; Whereas Cambodians assisted United States forces during American operations in Cambodia, including Operation Menu; Whereas the United States dropped 540,000 tons of bombs into Cambodia between 1969 and 1973 against Viet Cong forces located in Cambodia, destabilizing a fragile government, resulting in the rise of the Khmer Rouge, and leading to the genocide of an estimated 2,000,000 Cambodians; Whereas the United States dispersed over 13,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam, 475,000 gallons in Laos, and 40,900 in Cambodia during this era, with many Southeast Asians still impacted by the effects of this toxin; Whereas over 3,000,000 individuals were displaced by war, conflict, and genocide from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; Whereas between 1975 to the mid-2000s, the United States accepted over 1,200,000 Southeast Asians escaping the Vietnam war, persecution in Laos, and Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia; Whereas the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees in the United States typically placed many individuals and families in communities with inadequate financial, long-term resettlement support and many of these individuals and their children languished in severe poverty; Whereas many Southeast Asian refugees have thrived and contributed greatly to the economic, educational, military, political, and social culture of the United States since their resettlement; Whereas despite the success of many Southeast Asian Americans, many still face economic, educational, and linguistic barriers in the United States, in particular, a significant percentage of Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian Americans endure severe poverty, lack of English proficiency, educational barriers, and unique health disparities as survivors of war and genocide; Whereas the War on Poverty, including the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, decreased resources for low-income, refugee, and immigrant communities to transform from generational poverty