Bill granting benefits to Hmong, Lao veterans passes Minnesota Senate

NINA MOINI: The Minnesota Senate has passed a bill providing some benefits to Hmong and Lao veterans who helped the US military during the Vietnam War. In the 1960s and early '70s, the CIA recruited tens of thousands of Hmong people in an operation known as the Secret War. Many of those recruits lost their lives. Many others fled their home country when the war ended some 50 years ago, eventually moving to states like Minnesota.

The legislation would need to be passed by the Minnesota House to become law. DFL Senator Susan Pha, one of the authors of the bill, joins me now. Thank you very much for being with us, Senator.

SUSAN PHA: Thank you for having me, Nina.

NINA MOINI: In this reporting that Sahan Journal first brought to light over this bill, you shared about your own family's connection to this effort. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that?

SUSAN PHA: Yes, so my father was also one of those young soldiers. He was probably no more than in his early 20s when he was recruited as a soldier. And he died when I was two years old. So my mom, who was a widow, was pregnant eight months with my younger sister; me, a two-year-old, my brother a three-year-old.

And she was widowed, and she had to bring us through the forest, into the jungles, through the Mekong River, all the way to the Thailand refugee camps all by herself.

NINA MOINI: Wow. Wow. And so how does that connect for you to supporting this bill?

SUSAN PHA: Today, most of our veterans are in their 70s and 80s. They once stood shoulder to shoulder with our American forces. But they still to this day have not gotten their rightful recognition and the veteran benefits that they so long had asked for. It really is that recognition. They want to be able to in their old age go to the grave with the dignity that they've always asked for and that they deserve.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and to your point, many of these folks are a lot older now. So it's about just being seen and recognized. But what are some of the specific things that you do want to include to see that recognition happens?

SUSAN PHA: So, in this particular bill, it was really hard to give them the full, entire veterans benefits. In negotiation, we were able to give them some veterans benefits, but at a much lower cost to the state. And so some of those would be a veterans designation on driver's license, access to our state veterans cemeteries. And so that, to them, is really the recognition that they needed, among other benefits, that really did not cost the state very much.

NINA MOINI: And how would the state determine exactly who is eligible? Is there a database?

SUSAN PHA: So, one way is to give the individuals who already are naturalized under the federal Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act of 2000. That was something that was done at the federal level that would automatically qualify them. And then the other is to be verified by the Minnesota Commissioner of Veterans Affairs.

There is going to be some verification criteria, so will be established by task force. And those task force would be people that are veterans, historians. The Department of Veterans Affairs will be a part of it. They'll come up with some criteria in which they can verify that these individuals qualify.

NINA MOINI: So, when this bill passed in the Senate, what was that moment like? Were there observers there? What was that like for you?

SUSAN PHA: So this is a long-awaited moment, not just for our veterans, but truly for all the children of those veterans. And I'm one, but many of us. We did have all of our veterans that were able to attend. There was at least 50 of them here.

They were sitting at the edge of their seat up in the chamber gallery, just waiting for this moment. And I was just talking to one of the veterans, actually, and he said to me, I can't believe this is going to be the moment. It's going to pass. I can't believe it. I don't know if it will.

It was still tension all the way till the votes came in. But they were so excited and happy to finally be recognized. And so it was such a wonderful moment.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, I can imagine. And then perhaps for their family members and younger generations as well-- I mean, it's been 50 years, of course, since the end of the Vietnam War. And actually, next Wednesday, April 30, is 50 years since the fall of Saigon. Are there other efforts to just recognize the experiences of Minnesotans who fought in these wars that you know of?

SUSAN PHA: Yes. So we were able to appropriate $400,000 last year to the Minnesota Historical Society to celebrate 50 years of Southeast Asians here in Minnesota. And some of that funding is going to be going to our SGU veterans. And so they will be able to commemorate 50 years here, but specifically from the lens of veterans and their families and their experience.

And so that would be very, very important. So many people have reached out to me about this bill, sending me photos of their dad, who was a veteran, but he passed away before this bill was even introduced and said, my dad would have been so happy, but he's no longer here. But I'm so glad that the veterans that still are with us will be able to get this recognition.

NINA MOINI: And, Senator, obviously, the bill still has a ways to go because it also would have to make it through the House, now that it's been passed by the state Senate. Are you hopeful for that? You mentioned earlier that some of the monetary things that you wanted in there just were not able to get in there. Do you feel that this is watered down at this point? Or are you happy with it? And then do you think that it would pass in the House as well?

SUSAN PHA: I would have loved to have been able to give them the full benefits that they rightfully deserve. But there's always compromises. And honestly, our veterans were the first one to say, it's OK. You would think that they'd be the ones to say no. But they were the first ones to say, it's OK. We have to compromise. We really just want the recognition. We want some basic benefits that honor us.

And so we're OK with that compromise. But it is true that we do still have a long ways to go. We still have to get it passed through the House. We still have to go to conference committee and agree to keep this bill in. And then we have to vote for it at the end. So this is only the first victory in a number of more steps to go before we finally can celebrate.

NINA MOINI: How do you feel representation is among Southeast Asian folks just at the legislature? It's probably grown over the years and as communities have grown and new generations. Do you feel like there's good representation there outside of, of course, yourself?

SUSAN PHA: I wish there was even more diverse representation here. But I am so incredibly blessed to be able to serve here in the legislature and with nine other AAPI legislators as well. We're actually probably the second largest AAPI legislators number in any state here in the US, only second to Hawaii.

NINA MOINI: Hmm, wow.

SUSAN PHA: And so it's such a privilege. But at the same time, it also shows the strength and power that we have here in our AAPI community to be able to uplift our voices and make sure that we have people that look like us, that share some similar experiences as us at the state.

NINA MOINI: Thank you so much for coming by, Senator. Really appreciate your time in sharing all of that with us. It means a lot.

SUSAN PHA: Thank you so much. It was so wonderful to be here.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. That's DFL State Senator Susan Pha, who represents Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, and Osseo. You can find a link to the Sahan Journal story at mprnews.org.