IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 908 

Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID–19. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2020 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Ms. SPEIER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. CISNEROS, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. TED LIEU of 

California, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. CORREA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. FUDGE, 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Ms. OMAR, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. SUOZZI, 

Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CASE, Mr. GREEN of 

Texas, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. TRONE, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 

York, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mr. KILMER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. PORTER, 

Mr. RASKIN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, 

Mr. JEFFRIES, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. ROSE of 

New York, Mr. BEYER, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. COSTA, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

DEFAZIO, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. CICILLINE, 

Mr. KIM, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SOTO, Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. 

DELAURO, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. BASS, 

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. NADLER, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. BISHOP

of Georgia, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. 

HORSFORD, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. WILD, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. CASTEN

of Illinois, and Ms. CRAIG) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 


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•HRES 908 IH 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related 

to COVID–19. 

Whereas 23,000,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 

account for 7 percent of the Nation’s population in the 

United States; 

Whereas over 2,000,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are working on the frontlines of this COVID–19 pandemic in health care, law enforcement, first responders, 

transportation, supermarkets, and other service industries; 

Whereas the use of anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID-19, such as the ‘‘Chinese Virus’’, 

‘‘Wuhan Virus’’, and ‘‘Kung-flu’’ have perpetuated antiAsian stigma; 

Whereas since January 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in reports of hate crimes and incidents against 

those of Asian descent; 

Whereas according to a recent study, there were over 400 

cases related to COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination between February 9, 2020, and March 7, 2020; 

Whereas the increased use of anti-Asian rhetoric has resulted 

in Asian Americans being harassed, assaulted, and 

scapegoated for the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas in March 2020, anti-Asian violence includes: a 

woman wearing a mask was kicked and punched at a 

New York City subway station; two children and two 

adults were stabbed at a wholesale grocery in Midland, 

Texas; a couple was assaulted and robbed by a group of 

attackers in Philadelphia; and a 16-year-old boy was sent 


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•HRES 908 IH 

to the hospital after being attacked by bullies in Los Angeles, California; 

Whereas the increased use of anti-Asian rhetoric has also resulted in Asian-American businesses being targeted for 

vandalism; 

Whereas there are approximately 2 million Asian Americanowned businesses that generate over $700 billion in annual revenue and employ nearly 4.5 million workers; 

Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) and the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognize that naming COVID–19 by its geographic location 

or linking it to a specific ethnicity perpetuates stigma; 

Whereas in 2015, the WHO issued guidance calling on media 

outlets, scientists, and national authorities to avoid naming infectious diseases for locations to avoid stigmatizing 

groups of people; 

Whereas, on February 27, 2020, the Secretary of Health and 

Human Services stated ‘‘ethnicity is not what causes the 

novel coronavirus’’ and that it is inappropriate and inaccurate to call COVID-19 the ‘‘Chinese virus’’; 

Whereas, on February 28, 2020, Dr. Mitch Wolfe, the Chief 

Medical Officer of the CDC said, ‘‘Stigma is the enemy 

of public health’’; 

Whereas, on March 10, 2020, Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the CDC, testified that use of the term ‘‘Chinese 

coronavirus’’ is wrong and inappropriate; and 

Whereas the Secretary General of the United Nations called 

for international solidarity and an end to any ill-founded 

discrimination of the outbreak’s victims: Now, therefore, 

be it 


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•HRES 908 IH 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) calls on all public officials to condemn and 

3 denounce any and all anti-Asian sentiment in any 

4 form; 

5 (2) recognizes that the health and safety of all 

6 Americans, no matter their background, must be of 

7 utmost priority; 

8 (3) condemns all manifestations of expressions 

9 of racism, xenophobia, discrimination, anti-Asian 

10 sentiment, scapegoating, and ethnic or religious in11 tolerance; 

12 (4) calls on Federal law enforcement officials, 

13 working with State and local officials— 

14 (A) to expeditiously investigate and docu15 ment all credible reports of hate crimes and in16 cidents and threats against the Asian-American 

17 community in the United States; 

18 (B) to collect data to document the rise of 

19 incidences of hate crimes due to COVID–19; 

20 and 

21 (C) to hold the perpetrators of those 

22 crimes, incidents, or threats accountable and 

23 bring such perpetrators to justice; and 


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•HRES 908 IH 

1 (5) recommits United States leadership in 

2 building more inclusive, diverse, and tolerant soci3 eties— 

4 (A) to prioritize language access and 

5 inclusivity in communication practices; and 

6 (B) to combat misinformation and dis7 crimination that put Asian Americans at risk. 

Æ 


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