IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 963 

Congratulating and thanking Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta 

for his 40 years of dedicated service to the people of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2006 

Mrs. TAUSCHER (for herself, Mr. HONDA, Mr. OBERSTAR, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. 

DREIER, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. LANTOS, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. FARR, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. WATSON, Mr. COSTA, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, 

Mr. BERMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. LEWIS of California, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, 

Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CALVERT, Ms. LEE, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

HOLDEN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. BISHOP of 

New York, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. COBLE, 

Mr. MATHESON, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. BOUSTANY, Ms. 

SOLIS, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. PORTER, Mr. 

WAXMAN, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. CARNAHAN, 

Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. CAMPBELL of California, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. ISSA, Mr. HERGER, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. BACA, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. GALLEGLY, 

Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. STARK, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. 

FILNER, Ms. WATERS, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, and Mr. 

PETRI) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on House Administration 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating and thanking Secretary of Transportation 

Norman Y. Mineta for his 40 years of dedicated service 

to the people of the United States. 


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•HRES 963 IH 

Whereas on July 7, 2006, Secretary Mineta completed his 

service as Secretary of Transportation as the longest 

serving Secretary of Transportation in the Department of 

Transportation’s 40-year history; 

Whereas Secretary Mineta’s life has been the story of a man 

who never shied away from a challenge and who broke 

numerous barriers along the way; 

Whereas throughout his career, Secretary Mineta has championed the goal of equal rights and equal opportunity for 

all Americans; 

Whereas Secretary Mineta’s legacy of public service began 

when he enlisted in the United States Army in 1953 and 

served honorably until 1956 in defense of our Nation; 

Whereas Secretary Mineta served on the city council of the 

city of San Jose from 1967 to 1971 and later served as 

the mayor of the city of San Jose, making him the first 

Asian American mayor of a major American city; 

Whereas Secretary Mineta was elected a Member of Congress 

in 1974 and served in that capacity until 1995, during 

which time he served as chairman of the Committee on 

Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives and chairman of the Committee’s Aviation, 

Public Buildings, and Surface Transportation Subcommittees; 

Whereas during his time in Congress, Secretary Mineta 

championed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which offered 

an official apology to the 120,000 Americans of Japanese 

ancestry who, as he did, suffered internment and evacuation by the United States Government during World 

War II; 


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•HRES 963 IH 

Whereas during Secretary Mineta’s career on the Committee 

on Public Works and Transportation, he championed increases in investment for transportation infrastructure 

and was a key author of the landmark Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991; 

Whereas the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency 

Act of 1991 encouraged States, metropolitan planning 

agencies, and public transit agencies to consider 

multimodal solutions to surface transportation problems 

and led to major increases in public transit ridership and 

bicycle and pedestrian use; 

Whereas during Secretary Mineta’s service as chairman of 

the Surface Transportation Subcommittee he moved the 

transportation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act through the Committee, opening opportunities 

for people with disabilities to more fully participate in 

their communities; 

Whereas during his service in the Congress, Secretary Mineta 

spearheaded the creation of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in 1994 to promote and advocate 

for Asian Pacific American issues and served as its first 

Chairman; 

Whereas Secretary Mineta founded the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies in 1995 to effectively enhance and increase the participation of the Asian 

Pacific American community in the democratic process at 

the national, State, and local levels; 

Whereas after his retirement from Congress, Secretary Mineta served as Secretary of Commerce in 2000 and 2001 

becoming the first Asian Pacific American to serve in the 

Cabinet; 


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•HRES 963 IH 

Whereas Secretary Mineta became the first Asian Pacific 

American Cabinet member to serve in successive administrations for two different political parties when he was 

appointed Secretary of Transportation by President 

George W. Bush in 2001; 

Whereas on September 11, 2001, as Secretary of Transportation, Secretary Mineta acted in the defense of our Nation by ordering the Federal Aviation Administration to 

restrict our Nation’s airspace, prevent further aircraft 

takeoffs, and land all aircraft, resulting in 4,836 aircraft 

landings in 2 hours and 12 minutes; 

Whereas after enactment of the Aviation and Transportation 

Security Act in November 2001, Secretary Mineta 

oversaw implementation of a major overhaul of aviation 

security, including establishing the Transportation Security Administration, hiring and training a workforce of 

45,000 passenger and baggage screeners, and the installation of thousands of explosive detection systems and explosive trace detection machines to screen all checked 

baggage; 

Whereas in implementing the Aviation and Transportation 

Security Act, Secretary Mineta ensured that the Department of Transportation met all of the statutory deadlines 

to improve aviation security, including many security 

mandates that required action within one year of enactment; 

Whereas in honor of his public service and commitment to 

the city of San Jose, the San Jose Airport was officially 

rededicated as the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in 2001; 


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•HRES 963 IH 

Whereas Secretary Mineta played an important role in the 

passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 

(SAFETEA–LU) which seeks to strengthen the legacy of 

the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 

1991; and 

Whereas Secretary Mineta’s record of public service and his 

dedication to our Nation should be held in the highest esteem: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives con2 gratulates and thanks Secretary of Transportation Nor3 man Y. Mineta for his long career of public service and 

4 commitment to the Nation. 

Æ 


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