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Senate committee votes 8‑4 to recommend recognizing Hmong Special Guerrilla Unit veterans as U.S. veterans
Summary
The State and Local Government Committee recommended passage of a bill to recognize the Hmong Special Guerrilla Unit (SGU) veterans for their service in the secret war in Laos and referred the measure to the Finance Committee after a roll‑call vote of 8‑4.
The Senate committee on State and Local Government on April 8 voted 8‑4 to recommend passage of Senate file 568, a bill that would recognize Special Guerrilla Unit (SGU) veterans who fought with U.S. forces in the secret war in Laos as veterans under state law.
Senator Herr, the bill's sponsor, told the committee the Hmong SGU were recruited to assist the United States in Laos during the Vietnam War era and that surviving veterans are now elderly and few in number in Minnesota. "Let's give them full recognition by passing this legislation," Herr said during opening remarks.
John B. Yang, executive director of the Minnesota AAPI Veterans Association, testified in support, describing ongoing disability and mental‑health impacts among former SGU fighters and urging the committee to recognize their service as a matter of "dignity, compassion, and humanity." Av Vang, a former lieutenant who identified himself as an SGU veteran and an organization founder, also gave testimony describing unit organization, collaboration with CIA case officers, and persecution after the war.
Committee members engaged in extended discussion. Senator Lang acknowledged the veterans' service but said he would vote against the measure because of concerns about how state "veteran status" should be defined and distinguished from formal U.S. military service. Several members, including Senator Johnson Stewart and Senator McQuade, spoke in favor of recognition and thanked veterans present in the hearing room.
Senator May Quaid moved that Senate file 568 be recommended to pass and referred to the Finance Committee. A roll call was requested and conducted. The clerk read votes; the committee reported "8 ayes and 4 nos," and the chair announced the motion prevailed and the file was recommended to pass and referred to Finance.
During questioning, Senator Johnson Stewart asked whether the bill applies only to citizens; a sponsor's response in the hearing indicated the sponsor intended the recognition to apply to those who are citizens. The committee did not adopt an amendment during the April 8 hearing.
