Title: A resolution recognizing the significance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the significant contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States.
Policy area: Arts, Culture, Religion

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the significance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States.
The resolution also recognizes that the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities enhance the rich diversity of the United States.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 589 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 589

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2020

 Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms. 
  Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Coons, Ms. Cortez 
   Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Harris, Mr. Kaine, Ms. 
   Klobuchar, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Rosen, Mr. 
   Schatz, Ms. Smith, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. Warren) submitted the 
   following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the significance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month 
  as an important time to celebrate the significant contributions of 
  Asian Americans 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 and Pacific 
        Islanders who have enriched the history of the United States;
Whereas the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United 
        States is inextricably tied to the story of the United States;
Whereas the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community is an inherently 
        diverse population, composed of more than 45 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 72 percent between 2000 and 2015;
Whereas there are approximately 22,000,000 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 other Pacific Islander, making 
        up nearly 7 percent of the total population of the United States;
Whereas the month of May was selected for Asian/Pacific American 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 2020 marks several important milestones for the Asian-American and 
        Pacific Islander community, including--

    (1) the 35th anniversary of the mission aboard the Space Shuttle 
Discovery of Ellison Shoji Onizuka, the first Asian American in space;

    (2) the 45th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the 
beginning of the Southeast Asian diaspora to communities across the United 
States;

    (3) the 45th anniversary of the completion of the double-hulled 
voyaging canoe, Hokulea, marking the first traditional Polynesian voyaging 
canoe built in Hawaii in more than 600 years;

    (4) the 55th anniversary of the enactment of the Act entitled ``An Act 
to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for other purposes'', 
approved October 3, 1965 (79 Stat. 911), landmark legislation that reversed 
restrictive immigration policies against immigrants from Asia; and

    (5) the 110th anniversary of the establishment of Angel Island 
Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay, California, which served as a 
major port of entry for immigrants coming to the United States from Asia 
and the Pacific;

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

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

    (2) Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian-American Congressman;

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

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

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

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

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

Whereas, in 2020, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a bicameral 
        caucus of Members of Congress advocating on behalf of Asian Americans 
        and Pacific Islanders, is composed of 76 Members, including 19 Members 
        of Asian or Pacific Islander descent;
Whereas, in 2020, Asian Americans 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, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New 
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, 
Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming; and

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

Whereas, in 2020, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders honorably serve 
        throughout the Federal judiciary;
Whereas, since January 2020, the increased use of anti-Asian terminology and 
        rhetoric related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has 
        perpetuated an anti-Asian stigma and has resulted in a dramatic increase 
        in reports of hate crimes and incidents against individuals of Asian 
        descent;
Whereas there remains much to be done to ensure that Asian Americans and Pacific 
        Islanders have access to resources and a voice in the Government of the 
        United States and continue to advance in the political landscape of the 
        United States; and
Whereas celebrating Asian/Pacific American 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 and Pacific Islanders: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the significance of Asian/Pacific American 
        Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the 
        significant contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific 
        Islanders to the history of the United States; and
            (2) recognizes that Asian-American and Pacific Islander 
        communities enhance the rich diversity of and strengthen the 
        United States.
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