Alaska committee backs resolution urging Congress to award Hmong Veterans Congressional Gold Medal

Representative Ayesha, chair of the House Special Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, called the committee to consider House Joint Resolution 8 on March 4, 2025 in Capitol Room 124 and the committee adopted a committee substitute and voted to report the resolution out of committee with individual recommendations and a zero fiscal note.

The resolution urges the United States Congress to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Hmong veterans who fought alongside U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. Representative David Nelson, the bill sponsor, told the committee that “as many as a hundred thousand Hmong fighters trained as guerrilla units played a crucial role in intercepting enemy forces and disrupting the flow of troops and supplies along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.” He added that “Hmong soldiers suffered casualties at 10 times the rate of US Soldiers,” and said “more than 50,000 Hmong veterans reside in the United States today” and that “Alaska actually has the third highest population of Hmong in the United States.”

Nelson framed the measure as recognition of service that has been “largely unrecognized” because U.S. involvement in Laos was covert. He told the committee the Congressional Gold Medal is “the highest civilian honor awarded by Congress” and urged committee members to support HJR 8. Nelson placed the committee substitute before the record as work draft 34-LS0482.

Committee members voiced support and offered remarks about the Hmong community’s wartime role. Representative Sadler said the Hmong “were steadfast friends in a hostile environment” and described their local knowledge and actions in frontline roles. Representative Gray thanked Nelson for sponsoring the resolution.

The panel heard invited testimony online from members of the Hmong community and Vietnam-era veterans. Maye Young provided testimony in support of the resolution. Former Representative Laddie Shaw, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and Vietnam veteran, told the committee the Hmong “were our lifeline in Vietnam” and described their sacrifices and frontline roles. Committee members asked questions of invited witnesses; no public testimony was offered from attendees in the room.

After discussion and receiving invited testimony, the committee formally adopted the committee substitute for HJR 8 and then moved to report the substitute out of committee with individual recommendations and a zero fiscal note. The committee recorded no objections during the adoption and reporting motions. The chair asked members to remain briefly to sign the resolution; the meeting adjourned at 11:16 a.m.