US House freezes aid to Vietnam over HR record

By a vote of 323-45, the chamber passed the Viet Nam Human Rights Act that bars the government from increasing non-humanitarian assistance to the southeast Asian nation over this year's level of about 40 million dollars, unless the president certifies that Hanoi is releasing political prisoners and is taking steps to improve its overall human rights record.

It also authorizes the White House to spend four million dollars in fiscal 2004 and 2005 to provide support for Vietnamese dissidents and groups that "promote internationally recognized human rights."

More than 10 million dollars are being offered over the same period of time to overcome Vietnamese jamming of Radio Free Asia, a surrogate US Congress-financed radio station that beams US programming to the region.