[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 151 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






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.
                                 <all>