Introduced By: Representatives Slater, Giannini, Russo, Fox and Carpenter
Date Introduced : February 26, 1998
WHEREAS, Many Hmong-Lao units fought for and with the United States armed forces during the Vietnam War, and more than 35,000 of them were killed, along with countless numbers who were wounded while fighting with their American allies; and
WHEREAS, They were told by representatives of our government that the United States would not abandon them if the United States left Southeast Asia; and
WHEREAS, Many fled their own countries after the war to avoid persecution, imprisonment, or death for their loyalty to America and the armed forces of our nation; and
WHEREAS, Many of the Hmong-Lao soldiers and their families have been accepted into our country as legal immigrants; and
WHEREAS, While fighting for the United States, many of these veterans, as young soldiers, had little or no time for education in their homeland, and therefore had great difficulty learning American customs and the level of English needed to qualify for United States citizenship; and
WHEREAS, These legal immigrants are now in danger of losing supplemental security income, food stamps, and all federal means-tested benefits; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations respectfully memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States to recognize the sacrifices and services rendered to our country by the Hmong-Lao veterans who served in the special guerrilla units that were allied with, and operating in support of, the military forces of the United States during the Vietnam War by granting those veterans and their families full United States citizenship; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to each Senator and Representative from Rhode Island in the Congress of the United States, to the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, to the Minority Leader of the United States Senate, to the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and to the ranking Minority member of the Joint Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
