He’s the talk of the nation.
U.S. Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao from the 2nd District of Louisiana, which includes New Orleans, broke rank with his fellow Republicans Saturday night and voted for a Democrat-backed national health care bill.
He was the only member of the GOP to do so.
The House bill still has to pass the Senate, but regardless, the freshman representative has made a name for himself. And with that name comes Goshen.
Three days before the fall of Saigon in 1975, his mom separated her eight children and sent 8-year-old Cao to Guam. His dad, a military officer, was imprisoned by the communists. From Guam, Cao and his uncle traveled to Fort Jeffrey, Ark., and waited for a sponsor.
Those sponsors were Harold and Thelma Schrock of Goshen.
Harold Schrock, now 94 and speaking from his home in Naples, Fla., said he and his late wife sponsored Cao, who they called “Ein,” and his uncle through a relief agency.
“We took care of them for several years,” Schrock said.
The refugees lived in Goshen and the Schrocks provided the uncle with work and money to support “Ein,” who attended Goshen schools.
“He was quite a nice boy,” Schrock said, “very dependable.”
Schrock is the owner of Smokercraft and Starcraft in New Paris.
To see what Cao has achieved makes Schrock proud of his sponsorship.
Schrock described the young Cao as a conscientious boy and a good worker.
“I would have hired him any time,” he said.
Four years later, Cao’s uncle married and the two moved to Mississippi. The Schrocks went to the wedding and Schrock said he still communicates with Cao’s uncle, who lives in Texas.
Not forgotten
Schrock was surprised by Cao’s sudden rise to political fame.
“I kind of lost track of him,” Schrock said. “Last I heard he was at a Catholic university, then he was a lawyer and then I heard he was in Congress.”
But Cao never forgot the Schrocks’ kindness and called Schrock after he was elected in 2008 and sent him tickets for the inauguration.
“I told him I was 94,” Schrock said, “and a little too old to go to the inauguration.”
As for the vote on health care?
“I think he waited to make sure the bill was going to pass before he voted,” Schrock said. “I can understand (why he voted for it). He’s a conscientious young man. He should carry on his Catholic faith. I think he’s a good fellow.”
The News contacted Cao’s office Monday and left a message. An office worker in the New Orleans’ office said the phones have been swamped with calls since the vote.
Learned English in Goshen
In a Jan. 11 interview with C-Span’s interview series “Q&A;,” Cao told host Brian Lamb about his move and life in Goshen:
“We were eventually sponsored by a Lutheran family, the Schrock family in Goshen, Indiana, a quite wealthy family,” Cao said. “… We stayed — we lived in Goshen for about four years.
“They — the school system there — decided to put me back into the first grade to learn the basics of the English language. So I started to learn when I was 8 years old.”
Cao went on to Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and earned a bachelor of science degree in 1990; Fordham University in New York City, earning a master’s degree in 1995 in philosophical resources; and Loyola University in New Orleans, earning a law degree in 2000.
He also spent six years in the Society of Jesus studying to become a Jesuit priest, but left because of his interest in politics and to have a family. According to interviews he has given, Cao remains a devoted Roman Catholic.
In 2008, he was elected to represent the 2nd District of Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cao is married to Hieu “Kate” Hoang and they have two daughters, Sophia and Betsy.
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