109 HRES 963 IH: Congratulating and thanking Secretary of U.S. House of Representatives 2006-07-28 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

109th CONGRESS 2d Session

H. RES. 963

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 28, 2006

Mrs. Tauscher (for herself, Mr. Honda, Mr. Oberstar, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Dreier, Ms. Matsui, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, Mr. Lantos, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Farr, Mr. Becerra, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Watson, Mr. Costa, Ms. Linda T. Sánchez of California, Mr. Berman, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Lewis of California, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Gary G. Miller of California, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Calvert, Ms. Lee, Ms. Harman, Mr. Davis of Tennessee, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Norton, Mr. Holden, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Simmons, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Boozman, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Coble, Mr. Matheson, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Shuster, Mr. Boustany, Ms. Solis, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Porter, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Campbell of California, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Kennedy of Minnesota, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Issa, Mr. Herger, Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California, Mr. Royce, Mr. Baca, Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Gallegly, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Stark, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Filner, Ms. Waters, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, and Mr. Petri) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration

RESOLUTION

Congratulating and thanking Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta for his 40 years of dedicated service to the people of the United States.

Whereas on July 7, 2006, Secretary Mineta completed his service as Secretary of Transportation as the longest serving Secretary of Transportation in the Department of Transportation’s 40-year history; Whereas Secretary Mineta’s life has been the story of a man who never shied away from a challenge and who broke numerous barriers along the way; Whereas throughout his career, Secretary Mineta has championed the goal of equal rights and equal opportunity for all Americans; Whereas Secretary Mineta’s legacy of public service began when he enlisted in the United States Army in 1953 and served honorably until 1956 in defense of our Nation; Whereas Secretary Mineta served on the city council of the city of San Jose from 1967 to 1971 and later served as the mayor of the city of San Jose, making him the first Asian American mayor of a major American city; Whereas Secretary Mineta was elected a Member of Congress in 1974 and served in that capacity until 1995, during which time he served as chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives and chairman of the Committee’s Aviation, Public Buildings, and Surface Transportation Subcommittees; Whereas during his time in Congress, Secretary Mineta championed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which offered an official apology to the 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry who, as he did, suffered internment and evacuation by the United States Government during World War II; Whereas during Secretary Mineta’s career on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, he championed increases in investment for transportation infrastructure and was a key author of the landmark Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991; Whereas the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 encouraged States, metropolitan planning agencies, and public transit agencies to consider multimodal solutions to surface transportation problems and led to major increases in public transit ridership and bicycle and pedestrian use; Whereas during Secretary Mineta’s service as chairman of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee he moved the transportation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act through the Committee, opening opportunities for people with disabilities to more fully participate in their communities; Whereas during his service in the Congress, Secretary Mineta spearheaded the creation of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in 1994 to promote and advocate for Asian Pacific American issues and served as its first Chairman; Whereas Secretary Mineta founded the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies in 1995 to effectively enhance and increase the participation of the Asian Pacific American community in the democratic process at the national, State, and local levels; Whereas after his retirement from Congress, Secretary Mineta served as Secretary of Commerce in 2000 and 2001 becoming the first Asian Pacific American to serve in the Cabinet; Whereas Secretary Mineta became the first Asian Pacific American Cabinet member to serve in successive administrations for two different political parties when he was appointed Secretary of Transportation by President George W. Bush in 2001; Whereas on September 11, 2001, as Secretary of Transportation, Secretary Mineta acted in the defense of our Nation by ordering the Federal Aviation Administration to restrict our Nation’s airspace, prevent further aircraft takeoffs, and land all aircraft, resulting in 4,836 aircraft landings in 2 hours and 12 minutes; Whereas after enactment of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in November 2001, Secretary Mineta oversaw implementation of a major overhaul of aviation security, including establishing the Transportation Security Administration, hiring and training a workforce of 45,000 passenger and baggage screeners, and the installation of thousands of explosive detection systems and explosive trace detection machines to screen all checked baggage; Whereas in implementing the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, Secretary Mineta ensured that the Department of Transportation met all of the statutory deadlines to improve aviation security, including many security mandates that required action within one year of enactment; Whereas in honor of his public service and commitment to the city of San Jose, the San Jose Airport was officially rededicated as the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in 2001; Whereas Secretary Mineta played an important role in the passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) which seeks to strengthen the legacy of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991; and Whereas Secretary Mineta’s record of public service and his dedication to our Nation should be held in the highest esteem: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives congratulates and thanks Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta for his long career of public service and commitment to the Nation.