Due to modern technology, many of these reports are coming out of Laos almost simultaneously when they are occurring through the advent of cell phones documenting the abuse and some of the atrocities being committed there.

I believe it is time for this Congress and the administration to support international observance teams to go into Laos to observe firsthand the conditions that are occurring there. We need the support from our administration and from the Congress, I think, to put pressure on the government there to accept these international teams of observers. The Lao Government has one of the most egregious human rights records in the world. The State Department's own country report on human rights practices in Laos makes clear the lack of respect for human rights demonstrated by the Lao Government.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, there are many Hmong families still in Wisconsin and throughout the country who are very concerned in regards to the conditions of their own families or relatives or friends who are still in Laos. They come to Washington from time to time. These are a proud people, many of whom have now achieved their U.S. citizenship. They are productive members of our society. Their children are in our schools, growing up to get an American education and be productive citizens in the country. But their ties back to Laos still remain very strong, and it runs very deep. I think this body, this United States Congress, owes it to them, our friends and allies and in many instances our neighbors and citizens in our own community, to take these allegations seriously, to increase the pressure on the Lao Government to allow inspections, to allow the investigation to go forward within that country so we can document and definitively determine what the situation is inside that border. I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution. I thank my colleagues for bringing it forward this evening.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 402) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the urgent need for freedom, democratic reform, and international monitoring of elections, human rights and religious liberty in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As the sponsor of H. Res. 402, this resolution which expresses the strong sense of the House in support of election monitors, human rights and religious liberty in Laos is a very important piece of legislation. Since the 1975 overthrow of the Lao monarchy, Laos has been a one- party, Communist state in which the Lao People's Revolutionary Party is the only party allowed by law; and the repression there, Mr. Speaker, is unbelievable.

Although the 1991 Lao Constitution claimed to guarantee a wide range of freedoms, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in 1999 were forcibly suppressed. Many of those demonstrators remain in prison. The government of Laos continues to restrict basic freedoms and has been credibly accused of using starvation against civilians and of continuing its persecution of the courageous Hmong ethnic minority.

I sincerely appreciate and support the Hmong people in their fight for freedom and democracy. They and the entire Laotian people deserve our complete support and assistance. We must address the current human rights situation while pressing for real progress in Laos.

H. Res. 402 urges the Lao Government and international bodies to work toward access for international election and human rights monitors, genuine multiparty democracy, and the halt of violence against the Hmong, also the release of political and religious prisoners and the promotion of religious freedom throughout Laos.

These are worthy goals. I urge the Communist government in Laos to change their attitude toward these people. I urge all of my colleagues here in this body to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to just say the previous speaker made some very valid points, and I appreciate his remarks. However, the human rights violations in Laos continues to be widespread. There is a lot of suspicion on the part of the Hmongs who are being talked about being relocated, and that suspicion, I think, looking at the history of the Laotian government, is valid. And all I can say in closing, Mr. Speaker, is that human rights are just that, rights, and the Laotian government, which is a communist government, ought to take a hard look at history and realize that communism cannot last as long as it represses its people. And they ought to realize that long-term freedom and democracy is the only way to go, and if they do that, then I think the people in Laos have a bright future. But if they continue under this despotic communist regime, then I think they are in for more problems down the road.

In any event, I appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and his support and those who speak before me.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.