Laos, Hmong Veterans National Conference to Be Held in Minnesota's Twin Cities

WASHINGTON - July 11, 2019 - PRLog -- Press Advisory – St. Paul, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fresno, California, and Washington, D.C.

Lao Hmong Veterans National Conference

A press conference will be held to kick-off and discuss the 4th annual Lao Hmong Veterans National Conference being held on Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13, 2019, in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Lao Family Community of Minnesota, Inc. The event will bring together Lao- and Hmong-American veterans leaders and their refugee families from across the United States, including speakers and delegations from Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, Florida, Alaska and other states. The major focus of the conference is the implementation and potential legislative expansion of the Lao "Hmong Veterans Service Recognition Act" which allows Lao- and Hmong-American veterans who served in the U.S. Secret Army in Laos during the Vietnam War, and their spouses, to be buried or cremated at US national veterans cemeteries administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Trump in 2018 and is now being implement by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A potential new bill, and legislative efforts, recently undertaken in the U.S. Senate and Congress further expanding veterans' burial honors benefits eligibility in the Hmong and Lao veterans, and widows, community will also be discussed.

"This Friday and Saturday, Lao and Hmong veterans leaders from across the United States are slated to travel to the Twin Cities in Minnesota to discuss important issues that impact our community and families, especially the current implementation and developments regarding the newly passed Lao 'Hmong Veteran' Service Recognition Act'," said Pang Mang Thao, President of the Minnesota Lao Veterans of America.  "We traveled to Washington, D.C., the U.S. Congress, and Arlington National Cemetery many times in recent years to honor our Lao and Hmong veterans who served in combat with U.S. military and clandestine forces defending the Royal Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War and now we are organizing a national conference once again in Minnesota to discuss these important and critical issues."

Date and Time: 11:00 AM- 12:00 PM, Friday, July 12, 2019

Location: Lao Family Community of Minnesota, 320 University Ave, West, St. Paul, MN 55103

Speakers and Participants: Mr. Pang Mang Thao, President, Minnesota Lao Veterans of America; Philip Smith, Washington, D.C. Director, Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) and Washington Director, Lao Veterans of America; Chager Xiong, Hmong veteran, and Vice President, Minnesota Lao Veterans of America; Major Cheurchai Vang, National President, Lao Veterans of America, California; Mr. Tong Vue, Hmong veteran and President, Lao Veterans of America, Arkansas; Toua Kue, Hmong veterans leader, Rhode Island, and Vice President, Rhode Island, Lao Veterans of America; and, others.

The events and Lao Hmong Veterans National Conference on July 12-13, 2019, are being sponsored and hosted by the Minnesota Lao Veterans of America, Inc., the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) of Washington, D.C., and the Lao Family Community of Minnesota, Inc.

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http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
http://www.cppa-dc.org