[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 63 (Friday, May 7, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5030-S5031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the Asian 
American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and commemorate Asian 
Pacific American Heritage Month. As a member of the Congressional Asian 
Pacific American Caucus, the only Chinese American in the U.S. Senate, 
and sole Native Hawaiian in the U.S. Congress, I am proud to stand here 
to honor the accomplishments and diversity of the AAPI community.
  In 1978, my friends and dear colleagues Representatives Frank Horton 
and Norman Mineta, joined by Hawaii's Senators Daniel K. Inouye and 
Spark Matsunaga, introduced the first resolutions establishing Asian 
Pacific American Heritage Week to recognize the ongoing contributions 
to our Nation of the AAPI population. Representatives Horton and Mineta 
worked with their colleagues in the 102nd Congress to make Asian 
Pacific American Heritage Week a month-long celebration, and succeeded 
in doing so with enactment of Public Law 102-450 in 1992. I look back 
with pride over the past 25 years since our great Nation first observed 
Asian Pacific American Heritage Week.
  Throughout this month, Federal agencies and AAPI and other 
organizations will hold events in celebration of the diversity of the 
AAPI population that range from samplings of Asian cuisines to dance, 
and policy lectures by distinguished speakers. Each event demonstrates 
the contributions that AAPI individuals have made to our country. I 
commend agencies and organizations for sponsoring such events to 
increase public awareness of the contributions made by the AAPI 
community.
  This month presents us with a good opportunity to reexamine the need 
to increase AAPI participation in our Federal Government. I encourage 
the President to renew Executive Order 13216, the President's Advisory 
Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which expired on 
June 7, 2003. The Commission is mandated to develop, monitor, and 
coordinate Federal efforts to improve AAPI participation in Government 
programs; foster research and data collection for AAPI populations and 
sub-populations; and increase public and private sector and community 
involvement in improving the health and well-being of the AAPI 
community. AAPI citizens, whether employed in the private and public 
sector, deserve the coordination of services that the Commission can 
facilitate.
  Our celebration of AAPI history includes remembrances of the 
challenges and hardships that have been overcome. For example, we will 
never forget the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 
At the newly opened Manzanar National Historic Site Interpretive Center 
at the Manzanar War Relocation Center, we have an opportunity to 
explore our past and reflect. The AAPI community, specifically the 
Japanese American National Museum and Japanese American Citizens 
League, are exploring ways to preserve and recall history at the other 
sites that mark this traumatic time in our country's history in an 
effort to ensure that such actions do not repeat themselves.
  This month also affords us time to reflect on the various social 
needs that exist in the AAPI community. Its population enriches our 
culture linguistically through a range of languages, such as Chinese, 
Hawaiian, Korean, Japanese, Malay, Samoan, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese, and 
various Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian languages. Our Nation 
benefits from this linguistic diversity in our ability to compete in 
the global economy, and U.S. national security is strengthened by 
increasing the pool of individuals fluent in critical languages. 
Fluency in foreign languages is one of the vital skills necessary for 
the United States to exercise international leadership economically and 
politically. However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, slightly 
less than half of the 7 million AAPI who speak a language other than 
English at home report that they speak English ``very well.'' We need 
to better address the educational needs of all limited English 
proficiency students, children, and adults.
  I want to extend my gratitude to the patriotic men and women serving 
our country in the military, including the 60,813 Asian Americans and 
Pacific Islanders serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Services, as 
well as the 28,066 in the Reserves and National Guard. I also commend 
the 351,000 AAPI veterans, 57,000 of whom are of Native Hawaiian and 
Pacific Islander heritage, for their excellence in defending our 
nation.
  In addition, individual achievements among the AAPI population are 
many. Though impossible to enumerate all those extraordinary 
individuals, I would like to cite a few examples.
  Army Specialist Hilario Bermanis of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division 
was presented with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for Meritorious 
Conduct in Operation Iraqi Freedom. On July 16, 2003, the award 
presentation ceremony took place bedside at Walter Reed Army Medical 
Center where he was convalescing from grave injuries. Specialist 
Bermanis and a fellow soldier were on guard duty in southern Baghdad 
when they sustained an attack by rocket propelled grenades on June 10, 
2003. His fellow soldier died instantly and Specialist Bermanis lost 
both legs and his left hand. Officials from the Federated States of 
Micronesia (FSM) and the U.S. Government have visited him at Walter 
Reed and praised him for his courage and exemplary service. A senior 
U.S. official commended Specialist Bermanis's service as representative 
of FSM citizens' commitment to the security of the United States and 
Pacific region. Specialist Bermanis hails from Pohnpei in the Federated 
States of Micronesia.

  Dr. Yuan-Cheng Fung, the recipient of the Chinese Institute of 
Engineers' Distinguished Life Time Achievement Award, is a pioneer in 
bioengineering and founder of the University of California, San Diego's 
bioengineering department. Born in China in 1919, Dr. Fung began his 
career as an aeronautics engineer working for the Chinese government. 
Dr. Fung received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology 
in 1948, where he became a faculty member and a major contributor to 
the field of aeroelasticity. When his mother developed glaucoma, Dr. 
Fung's interests shifted to medical science. Combining an expertise in 
force and motion from aeronautics with physiology, he synthesized a new 
understanding of how the body functions and became the father of 
biomechanics.
  Lauren Moriarty, a Native Hawaiian, is a career member of the Senior 
Foreign Service and was confirmed for the rank of Ambassador to the 
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, where she was recently the 
U.S. Senior Official. Having previously served in Beijing and Taipei, 
Ms. Moriarty led the Economic Sections at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, 
China (1999-2001) and the American Institute in Taiwan (1994-1997) as 
those two economies completed negotiations to accede to the World Trade 
Organization. She has received numerous awards, including the State 
Department's 1993 Arnold L. Raphel Award for her leadership and 
mentoring of her subordinates.
  Indra K. Nooyi is the widely admired President and Chief Financial 
Officer for PepsiCo and highest ranking Indian-born woman in corporate 
America. Upon emigrating to the United States in 1978, Ms. Nooyi 
entered the Yale School of Management. She worked from midnight to five 
in the morning to support herself at school. A firm believer in human 
potential and an advocate of education, Ms. Nooyi has received awards 
for her dedication to human capital management. She is ranked by 
Fortune magazine as one of America's top 50 most powerful women.
  AAPI cultural and linguistic diversity, entrepreneurship, public 
service, and scientific endeavors illustrate a

[[Page S5031]]

number of the ways that our Nation excels. The United States is the 
most energetic and innovative country because of the combination of 
these AAPI strengths with the diverse abilities and skills of our 
Nation's other ethnic and racial groups. The U.S. is also a leader in 
the world because of our ability to acknowledge, celebrate, and utilize 
the potency of our combined, diverse citizenry, including the 
contributions from every member of our AAPI community. In the world 
that is all too frequently wracked by ethnic and religious conflicts, 
we can demonstrate to others how racial and ethnic harmony in the U.S. 
provides a balance that encourages a stable democracy, provides for 
well-functioning societies, and sustains the most powerful economy in 
the world.
  In closing, I extend my deepest aloha to all in celebration of Asian 
Pacific American Heritage Month, and I urge my colleagues to 
participate in commemorations of this month in their States and our 
Nation's Capital.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRAHAM of South Carolina. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. GRAHAM of South Carolina. I ask to be recognized to speak in 
morning business.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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