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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 693 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 693

 Recognizing the significance of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and 
 Pacific Islander Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the 
  significant contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and 
         Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 15, 2024

 Ms. Hirono (for herself, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Collins, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Coons, 
   Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Kaine, Ms. 
   Klobuchar, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Ms. 
 Rosen, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Reed, Mr. Warnock, Ms. 
   Butler, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Hassan, Ms. Smith, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
     Durbin, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Menendez) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Recognizing the significance of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and 
 Pacific Islander Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the 
  significant contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and 
         Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States.

Whereas the people of the United States join together each May to pay tribute to 
        the contributions of generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, 
        and Pacific Islanders who have enriched the history of the United 
        States;
Whereas the history of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders 
        in the United States is inextricably tied to the story of the United 
        States;
Whereas the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community is 
        an inherently diverse population, composed of more than 70 distinct 
        ethnicities and speaking more than 100 language dialects;
Whereas, according to the Bureau of the Census, the Asian American population 
        grew faster than any other racial or ethnic group over the last decade, 
        growing by nearly 55.5 percent between 2010 and 2020, and during that 
        same time period, the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population 
        grew by 30.8 percent;
Whereas there are more than 24,000,000 residents of the United States who 
        identify as Asian and approximately 1,600,000 residents of the United 
        States who identify as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, making up 
        more than 7 percent of the total population of the United States;
Whereas the month of May was selected for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and 
        Pacific Islander Heritage Month because the first Japanese immigrants 
        arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843, and the first 
        transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, with 
        substantial contributions from Chinese immigrants;
Whereas section 102 of title 36, United States Code, officially designates May 
        as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and requests the President to 
        issue an annual proclamation calling on the people of the United States 
        to observe the month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
        activities;
Whereas 2024 marks several anniversaries, including--

    (1) the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Congressional 
Asian Pacific American Caucus, a bicameral caucus of Members of Congress 
advocating on behalf of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
Islanders;

    (2) the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Asian Pacific 
American Institute for Congressional Studies, which was founded alongside 
the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus by former Secretary of 
Commerce and Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta and former 
Delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Guam Robert 
Underwood;

    (3) the 45th anniversary of the first Asian/Pacific American Heritage 
Week, designated in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter through Presidential 
Proclamation 4650 (93 Stat. 1504; relating to Asian/Pacific American 
Heritage Week);

    (4) the 50th anniversary of Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974), in 
which the Supreme Court of the United States determined that inadequate 
supplemental language instruction for students of Chinese ancestry with 
limited English proficiency violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
U.S.C. 2000a et seq.), expanding equal educational opportunities and paving 
the way for bilingual programs and additional English language instruction 
in public schools;

    (5) the 100th anniversary of the enactment of the Immigration Act of 
1924 (commonly known as the ``Johnson-Reed Act'') (43 Stat. 153, chapter 
190), which imposed national origin quotas that limited the number of 
immigrants allowed entry into the United States and prohibited the entry of 
Asian immigrants; and

    (6) the 155th anniversary of the completion of the first 
transcontinental railroad, which--

    G    (A) in 1869, connected the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union 
Pacific Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah; and

    G    (B) involved more than 12,000 Chinese laborers who faced racial 
and wage discrimination despite being entrusted with the most laborious 
tasks;

Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have made 
        significant contributions to the United States at all levels of the 
        Federal Government and in the Armed Forces, including--

    (1) Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian American elected to Congress;

    (2) Daniel K. Inouye, a Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of 
Freedom recipient who, as President pro tempore of the Senate, was the 
then-highest-ranking Asian American government official in the history of 
the United States;

    (3) Hiram L. Fong, the first Asian American Senator;

    (4) Patsy T. Mink, the first woman of color and Asian American woman 
elected to Congress;

    (5) Herbert Y.C. Choy, the first Asian American to serve as a Federal 
judge;

    (6) Daniel K. Akaka, the first Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry;

    (7) Norman Y. Mineta, the first Asian American member of a Presidential 
cabinet;

    (8) Elaine L. Chao, the first Asian American woman member of a 
Presidential cabinet; and

    (9) Kamala D. Harris, the first woman and the first Asian American to 
hold the Office of the Vice President;

