IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 679 
Honoring Paul Kawata for his unwavering commitment to communities of 
color, the LGBTQ+ community, and work to end the HIV epidemic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 
Ms. WATERS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring Paul Kawata for his unwavering commitment to 
communities of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and 
work to end the HIV epidemic. 
Whereas Paul Kawata has served as the executive director of 
NMAC (formerly the National Minority AIDS Council) 
since 1989, becoming the longest serving leader of a na-
tional HIV/AIDS organization in the United States; 
Whereas, under Mr. Kawata’s transformative leadership, 
NMAC became a powerful national force advancing 
health equity for minority communities, with a mission 
rooted in lifting up communities of color, especially 
Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, and Native Ha-
waiian and Pacific Islander populations, who have been 
disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS; 
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•HRES 679 IH 
Whereas Paul Kawata has been a fearless and unapologetic 
voice for LGBTQ+ justice, ensuring that LGBTQ+ indi-
viduals, particularly queer people of color, are fully visi-
ble, represented, and protected in HIV/AIDS policy, serv-
ice delivery, and community care; 
Whereas Paul Kawata helped lay the foundation for equitable 
public health responses through his role as a founding 
member of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership and a 
leader in shaping the Minority AIDS Initiative and the 
National HIV/AIDS Strategy; 
Whereas Paul Kawata’s work has consistently confronted sys-
temic racism, homophobia, and health disparities, cre-
ating pathways for inclusion, leadership, and advocacy 
among historically marginalized groups; 
Whereas, throughout the darkest and most stigmatizing chap-
ters of the HIV epidemic, Paul Kawata responded not 
with silence but with bold action and moral clarity, work-
ing to dismantle bias and build resilient, empowered com-
munities; 
Whereas, as a proud Japanese American, Paul Kawata shat-
tered barriers and has long served as a mentor and inspi-
ration to emerging leaders, particularly in the Asian- 
American, Pacific Islander, and LGBTQ+ movements, 
helping to amplify the voices of those too often left out 
of national conversations on health and equity; and 
Whereas Paul Kawata’s work exemplifies the power of inter-
sectional leadership, always centering justice, dignity, and 
the lived experience of those most impacted: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 679 IH 
(1) honors Paul Kawata for his groundbreaking 
leadership and enduring legacy of advocacy for com-
munities of color and the LGBTQ+ community; 
(2) recognizes Paul Kawata’s 38 years of vi-
sionary service at NMAC, where he reshaped public 
health through a lens of racial and queer justice; 
(3) commends Paul Kawata’s unwavering pur-
suit of equity, inclusion, and access for people living 
with HIV and all those affected by systemic dis-
crimination; 
(4) expresses profound gratitude for his lifelong 
contributions to civil rights, public health, and the 
empowerment of marginalized communities; and 
(5) extends best wishes to Paul Kawata in his 
retirement, with the utmost respect for the indelible 
mark he leaves on the Nation. 
Æ 
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