BILL NUMBER: SJR 5CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 94 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 6, 2015 ADOPTED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2015 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 25, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 25, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 29, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 19, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Senator Nguyen (Coauthors: Senators Hertzberg, Huff, and Runner) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Chvez, Chu, Kim, McCarty, Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernndez, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood) MARCH 10, 2015 Relative to humanitarian resettlement. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 5, Nguyen. Vietnam: humanitarian resettlement. This measure would urge Congress and the President of the United States to expand the Humanitarian Resettlement Program to allow disabled veteran officers of the South Vietnamese Army currently living in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to enter the United States. WHEREAS, The Vietnamese-American community plays an important role in the social, cultural, and economic landscape of the State of California and the United States; and WHEREAS, The United States government and the American people have a commitment to assisting individuals that fought as allies in the Vietnam War and continue to face persecution and threats from the Communist government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and WHEREAS, The veterans of the South Vietnamese Army, also known as the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Ha, showed their commitment to the United States by fighting alongside the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War; and WHEREAS, The Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the Orderly Departure Program have allowed for the resettlement to the United States of former reeducation center detainees, former Vietnamese employees of the United States government, and former Vietnamese employees of private American companies and organizations prior to April 30, 1975, and from 1997 to 2009, inclusive, sons and daughters of former Vietnamese were included in what became known as the McCain Amendment; and WHEREAS, Disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army, also known as the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Ha, have suffered a lifetime of great challenges and discrimination. Yet, some disabled veterans were excluded from the Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the Orderly Departure Program because they were not detained in reeducation camps for the requisite number of years due to their physical disabilities; and WHEREAS, April 30, 2015, marks the 40th year since the Fall of Saigon; and WHEREAS, Promoting the Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the Orderly Departure Program to include disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army, also known as the Qu[n L?c Vi?t Nam C?ng Ha, and their sons and daughters, would rightfully bring these veterans and their families into programs that, by their terms, excluded some disabled veterans; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully urges the President and the Vice President of the United States and the United States Congress to reauthorize the Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the Orderly Departure Program to allow disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army and their families currently living in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to apply to enter the United States; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United States, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.