Wisconsin Congressman Mark Green took issue with the Lao government's rejection of the 2003 U.S. State Department human rights report and questioned Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, Lorne Crane, about it. The report says Laos' records on human rights remain poor and its communist government continues to commit serious abuses.
Assistant Secretary of State Crane says the U.S. ambassador to Laos addresses the human rights issue with the Lao government day by day, and the administration has proposed that Congress extend normal trade relations to Laos as an incentive for Laos to improve in the area of human rights.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum of Minnesota expresses support for extending NTR status to Laos but says the Lao government must improve its human rights records, and that the insurgents in Laos must stop their indiscriminate attacks on civilians.