[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 25 (Friday, February 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            BAINBRIDGE ISLAND AMERICAN MONUMENT ACT OF 2007

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                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 2007

  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, February 5 the House unanimously 
passed H.R. 161, the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Monument Act 
of 2007. This measure would provide for the preservation of a historic 
site on Bainbridge Island, WA, where the first Japanese Americans were 
assembled for internment during World War II.
  I thank my friend, Congressman Jay Inslee, for his heartfelt 
commitment and leadership in introducing this legislation and working 
so effectively through the years to provide for this historic site. As 
an original cosponsor of this legislation and supporter of past 
efforts, I am proud to see its passage in the House. In addition, I 
wish to thank the Committee on Natural Resources and especially my 
friend, Chairman Raul Grijalva of the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests and Public Lands for their support and quick action.
  During the war hysteria in 1942, Executive Order 9066 was signed by 
President Roosevelt which effectively trampled on the rights of U.S. 
citizens by ordering the internment of approximately 120,000 Japanese 
Americans.
  Due to the military importance of Bainbridge Island, WA, lawful 
Japanese American families of this community were the first to be 
forcibly removed from their homes and sent to internment sites. These 
families would not be able to return to the island for more than four 
years. H.R. 161 would preserve their story.
  H.R. 161 would enact recommendations from the National Park Service 
by extending the boundary of the Minidoka Internment National Monument, 
located in Idaho, to include the Bainbridge Island site as a satellite 
location. The Minidoka internment camp was the final destination until 
the end of the war for most of the families from Bainbridge Island. 
Including the Bainbridge Island site into an existing national monument 
would make it eligible to receive grants for funding.
  Mr. Speaker, I am truly grateful for the support H.R. 161 enjoyed in 
the House of Representatives, and I anticipate similar endorsement in 
the Senate. Memorializing the Bainbridge Island site will preserve the 
stories of injustice fallen on these innocent American families and 
serve as a reminder of how easily the civil rights can be discarded in 
guise of homeland security. Appropriately, the Bainbridge Island 
Memorial will be named Nidoto Nai Yoni, which translated from Japanese 
means ``Let It Not Happen Again.''

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