[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14098-14099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             HMONG VETERANS

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, today I will introduce legislation that 
will provide for burial benefits in national cemeteries to Hmong 
veterans who served in support of U.S. forces in Vietnam.
  Given the service to our Nation, I believe this is an appropriate 
honor. During the Vietnam War, officers from the CIA Special Activities 
Division trained and led Hmong men in Laos and in Vietnam for special 
combat activities. These forces numbered in the tens of thousands and 
conducted missions against communist forces and the North Vietnamese, 
fighting shoulder to shoulder with U.S. soldiers.
  Since the end of the conflict in Vietnam, thousands of Hmong families

[[Page 14099]]

have resettled around the United States today and as a result of a law 
signed by President Ford are now United States citizens. Only a few 
thousand of these original veterans remain alive today.
  As was done with the Philippine Armed Forces who served in support of 
U.S. in World War II, we should recognize that precedent by offering 
internment privileges to national cemeteries after verification and 
documentation is completed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  I urge you to support this legislation.

                          ____________________