[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 151 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 151
Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 23, 2021
Ms. Meng (for herself, Ms. Chu, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Titus, Mr.
Hastings, Mrs. Bustos, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Suozzi, Mr.
Cooper, Mr. Jeffries, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Welch,
Mr. Khanna, Mr. Peters, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Brownley,
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Napolitano, Miss
Rice of New York, Mr. Bera, Ms. Norton, Ms. Waters, Ms. Williams of
Georgia, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Bourdeaux, Ms. Adams,
Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Schneider, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr.
Gallego, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Jacobs of California,
Ms. Ross, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Bush, Mr. Carbajal, Mr.
Blumenauer, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Case, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York,
Mr. Pallone, Mr. Meeks, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Lois
Frankel of Florida, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Crow, Mr. Neguse,
Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Garamendi, Ms. Bonamici, Mr.
DeSaulnier, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Jones, Mr. Espaillat, Mr.
Lowenthal, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Eshoo,
Mr. Kilmer, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Takano, Mr.
Lieu, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Dean, Ms. Newman, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Brendan F.
Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Foster, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Tonko,
Ms. Velazquez, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Carson, Ms.
Strickland, Mr. Kahele, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms.
Clarke of New York, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Trone, Mr. Danny
K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Kim of New Jersey, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Nadler, Mr.
Grijalva, Ms. Underwood, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Wilson of Florida,
Ms. Pingree, and Mrs. Beatty) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19.
Whereas 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for 7 percent
of the population in the United States;
Whereas over 2 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are working on the
front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in health care, law enforcement,
first responders, transportation, supermarkets, and other service
industries;
Whereas the use of anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID-19, such
as the ``Chinese Virus'', ``Wuhan Virus'', and ``Kung-flu'' have
perpetuated anti-Asian stigma;
Whereas the use of anti-Asian rhetoric has resulted in Asian Americans being
harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas, since January 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in reports of
hate crimes and incidents against those of Asian descent;
Whereas according to a recent report, there are nearly 3,000 reported cases of
anti-Asian discrimination related to COVID-19 between March 19, 2020,
and December 31, 2020;
Whereas in incidents of anti-Asian violence occurring in March 2020, a woman
wearing a mask was kicked and punched at a New York City subway station,
two children and two adults were stabbed at a wholesale grocery in
Midland, Texas, a couple was assaulted and robbed by a group of
attackers in Philadelphia, and a 16-year-old boy was sent to the
hospital after being attacked by bullies in Los Angeles, California;
Whereas anti-Asian discrimination and hate since the start of the COVID-19
outbreak has continued throughout the pandemic;
Whereas since the start of year 2021, there has been a surge in anti-Asian
attacks targeting predominately elderly Asian Americans;
Whereas, on January 30, 2021, an 84-year-old Thai man, Vicha Ratanapakdee, died
from injuries sustained from an unprovoked assault while on his routine
morning walk in San Francisco, California;
Whereas in January 2021, a series of attacks occurred in Oakland's Chinatown
targeting Asian American seniors, and victims included a 91-year-old
man, a 60-year-old man, and a 55-year-old woman, who were all violently
shoved to the ground in three separate incidents;
Whereas in February 2021, victims of anti-Asian violence have included a 61-
year-old Filipino man who was attacked and slashed across his face on a
New York City subway, a Filipino woman in her 80s who was punched in an
unprovoked attack while riding a trolley in San Diego, and a 52-year-old
Asian woman who was attacked and forcefully shoved while waiting in line
outside of a bakery in Flushing, New York;
Whereas anti-Asian racism has also resulted in Asian American businesses being
targeted for vandalism;
Whereas there are approximately 2 million Asian American-owned businesses that
generate over $700 billion in annual revenue and employ millions of
workers;
Whereas more than 1,900,000 Asian American and Pacific Islander older adults,
particularly those older adults who are recent immigrants or have
limited English proficiency, may face even greater challenges in dealing
with the COVID-19 pandemic, including discrimination, economic
insecurity, and language isolation;
Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) recognize that naming COVID-19 by its geographic
location or linking it to a specific ethnicity perpetuates stigma;
Whereas in 2015, the WHO issued guidance calling on media outlets, scientists,
and national authorities to avoid naming infectious diseases for
locations to avoid stigmatizing groups of people;
Whereas, on February 27, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
stated, ``ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus'' and that
it is inappropriate and inaccurate to call COVID-19 the ``Chinese
virus'';
Whereas, on February 28, 2020, Dr. Mitch Wolfe, the Chief Medical Officer of the
CDC, said, ``Stigma is the enemy of public health'';
Whereas, on March 10, 2020, Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the CDC,
testified that use of the term ``Chinese coronavirus'' is wrong and
inappropriate;
Whereas the Secretary General of the United Nations called for international
solidarity and an end to any ill-founded discrimination of the
outbreak's victims; and
Whereas, on January 26, 2021, President Biden issued a Presidential Memorandum
``Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns and denounces all forms of anti-Asian
sentiment, including those relating to COVID-19;
(2) recognizes that the health and safety of all Americans,
no matter their background, must be the utmost priority;
(3) condemns all manifestations and expressions of racism,
xenophobia, discrimination, anti-Asian sentiment, scapegoating,
and ethnic or religious intolerance;
(4) calls on Federal law enforcement officials, working
with State and local agencies--
(A) to expeditiously investigate and document all
credible reports of hate crimes, harassment, bullying,
and threats against the Asian American and Pacific
Islander communities in the United States;
(B) to expand collection of data and public
reporting to document the rise of incidents of hate
crimes relating to COVID-19; and
(C) to hold the perpetrators of those crimes,
incidents, or threats accountable and bring such
perpetrators to justice, including through
investigation and prosecution;
(5) calls on the Attorney General to work with State and
local agencies and Asian American and Pacific Islander
community-based organizations to prevent discrimination, and
expand culturally competent and linguistically appropriate
education campaigns on public reporting of hate crimes;
(6) calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in
coordination with the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and
Asian American and Pacific Islander community-based
organizations, to issue guidance describing best practices to
mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the
COVID-19 pandemic; and
(7) recommits the United States to serving as a world
leader in building more inclusive, diverse, and tolerant
societies--
(A) by prioritizing language access and inclusivity
in communication practices; and
(B) by combating misinformation and discrimination
that put Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at risk.
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