This is the first in an irregular series of posts on truly interesting parts of the Federal government that you've probably never heard of.
In April 1997, CNN reported this story:
What the story did not address was what the US intended to do with the money. I realize that across the span of the Federal budget that $146 million amortized over 21 years is not even chump change, but still....
What our government did with the money is create a new government program called the Vietnam Education Foundation, which--according to its web site--does the following:
Actually, there's not much exchange involved. VEF uses $5-7 million per year to underwrite the tuition and expenses of Vietnamese graduate students (primarily PhD students) to come to the top level of American universities to pursue careers in science and technology. We don't actually send any students to universities in Vietnam because, well, who'd really want to go?
So let's get this straight: we poured millions of dollars into the ill-fated Republic of Vietnam, which the current rulers in Ho Chi Minh City have agreed to pay back. We then take the money to provide academic free rides for Vietnamese grad students at upscale US universities--all in the name of improving US-Vietnam relations, of course.
I suppose on one level I should be happy that taxpayer dollars are not currently funding the VEF (even though, if you think about it really carefully, they are).
But where I get stuck is wondering why we don't take money that is intended to repay debts owed to the US and--oh, I don't know--actually assign that money to debt reduction?
That's right. We can't do that because if we did Vietnam wouldn't pay us back what we're owed.
I'm sure somebody somewhere (like Secretary of State Condi Rice, who sits atop the VEF Board of Directors) will be able to explain it to me.
In April 1997, CNN reported this story:
U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin signed a pact with the Vietnamese government on Monday that requires the communist country to repay the $146 million wartime debt of its defeated foe, South Vietnam. But he said it would take time for the former enemies to forge closer economic ties.
Most of the overdue loans date to the late 1960s, when Washington was channeling hundreds of millions of dollars into South Vietnam to try to prop up its besieged government. The repayment will take place over 21 years.
The agreement follows months of negotiations on the amount of overdue debt incurred by the former South Vietnamese government that Hanoi was to absorb.
In 1993, Vietnam agreed in principle to accept the debt from the South Vietnam regime as part of a larger agreement that helped clear the way for renewed international borrowing by Hanoi. That borrowing previously had been blocked by Washington.
The United States is the last of the creditor nations to reach a debt accord with Vietnam.
What the story did not address was what the US intended to do with the money. I realize that across the span of the Federal budget that $146 million amortized over 21 years is not even chump change, but still....
What our government did with the money is create a new government program called the Vietnam Education Foundation, which--according to its web site--does the following:
The Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) is an independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress and funded annually by the U.S. Government. Its mission is to strengthen the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship through educational exchanges in science and technology.
Actually, there's not much exchange involved. VEF uses $5-7 million per year to underwrite the tuition and expenses of Vietnamese graduate students (primarily PhD students) to come to the top level of American universities to pursue careers in science and technology. We don't actually send any students to universities in Vietnam because, well, who'd really want to go?
So let's get this straight: we poured millions of dollars into the ill-fated Republic of Vietnam, which the current rulers in Ho Chi Minh City have agreed to pay back. We then take the money to provide academic free rides for Vietnamese grad students at upscale US universities--all in the name of improving US-Vietnam relations, of course.
I suppose on one level I should be happy that taxpayer dollars are not currently funding the VEF (even though, if you think about it really carefully, they are).
But where I get stuck is wondering why we don't take money that is intended to repay debts owed to the US and--oh, I don't know--actually assign that money to debt reduction?
That's right. We can't do that because if we did Vietnam wouldn't pay us back what we're owed.
I'm sure somebody somewhere (like Secretary of State Condi Rice, who sits atop the VEF Board of Directors) will be able to explain it to me.
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