Bill Text: OR SB74 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

Oregon Senate Bill 74 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Relating to Vietnam veterans.

Sponsorship: Unknown

Status: (Passed) 2011-03-30 - Effective date, January 1, 2012. [SB74 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2011-SB74-Introduced.html



     76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 696

                         Senate Bill 74

Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the
  President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing
  rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part
  of the President (at the request of Governor John A. Kitzhaber
  for Department of Veterans' Affairs)

                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Designates March 30 of every year as Welcome Home Vietnam
Veterans Day.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to Vietnam veterans.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + The Legislative Assembly finds:
  (1) In 2009, the United States Congress, by separate Senate and
House Resolutions, declared that a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans
Day should be established.
  (2) The Vietnam War was fought in Vietnam from 1961 to 1975,
and involved North Vietnam and the Vietcong in conflict with the
United States and South Vietnam.
  (3) The United States became involved in Vietnam because
policymakers in the United States believed that if South Vietnam
fell to a communist government, communism would spread throughout
the rest of southeast Asia.
  (4) Members of the United States Armed Forces began serving in
an advisory role to the South Vietnamese in 1961.
  (5) As a result of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents on August 2 and
August 4, 1964, the United States overwhelmingly passed the Gulf
of Tonkin Resolution (P.L. 88-408), on August 7, 1964, which
effectively handed over the war-making powers to President Lyndon
Johnson until such time as 'peace and security' had returned to
Vietnam.
  (6) In 1965, there were 80,000 United States troops in Vietnam
and, by 1969, a peak of approximately 543,000 troops was reached.
  (7) On January 27, 1973, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which
required the release of all United States prisoners of war held
in North Vietnam and the withdrawal of all United States Armed
Forces.
  (8) On March 30, 1973, the United States Armed Forces completed
the withdrawal of combat troops.
  (9) More than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces
lost their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000 were wounded.
  (10) In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in
the District of Columbia to commemorate those members of the
United States Armed Forces who died or were declared missing in
action in Vietnam.
  (11) The Vietnam War was an extremely divisive issue among the
people of the United States.
  (12) Upon their return home, members of the United States Armed
Forces who served bravely and faithfully for the United States
during the Vietnam War were caught in the crossfire of public
debate about the involvement of the United States in the war.
  (13) The establishment of a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day
is an appropriate way to honor those members of the United States
Armed Forces who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + March 30 of every year is designated as Welcome
Home Vietnam Veterans Day to honor veterans of the Vietnam
War. + }
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