IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1357 

Recognizing the significance of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the 

Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan and the greatness of America in her ability to admit and remedy past mistakes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 17, 2008 

Ms. MATSUI (for herself, Mr. HONDA, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Ms. SUTTON, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. WU, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. 

BACA, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. FILNER, Mrs. 

TAUSCHER, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Ms. HIRONO) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the significance of the 20th anniversary of the 

signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President 

Ronald Reagan and the greatness of America in her 

ability to admit and remedy past mistakes. 

Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, which authorized 

the forced exclusion of 120,000 Japanese Americans and 

legal resident aliens from the west coast of the United 

States and the internment of United States citizens and 

legal permanent residents of Japanese ancestry in conVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:30 Jul 18, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1357.IH HR1357

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•HRES 1357 IH 

finement sites during World War II without the benefit 

of due process; 

Whereas no person of Japanese ancestry, who was confined 

during World War II under the authority of Executive 

Order 9066, was convicted of espionage, treason, or sabotage against the United States; 

Whereas Japanese American men proved their loyalty to the 

United States with battlefield valor serving in the 442d 

Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion, 

Army Air Corps, and the Military Intelligence Service, 

and Japanese American women served with distinction in 

the Women’s Army Corps and Army Nurse Corps; 

Whereas President Gerald Ford formally rescinded Executive 

Order 9066 on February 19, 1976, in his speech, ‘‘An 

American Promise’’; 

Whereas Congress adopted legislation which was signed by 

President Jimmy Carter on July 31, 1980, establishing 

the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment 

of Civilians to investigate the claim that the incarceration 

of Japanese Americans and legal resident aliens during 

World War II was justified by military necessity; 

Whereas the Commission held 20 days of hearings and heard 

from over 750 witnesses on this matter and published its 

findings in a report entitled ‘‘Personal Justice Denied’’; 

Whereas the Commission reports conclusions were that the 

promulgation of Executive Order 9066 was not justified 

by military necessity and that the decision to issue the 

order was shaped by ‘‘race prejudice, war hysteria, and 

a failure of political leadership’’; 

Whereas Congress enacted, with bipartisan support, the Civil 

Liberties Act of 1988, in which it acknowledged the ‘‘funVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:30 Jul 18, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1357.IH HR1357

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•HRES 1357 IH 

damental injustices’’ resulting from Executive Order 

9066, apologized on behalf of the people of the United 

States for those injustices, and vowed to ‘‘discourage the 

occurrence of similar injustices and violations of civil liberties in the future’’; 

Whereas President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties 

Act of 1988 into law on August 10, 1988, proclaiming 

that ‘‘Here we admit a wrong. Here we affirm our commitment as a Nation to equal justice under the law’’; and 

Whereas the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Civil 

Liberties Act of 1988 provides an opportunity for all 

United States citizens to appreciate the greatness of our 

Nation in having the willingness to admit and remedy its 

past mistakes and for political leaders to learn from those 

past mistakes by not adopting racially motivated governmental policies: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms our Nation’s commitment to equal 

3 justice under the law for all people in celebration of 

4 the 20th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 

5 1988; and 

6 (2) continues to support the congressional goal 

7 embodied in the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that all 

8 persons living under protection of the United States 

9 Constitution have a right to enjoy freedom and 

10 equality without the constraint of prejudice and dis11 crimination or the lack of due process. 

Æ 


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