Title: Recognizing the significance of "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month" in May 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]
[H. Res. 1083 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1083

   Recognizing the significance of ``Asian/Pacific American Heritage 
   Month'' in May 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 3, 2022

 Ms. Chu (for herself, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Bera, Ms. Bonamici, 
 Mr. Kim of New Jersey, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Takano, Ms. Speier, Mr. 
 Lieu, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. 
Bourdeaux, Mr. Correa, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Meng, 
     Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Clark of 
 Massachusetts, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Kahele, Mr. Connolly, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Mr. Trone, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Case, Mrs. 
Napolitano, and Ms. Jayapal) submitted the following resolution; which 
         was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing the significance of ``Asian/Pacific American Heritage 
   Month'' in May 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, comprised of over 45 distinct 
        ethnicities and over 100 language dialects;
Whereas, according to the United States Census Bureau, the Asian-American 
        population grew faster than any other racial or ethnic group over the 
        last decade, surging 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 Pacific Islander, making up 
        over 7 percent of the total United States population;
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, Native 
        Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community, including--

    (1) the 140th anniversary of the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act 
of 1882, which barred the entry of Chinese immigrants to the United States 
for more than half a century 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 beaten to death in Michigan by two White men angered by 
layoffs in the auto industry;

    (3) the 30th anniversary of Public Law 102-450, which designated the 
month of May as ``Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month''; and

    (4) the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Asian American and 
Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions program, which was 
authorized under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007;

Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have made 
        significant contributions to the United States at all levels of the 
        Federal Government and 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;

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

    (8) Kamala Devi Harris, the first Asian-American Vice President of the 
United States;

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;
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, 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 at all levels of the Federal judiciary;
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, 
        and in that time period--

    (1) there has been a 339-percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 
2021, and a 124-percent increase in 2020;

    (2) there have been over 11,000 hate incidents that have been reported 
since the start of the pandemic, according to Stop AAPI Hate, and countless 
others that have not been reported;

    (3) in the Atlanta, Georgia, region on March 16, 2021, 8 people were 
murdered, including 6 Asian women, at 3 separate Asian-owned businesses; 
and

    (4) 1 in 5 Asian Americans (21.2 percent) and Pacific Islanders (20.0 
percent) reported experiencing a hate incident in 2021, according to Stop 
AAPI Hate;

Whereas discrimination targeting Asian Americans, especially in moments of 
        crisis, is not a new phenomenon and has occurred throughout United 
        States history, including--

    (1) the Page Act of 1875, which prohibited Chinese-American women from 
immigrating to the United States;

    (2) the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was the first law to 
explicitly name an entire ethnic group for exclusion from immigrating to 
the United States;

    (3) the signing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which authorized the 
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 in 1982 by two White autoworkers who 
mistakenly believed that Chin was Japanese and blamed him for the loss of 
their jobs due to the rise of the Japanese automotive industry;

    (5) the Cleveland Elementary School shooting on January 17, 1989, where 
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; and

    (7) the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on 
August 5, 2012, where a White supremacist 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), which was signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden on 
        May 20, 2021;
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 House of Representatives--
            (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 strengthen and enhance the rich 
        diversity of the United States.
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