IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1228 
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 Island-
ers to the history of the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2024 
Ms. CHU (for herself, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. MENG, Mr. THANEDAR, 
Ms. DELBENE, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 
VARGAS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mrs. WATSON COLE-
MAN, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CASE, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. BERA, Mr. 
TAKANO, Mr. LIEU, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. KIM of New 
Jersey, Ms. LEE of Nevada, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. GOMEZ, and 
Mr. RASKIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the significance of Asian American, Native Ha-
waiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as an im-
portant time to celebrate the significant contributions 
of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Is-
landers 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 Island-
ers who have enriched the history of the United States; 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
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 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, surging 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 or 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 trans-
continental 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, cere-
monies, and activities; 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
Whereas 2024 marks several anniversaries, including— 
(1) the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the 
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a bi-
cameral caucus of Members of Congress advocating on 
behalf of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pa-
cific Islanders; 
(2) the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the 
Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Stud-
ies, which was founded alongside the Congressional Asian 
Pacific American Caucus by former Secretary of Com-
merce and Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mi-
neta 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 Presi-
dent Jimmy Carter through Presidential Proclamation 
No. 4650; 
(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 to the United States and 
prohibited the entry of Asian immigrants; and 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
(6) the 155th anniversary of the completion of the 
first transcontinental railroad, which— 
(A) in 1869, connected the Central Pacific Rail-
road and the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory 
Summit, Utah; and 
(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 Is-
landers 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 Presi-
dential 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 Sen-
ator; 
(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; 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
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 congres-
sional caucuses work on Asian American, Native Hawai-
ian, and Pacific Islander issues also; 
Whereas, in 2024, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and 
Pacific Islanders are serving in State and Territorial leg-
islatures across the United States in record numbers, in-
cluding in— 
(1) the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Con-
necticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, 
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hamp-
shire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, 
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ten-
nessee, 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 Is-
landers represent more than 7 percent of Federal judges 
and nearly 7 percent of Federal employees, including 
hundreds of staffers of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pa-
cific Islander descent who serve as staff in the Senate 
and the House of Representatives; 
Whereas, since March 2020, there has been a dramatic in-
crease in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, 
including those related to the COVID–19 pandemic, in-
cluding— 
(1) a 339-percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes 
in 2021, and a 124-percent increase in 2020; 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
(2) according to Stop AAPI Hate, over 11,500 hate 
incidents reported since the start of the COVID–19 pan-
demic through March 2022, and countless others that 
have not been reported; 
(3) on March 16, 2021, the murder of 8 people, in-
cluding 6 Asian women, at 3 separate Asian-owned busi-
nesses in the Atlanta, Georgia, region; and 
(4) on May 15, 2022, the shooting of 5 people in 
Laguna Hills, California, in which the Taiwanese con-
gregation at Geneva Presbyterian Church was targeted; 
Whereas the incidence of hate crimes against Asian Ameri-
cans 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 vio-
lence against Asian Americans has occurred throughout 
United States history, including— 
(1) the enactment of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act sup-
plementary to the Acts in relation to Immigration’’, ap-
proved 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 eth-
nic group from immigrating to the United States; 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
(3) the issuance of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, 
which authorized the forced relocation and incarceration 
of approximately 120,000 individuals of Japanese ances-
try during World War II, the majority of whom were citi-
zens 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 de-
scent; 
(6) the rise in discrimination and violence against 
Muslim, Sikh, Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian 
Americans following the attacks on the World Trade Cen-
ter 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 su-
premacist 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 Amer-
ican, Native Hawaiian, 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 Pa-
cific American History and Culture, which was signed 
into law by President Biden on June 13, 2022; 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
Whereas, as part of the American Women Quarters Program, 
the United States Mint has issued, or will issue, com-
memorative 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 Govern-
ment 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 under-
stand the challenges faced by, Asian Americans, Native 
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the significance of Asian Amer-
ican, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Herit-
age Month as an important time to celebrate the sig-
nificant contributions of Asian Americans, Native 
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to the history of 
the United States; and 
(2) recognizes that Asian American, Native Ha-
waiian, and Pacific Islander communities enhance 
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•HRES 1228 IH 
the rich diversity of and strengthen the United 
States. 
Æ 
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