IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1377 
Honoring the accomplishments of Norman Yoshio Mineta, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2010 
Mr. HONDA (for himself and Ms. CHU) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the accomplishments of Norman Yoshio Mineta, 
and for other purposes. 
Whereas, in 1931, Norman Yoshio Mineta was born in San 
Jose, 
California, 
to 
Japanese 
immigrant 
parents, 
Kunisaku and Kane Mineta; 
Whereas, in 1942, during World War II, when President 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, 
branding individuals of Japanese descent as ‘‘enemy 
aliens’’ solely on the basis of their ancestry and author-
izing the relocation and incarceration of 120,000 individ-
uals of Japanese descent, Norman Yoshio Mineta and his 
family were forced to leave their home and live in the 
Santa Anita racetrack paddocks for 3 months before they 
were sent to their permanent assignment for the fol-
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lowing years, the Heart Mountain internment camp near 
Cody, Wyoming; 
Whereas, in 1953, upon graduation from the University of 
California Berkeley’s School of Business Administration, 
Norman Yoshio Mineta joined the United States Army 
and served as an intelligence officer in Japan and Korea; 
Whereas, in 1967, Norman Yoshio Mineta was appointed to 
a vacant seat on San Jose’s city council, making him the 
first minority and first Asian American city council mem-
ber in San Jose, and he was subsequently elected to that 
seat; 
Whereas, in 1971, Norman Yoshio Mineta was elected mayor 
of San Jose, making him the first Asian American mayor 
of a major United States city, during which time he pro-
vided leadership for all communities of San Jose, includ-
ing minority communities, strengthening community rela-
tions between racial and ethnic minorities and the city, 
including the San Jose Police Department; 
Whereas, from 1975 to 1995, Norman Yoshio Mineta was 
elected to the House of Representatives to represent Cali-
fornia’s 15th District in the heart of Silicon Valley, serv-
ing as chairman of the Committee on Public Works and 
Transportation of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee’s Aviation Subcommittee, and the Commit-
tee’s Surface Transportation Subcommittee, where he 
was a key author of the landmark Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, taking politics out 
of funding for transportation and infrastructure by cre-
ating a new collaborative approach to planning; 
Whereas Silicon Valley is the home of the Norman Y. Mineta 
San Jose International Airport; 
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Whereas, in 1977, Norman Yoshio Mineta, along with Frank 
Horton, then a Republican Member of Congress from 
New York, introduced into Congress a bipartisan resolu-
tion that established the first 10 days of May, the month 
when the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United 
States in 1843 and when Chinese laborers completed the 
transcontinental railroad in 1869, as Asian Pacific Amer-
ican Heritage Week, which later was made into an an-
nual event; 
Whereas, in 1990, the entire month of May was proclaimed 
to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month; 
Whereas, in 1978, under the leadership of Norman Yoshio 
Mineta, Congress established the Commission on War-
time Relocation and Internment of Civilians and passed 
the most important reparations bill of our time, H.R. 
442, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, by which the United 
States Government officially apologized for sending fami-
lies of Japanese descent to internment camps and re-
dressed the injustices endured by Japanese-Americans 
during World War II, including by making available a 
total of $1,200,000,000, which included the creation of 
the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund to educate the 
public about lessons learned from the internment; 
Whereas, in 1994, Norman Yoshio Mineta founded and 
chaired the bicameral and bipartisan Congressional Asian 
Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), comprised of Mem-
bers of Congress who have strong interests in promoting 
Asian American and Pacific Islander issues and advo-
cating the concerns of Asian Americans and Pacific Is-
landers; 
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Whereas CAPAC continues to advance the full participation 
of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in 
our democracy, particularly in the arena of public policy; 
Whereas, in 2000, Norman Yoshio Mineta became the first 
Asian American to hold a post in a Presidential Cabinet 
as Secretary of Commerce under President William J. 
Clinton and, in 2001, he became the first Asian Amer-
ican to serve as Secretary of Transportation under Presi-
dent George W. Bush, again displaying his honor and 
ability to serve his country in a bipartisan manner; 
Whereas Norman Yoshio Mineta has founded, served as a 
board member of, or been a key supporter of many com-
munity organizations critical to the infrastructure of the 
Asian American and Pacific Islander community, includ-
ing the Japanese American Citizens League Norman Y. 
Mineta Fellowship Program, the Asian Pacific American 
Institute for Congressional Studies, the National Council 
for Asian Pacific Americans, the APIA Vote’s Norman Y. 
Mineta Leadership Institute, the Asian American Action 
Fund, the Asian Academy Hall of Fame, the Asian Lead-
ers Association, Nikkei Youth, Organizing for America, 
the United States Asia Center, and the America’s Oppor-
tunity Fund; 
Whereas Norman Yoshio Mineta received the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the 
United States, in 2006 from President George W. Bush, 
and the Grand Cordon, Order of the Rising Sun from the 
Japanese Government, which was the highest honor be-
stowed upon an individual of Japanese descent outside of 
Japan; and 
Whereas after experiencing one of the worst examples of Gov-
ernment-sanctioned racial discrimination in our Nation’s 
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history, Norman Yoshio Mineta dedicated the greater 
part of his working life to the service of his community 
and his country, and carried out his service with exem-
plary dignity and integrity: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) honors the accomplishments and legacy of a 
great American hero, Norman Yoshio Mineta, for his 
groundbreaking contributions to the Asian American 
and Pacific Islander community and to our Nation 
through his leadership in strengthening civil rights 
and liberty for all and for his dedication and service 
to the United States; and 
(2) memorializes the sacrifices and suffering 
that many Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and 
others like Norman Yoshio Mineta endured so that 
we may unite with compassion and pursue truth, lib-
erty, justice, and equality for all in the United 
States and the world. 
Æ 
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