[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 57 (Thursday, May 11, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E797-E798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 9, 2006

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, today and throughout the 
month of May, we celebrate the many contributions Asian Pacific 
Americans have made to the fabric of our communities and to this Nation 
as a whole.
  More than 100 Members of Congress work together in the Congressional 
Asian Pacific American Caucus to promote Asian Pacific American issues 
and concerns, and I'm pleased that we are led by my long-time friend 
and colleague, Congressman Mike Honda.
  Congressman Honda and I are proud to represent San Jose, California 
and surrounding areas, a community blessed with diversity and culture 
from around the world, including close to 350,000 Asian Pacific 
Americans.
  Some notable Asian Pacific Americans from our area include Norman 
Mineta, the longest serving Secretary in the history of the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, the first Asian American mayor of a major 
U.S. city, and the first Asian American Cabinet member during the 
Clinton Administration.
  San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen is another extraordinary Asian 
Pacific American. She is the first Vietnamese American woman elected to 
office in the State of California.
  Another distinguished Asian Pacific American from the San Jose area 
is Dr. Allan Seid who founded Asian Americans for Community Involvement 
(AACI), the largest social services nonprofit organization serving the 
Asian Pacific American community in Santa Clara County.
  Vinod Khosla has contributed immensely to Silicon Valley as a 
distinguished venture capitalist and a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, 
headquartered in Santa Clara, California, a company that has grown into 
one of the largest providers of computers, computer components, 
software, and information-technology services.
  In this Congress, there are five Asian Pacific Americans serving our 
Nation and their communities as members of the House of 
Representatives, as well as one delegate from

[[Page E798]]

American Samoa and two Asian Pacific Americans serving in the Senate. I 
am proud that the California Democratic Delegation includes two of 
these Representatives from the Asian Pacific American community.
  In the field of science and technology, Asian Pacific Americans have 
long contributed to our country, from Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian-
American in space, to Flossi Wong-Staal and Dr. David D. Ho, for their 
work on HIV and AIDS. Moreover, several Asian Pacific Americans have 
received Nobel Prizes for their accomplishments in science and 
technology.
  Hundreds of thousands of Asian Pacific Americans have also loyally 
served our Nation in the military willing to give their life for the 
United States of America. Asian Pacific American veterans of the Armed 
Forces number 312,700.
  In sports, Asian Pacific Americans have helped bring home Olympic 
gold medals for the United States, including the first woman to win 
gold medals in the ten and three meter diving events--Filipina American 
Victoria Manalo Draves.
  Although it is important for us to celebrate Asian Pacific American 
heritage this month, we must not forget the plight that Asian Pacific 
Americans endure despite the community's many accomplishments.
  The pitfalls of immigration law and the backlog of immigration 
applications continue to prevent many Asian Pacific American families 
from reuniting for several years.
  We must also not forget that the APA community suffers from greater 
poverty than non-Hispanic Whites, especially in the Hmong, Laotian, 
Cambodian, and Vietnamese American communities.
  We must work to ensure that Asian Pacific Americans are appropriately 
counted when our government collects data that will be used to 
understand the needs of the APA community.
  We must make every effort to invite Asian Pacific Americans to 
participate in government to ensure that our government meets the needs 
of the APA community.
  In commemoration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I honor 
the contributions of millions of Asian Pacific Americans who have 
contributed to our nation and who I am sure will continue to contribute 
in the future. But while I celebrate this month, I also renew my pledge 
to address the issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans around the 
country.

                          ____________________