[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 10, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1903-E1904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA

                                 ______


                               speech of

                       HON. ESTEBAN EDWARD TORRES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 1995

  Mr. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Norm Mineta, a great 
American. In the spring of 1942, Sidney Yamaguchi, a schoolmate of 
mine, was absent on Monday morning at Soto Street School. The teacher 
informed us that Sidney was going on a long trip to Utah or Wyoming. I 
don't recall which State for sure.
  After school I walked across the street to the Yamaguchi house to see 
Sidney and learn more about his move. Too late, the Yamaguchi family 
was gone. I never saw Sidney again. I later learned from my mother the 
fate of the Yamaguchi family, they had been 

[[Page E 1904]]
removed to an internment camp for Japanese-Americans.
  The incident had a lasting effect on me and throughout my growing up 
I continued to believe that our country had carried out a grave 
injustice to Japanese-Americans.
  Norm Mineta, much like Sidney, had become a victim of President 
Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order No. 9066 which gave the U.S. 
military authority to take action against aliens. It is important to 
note that while the Executive order did not mention Japanese-Americans 
by name, General L. DeWitt, the west coast commander recommended 
Japanese removal. U.S. Attorney General Biddle had already declared 
German and Italian citizens living here not to be considered enemy 
aliens.
  With few days to dispose of their possessions, the Mineta family was 
initially removed to Santa Anita, CA, and later transferred to Heart 
Mountain, WY.
  Those were sad and painful years for our Japanese-American citizens. 
Our Government was wrong to act in this way against citizens which had 
manifested no disloyalty, but in fact had contributed so much to the 
building and the defense of our Nation.
  In 1945, the internment camps closed and the Japanese-Americans began 
the long, sad trek back to the businesses, farms, jobs, and homes they 
had now lost. There was never an apology, a sign of regret or an 
attempt of compensation for their losses.
  Years after, as a Representative in Congress, I was proud to stand 
with my colleague, Norm Mineta, and cast a vote on H.R. 442, the bill 
providing redress and compensation to the many Japanese-Americans who 
had suffered innumerable losses during their internment. In voting 
along with Norm Mineta and Bob Matsui, I felt that I was vindicating 
Sidney.
  Norm Mineta rose to the occasion and courageously guided the critical 
legislation through troubled waters never relenting against the 
arguments that it was a money grab that would establish a terrible 
precedent for the United States. Norm stood in the well of the House 
and declared:

       I realize that there are some who say that these payments 
     are inappropriate. Liberty is priceless, they say, and you 
     cannot put a price on freedom. That's an easy statement when 
     you have your freedom. But to say that because constitutional 
     rights are priceless and they really have no value at all is 
     to turn the argument on its head. Would I sell my civil and 
     constitutional rights for $20,000? No. But having had those 
     rights ripped away from me, do I think I am entitled to 
     compensation? Absolutely. We are not talking here about the 
     wartime sacrifices that we all made to support and defend our 
     nation. At issue here is the wholesale violation, based on 
     race, of those very legal principles we were fighting to 
     defend.

  In the end, the legislation prevailed in large part to Norm's shaking 
discourse which struck the conscience of the assembled House. Days 
later, President Reagan sent a letter to the Speaker announcing his 
change of position on redress. He later signed the act and it became 
the law of the land. Such has been the leadership role that I remember 
Norm Mineta best. He stands tall in the defense of civil rights; to 
this he's never been a stranger. His position on the Civil Rights Act 
and the Wards Cove amendment reflect his passion for equality.
  As the founding chair of the Congress of Asian Pacific Americans, he 
has become a mentor to the young men and women who follow in his 
political leadership footsteps.
  I am proud to have served with him, to have known his family, to have 
shared his dreams for America.

                          ____________________