[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14766-S14767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               RETIREMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE NORMAN MINETA

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, when the House adjourns toady for 
the Columbus Day recess, it will also mark the end of the congressional 
career of Representative Norman Mineta of San Jose, CA. Norm Mineta and 
I came to Congress together in January 1975 and over the past two 
decades he has been a remarkable public servant.
  There was Cynicism about Washington when we arrived in the Watergate 
class of 1974 and, sadly, there is loss of faith in our political 
system today. But there has never been a question about the 
contributions Norm Mineta has made to make this country a better place.
  While ably representing the people of his district, Norm Mineta has 
also developed a natural, national constituency among Asian-Pacific-
Americans. 

[[Page S 14767]]
Many people do not realize that the State of Illinois has the fifth 
largest Asian-American population of any State. Over the years, Norm 
Mineta and I have worked closely on many issues, particularly those 
affecting our Asian-Pacific-Americans constituents.
  In the 1970s', we worked together on the inclusion of Asian-Americans 
in the decennial census. In the 1980's, we worked to ensure that Asian 
Americans were included in the Higher Education Act. In this decade, we 
have worked on passing hate crimes legislation and saving the 
immigration preference for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, which 
sadly is being threatened again today. In 1992, he was particularly 
helpful to me and my staff on extending the important bilingual 
provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
  Perhaps most of all, Norm Mineta will be remembered for his work to 
do what should have been done long previously by Congress--enactment of 
the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 providing redress for Japanese-
Americans interned during World War II. I was a teenager living on the 
west cost when that episode occurred in our Nation's history. My family 
was not uprooted like Norm Mineta's and those of 120,000 Japanese-
Americans. But my father, who was a Lutheran minister, spoke out 
publicly against what was happening to Japanese-Americans. He was 
criticized for that, but, as I look back, it was one of the things I am 
most proud of him--standing up for what was right in the face of what 
was the popular mood.
  Norm Mineta has always stood for what is best in public service and I 
wish him well in his future endeavors.

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