Whereas the 118th Congress includes 21 Members of Asian and Pacific Islander 
        descent;
Whereas, in 2024, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is composed of 
        76 Members, and other congressional caucuses work on Asian American, 
        Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander issues also;
Whereas, in 2024, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders are 
        serving in State and Territorial legislatures across the United States 
        in record numbers, including in--

    (1) the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, 
Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, 
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, 
Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and

    (2) the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands;

Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders represent more 
        than 7 percent of Federal judges and nearly 7 percent of Federal 
        employees, including hundreds of staffers of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and 
        Pacific Islander descent who serve as staff in the Senate and the House 
        of Representatives;
Whereas, since March 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in reports of 
        anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, including those related to the 
        COVID-19 pandemic, including--

    (1) a 339-percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021, and a 
124-percent increase in 2020;

    (2) according to Stop AAPI Hate, over 11,500 hate incidents reported 
since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic through March 2022, and countless 
others that have not been reported;

    (3) on March 16, 2021, the murder of 8 people, including 6 Asian women, 
at 3 separate Asian-owned businesses in the Atlanta, Georgia, region; and

    (4) on May 15, 2022, the shooting of 5 people in Laguna Hills, 
California, in which the Taiwanese congregation at Geneva Presbyterian 
Church was targeted;

Whereas the incidence of hate crimes against Asian Americans continues to be 
        above levels observed before the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas discrimination against Asian Americans, especially in moments of crisis, 
        is not a new phenomenon, and violence against Asian Americans has 
        occurred throughout United States history, including--

    (1) the enactment of the Act entitled ``An Act supplementary to the 
Acts in relation to Immigration'', approved March 3, 1875 (commonly 
referred to as the ``Page Act of 1875'') (18 Stat. 477, chapter 141), which 
restricted entry of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian women to the United 
States and effectively prohibited the immigration of Chinese women, 
preventing the formation of Chinese families in the United States and 
limiting the number of native-born Chinese citizens;

    (2) the enactment of the Act entitled ``An Act to execute certain 
treaty stipulations relating to Chinese'', approved May 6, 1882 (commonly 
known as the ``Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882'') (22 Stat. 58, chapter 126), 
which was the first law to explicitly exclude an entire ethnic group from 
immigrating to the United States;

    (3) the issuance of Executive Order 9066 in 1942 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407; 
relating to authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe military areas), 
which authorized the forced relocation and incarceration of approximately 
120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry during World War II, the majority 
of whom were citizens of the United States;

    (4) on June 23, 1982, the murder of Vincent Chin;

    (5) on January 17, 1989, the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in 
which a gunman used an AK-47 to kill 5 children, 4 of whom were of 
Southeast Asian descent;

    (6) the rise in discrimination and violence against Muslim, Sikh, Arab, 
Middle Eastern, and South Asian Americans following the attacks on the 
World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001; and

    (7) on August 5, 2012, the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, 
Wisconsin, in which a white supremacist fatally shot 6 people and wounded 4 
others;

Whereas, in response to the uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes throughout the 
        COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (Public 
        Law 117-13; 135 Stat. 265), which was signed into law by President 
        Joseph R. Biden on May 20, 2021;
Whereas, in celebration of the contributions of Asian Americans, Native 
        Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States, Congress passed 
        the Commission To Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of 
        Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act (Public Law 117-140; 136 
        Stat. 1259) to establish a commission to study the creation of a 
        National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, which was 
        signed into law by President Biden on June 13, 2022;
Whereas, as part of the American Women Quarters Program, the United States Mint 
        has issued, or will issue, commemorative quarters honoring the 
        contributions of--

    (1) Chinese American film star Anna May Wong;

    (2) Native Hawaiian composer and cultural advocate Edith Kanaka'ole;

    (3) Japanese American Congresswoman Patsy Mink; and

    (4) Korean American disability justice advocate Stacey Park Milbern;

Whereas there remains much to be done to ensure that Asian Americans, Native 
        Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have access to resources and a voice in 
        the Federal Government and continue to advance in the political 
        landscape of the United States; and
Whereas celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
        Heritage Month provides the people of the United States with an 
        opportunity to recognize the achievements, contributions, and history 
        of, and to understand the challenges faced by, Asian Americans, Native 
        Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the significance of Asian American, Native 
        Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as an important 
        time to celebrate the significant contributions of Asian 
        Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to the 
        history of the United States; and
            (2) recognizes that Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and 
        Pacific Islander communities enhance the rich diversity of and 
        strengthen the United States.
                                 <all>
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