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

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

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 653 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 653

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 26, 2022

 Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Grassley, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Booker, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, 
Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. 
Durbin, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Padilla, 
Ms. Rosen, Mr. Schatz, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Smith, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, 
 and Mr. Wyden) 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, Native Hawaiians, 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, Native Hawaiians, 
        and Pacific Islanders who have enriched the history of the United 
        States;
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 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 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 approximately 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 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 2022 marks several important milestones for the Asian-American and 
        Pacific Islander community, including--

    (1) the 140th anniversary of the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act 
of 1882, which barred the entry of Chinese immigrants to the United States 
for more than 50 years and spurred a series of anti-immigrant policies 
targeting immigration from the Asia-Pacific region;

    (2) the 40th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese-
American man who was beaten to death in Michigan by 2 White men angered by 
layoffs in the auto industry;

    (3) the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Act entitled ``An Act 
to designate May of each year as `Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month''', 
approved October 23, 1992 (36 U.S.C. 102); and

    (4) the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Asian American and 
Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions program, which was 
authorized under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (Public Law 110-
84; 121 Stat. 784);

Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, 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 
then-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;

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

    (8) Kamala D. Harris, the first woman and the first Asian American to 
hold the Office of the Vice President;

Whereas the 117th Congress includes a record 21 Members of Asian or Pacific 
        Islander descent;
Whereas, in 2022, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a bicameral 
        caucus of Members of Congress advocating on behalf of Asian Americans, 
        Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, is composed of 76 Members, and 
        other caucuses working on Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
        Islander issues may be established;
Whereas, in 2022, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, 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, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, 
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, 
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, 
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, 
Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and

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

Whereas, in 2022, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders 
        honorably serve throughout the Federal judiciary;
Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders represent more 
        than 6 percent of Federal employees, including hundreds of staffers of 
        Asian or Pacific Islander descent who serve as staff in the Senate and 
        the House of Representatives;
Whereas, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, there was 
        a 339 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021, and the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation recorded a 73 percent increase in such 
        crimes in 2020;
Whereas, since March 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in reports of 
        anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents related to the COVID-19 pandemic, 
        including approximately 11,000 hate incidents, including shunning, 
        verbal and online harassment, physical assault, and civil rights 
        violations, that were reported to Stop AAPI Hate from the start of the 
        pandemic through December 31, 2021, and countless other incidents that 
        have not been reported;
Whereas, according to a survey conducted during September and October of 2021 by 
        Stop AAPI Hate, 1 in 5 Asian Americans (21.2 percent) and Pacific 
        Islanders (20.0 percent) reported experiencing a hate incident in the 
        past year;
Whereas discrimination against Asian Americans, especially in moments of crisis, 
        is not a new phenomenon, and violence against Asian Americans has 
        occurred throughout United States history, including--

    (1) the enactment of the Page Act of 1875, 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 Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was the 
first law to explicitly exclude an entire ethnic group from immigrating to 
the United States;

    (3) the issuance of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which authorized the 
forced relocation and incarceration of approximately 120,000 individuals of 
Japanese ancestry during World War II, the majority of whom were United 
States citizens;

    (4) the murder of Vincent Chin;

    (5) the Cleveland Elementary School shooting on January 17, 1989, in 
which a gunman used an AK-47 to kill 5 children, 4 of whom were of 
Southeast Asian descent;

    (6) the rise in discrimination and violence against Muslim, Sikh, and 
South Asian Americans following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the 
World Trade Center and the Pentagon;

    (7) the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on 
August 5, 2012, in which a White supremacist fatally shot 6 people and 
wounded 4 others;

    (8) the shooting of 9 people near Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, 
at 3 separate Asian-owned businesses, in which 8 people were killed, 
including 6 Asian women; and

    (9) the shooting of 6 people in Laguna Woods, California, on May 15, 
2022, in which members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church were 
targeted;

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 the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted the Asian-American and Pacific 
        Islander community;
Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have been 
        disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Native 
        Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have faced among the highest infection 
        and mortality rates out of any racial group in several States;
Whereas more than 2,000,000 Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
        Islander first responders, health care providers, and frontline workers 
        are among the unsung heroes in the Nation's fight against COVID-19;
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 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, Native Hawaiians, 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, Native Hawaiians, 
        and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States; and
            (2) recognizes that Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and 
        Pacific Islander communities enhance the rich diversity of and 
        strengthen the United States.
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