Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam needs to do more to resolve claims for confiscated real and personal property, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I rise to support the effort, the legislation and the work of Congresswoman Sanchez, who has worked on these issues for a very long time. I also thank the ranking member Mr. Lantos and the manager Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for their leadership on these issues.

It is interesting that now, with most of the world's leaders at the United Nations, you would almost hope that they would accomplish something. Certainly that would mean to many of the nations that would be appearing there

that they would address some of the questions that have oppressed their citizens for years.

After the Vietnam War, we remain with a divided Vietnam, the North and South Vietnam; but over the years, this Congress and these administrations have moved more closely to try to develop alliances with the United States and North and South Vietnam, under the argument that engagement is responsible and it helps to promote democracy.

I would say that many of the Vietnamese in the Vietnamese community of the United States know that that is still a difficult road. Many are still fighting for family reunification, for the right to visit their families, or the right for their families to be reunited with them. Even though we move closer and closer to trade relationships, we still have harsh conditions in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and that has to do with the ongoing fight for confiscated and personal property that has not been returned.

Unfortunately, as the one-party system was established under the Vietnamese Communist Party, uncompensated confiscation of real and personal property from Vietnamese citizens was widespread and there was no solution. Unfortunately, under this government the confiscation of land as a tool of repression against certain ethnic minorities continued, and it continues even today. Article 23 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam provides that the lawful property of individuals and organizations shall not be nationalized.

So I rise today to ask that more attention be given to the providing of this property back to the rightful owners and that the government is asked by the world community to establish a private land use right for some of its citizens and also to establish a way to return this property. We, likewise, believe that this government should remove itself from engaging in repressive procedures that do not allow the right of private property ownership to exist in North Vietnam. We believe it is very important for tools to be put in place so that the rights of the people can be restored.

I hope in this time that the United Nations is gathered that issues dealing with individual rights of citizens and countries that are still repressive become high on their agenda. We need to discuss Sudan. We need to discuss the rights of the people in Iran, and, certainly, Vietnam is one in particular.

So I join in support of H. Res. 415 and ask this Congress to support a strong statement being made to North Vietnam about the rights of its people and the right for the return of private and personal property. This is a time that the statement should be made, but more importantly, this is a time for action.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 415) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam needs to do more to resolve claims for confiscated real and personal property, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

House Resolution 415 expresses the sense of the House that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam needs to do more to resolve claims for confiscated real and personal property. This resolution notes the widespread confiscation of real and personal property that occurred during the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as a one- party state ruled by the Vietnamese Communist Party.

Many individuals and entities, including the Catholic Church and the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam, still have not been adequately compensated for those extensive takings.

Unfortunately, property confiscation is not just a thing of the past. Earlier this year, the State Department noted reports that Vietnamese officials had forced some ethnic minority Protestants to leave their homes without adequate compensation, and that land was seized from other minorities and given to state-owned coffee and rubber plantations. These events underscore the continuing need for equitable restitution and better protection of property rights in Vietnam.

House Resolution 415 urges the Vietnamese Government to investigate confiscation complaints and to provide restitution. It also expresses the sense of the House that our President should consider land rights issues in determining whether Vietnam is a country of particular concern for religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act, and should include reporting on land rights and restitution issues in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

We appreciate the efforts of this resolution's lead sponsors, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), and we thank Chairman Hyde and the Committee on International Relations for moving this resolution forward.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

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

Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Lantos for yielding me this time.

I would also like to thank my original cosponsor, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), and Chairman Hyde, and all of the members of the Committee on International Relations who thought this was an important resolution and who helped me bring it to the floor.

I introduced H. Res. 415 in June 2005 because we began to see a very big pattern of confiscation of land. Now, this had been happening in Vietnam since the fall of Saigon back in 1975 by the Socialist government. But we have seen it happen even more, and particularly to religious institutions and to minorities, including the Montagnards who live up in the highlands.

It is a growing concern, and illegal seizures of personal property from Vietnamese citizens and private organizations just shouldn't be happening. Even though Article 23 of the Vietnamese Constitution prohibits seizure of property without compensation, this has not been enforced.

We must support the people within Vietnam who continue to fight for the right to keep their land. Believe me, they do. They have been demonstrating now for almost 6 months in front of the government buildings in Hanoi asking for land reform, asking to get their lands back. We need to make sure if their lands are taken and they are not gotten back, they should at least be compensated correctly for having them taken from them.

The government claims it is working to improve its human rights record. Well, this Congress can send a clear message that we are looking at what they are doing, and in order to show progress in the area of human rights, we are going to evaluate it step by step, and the first part is to end property seizures and to fairly compensate the citizens and organizations whose land has been unfairly taken.

Congress must be clear with the Government of Vietnam that promises alone are not satisfactory, and that implementation and enforcement are the real measures of this progress. As the President prepares to go to Vietnam, and as Vietnam is looking at entrance into WTO, and as we are looking at normal trade relations with Vietnam, I think it is incredibly important for this Congress to remember how important human rights are here in the United States and for every citizen of the world.

I urge my colleagues to support the people of Vietnam and to send a clear message to the Government of Vietnam by voting for this resolution today.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in strong support of this resolution.

I first want to commend my good friend and fellow Californian Ms. Loretta Sanchez for introducing this resolution. Her leadership in Congress on matters related to Vietnam is deeply appreciated.

Since the fall of Saigon more than three decades ago, the Vietnamese Government has confiscated private property of thousands of Vietnamese families. Some of these Vietnamese have fled abroad, while others have continued to live under the repression of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

Sadly, the confiscation of private property by the Vietnamese Government is not a matter of ancient history. Many Vietnamese today complain that local authorities are confiscating their lands without compensation and due process, and that these confiscations are being carried out in a singularly discriminatory fashion.

The Montagnards in Vietnam's Central Highlands, many of whom are Christians, have been particularly subjected to land confiscations. Many Christian Montagnards have lost access to their ancestral lands, and they have been severely marginalized in an economic sense. In some cases, confiscated Montagnard land has been turned over to Vietnamese from lowland areas.

Madam Speaker, the Vietnamese Government has recently made efforts to improve its land reform policies. It is imperative that the government uses this process to end discriminatory land seizures and to ensure that everyone receives adequate compensation for their property.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the author of this important resolution, my good friend from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).

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