[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 26 (Monday, February 12, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H1440-H1441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PINEDALE ASSEMBLY CENTER

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 109) recognizing the historical significance of the 
Pinedale Assembly Center, the reporting site for 4,823 Japanese 
Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 109

       Whereas on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. 
     Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the 
     forced internment of both United States citizens and legal 
     resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II;
       Whereas in the largest single relocation of individuals in 
     the United States in U.S. history, approximately 120,000 of 
     these Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps by 
     the United States Government in violation of their 
     fundamental Constitutional rights;
       Whereas due to this unjust internment, these Japanese 
     Americans faced tremendous hardships, such as the loss of 
     their homes, businesses, jobs, and dignity;
       Whereas following Executive Order 9066, Japanese Americans 
     in parts of Washington, Oregon, California, and southern 
     Arizona were ordered to report to assembly centers before 
     being removed to more permanent war relocation centers;
       Whereas the Pinedale Assembly Center, located in Fresno, 
     California, was the reporting site for 4,823 Japanese 
     Americans;
       Whereas February 19th, the anniversary of Executive Order 
     9066, is known as the Day of Remembrance;
       Whereas the Pinedale Assembly Center Memorial Project 
     Committee is charged with the task of establishing a memorial 
     to recognize the historic tragedy that took place at the 
     Pinedale Assembly Center; and
       Whereas the ground-breaking ceremony for the memorial at 
     the Pinedale Assembly Center will take place on February 19, 
     2007, the 65th anniversary of Executive Order 9066: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives recognizes the 
     historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center to 
     the Nation and the importance of an appropriate memorial at 
     that site to serve as a place for remembering the hardships 
     endured by Japanese Americans, so that the United States will 
     be reminded of the need to remain vigilant in protecting our 
     Nation's core values of equality, due process of law, and 
     fundamental fairness.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 109. We have been 
discussing in the previous resolution Executive Order 9066. When 
President Roosevelt signed that order, approximately 120,000 Japanese 
Americans were forced into internment camps, leading to the loss of 
their livelihoods, homes, and jobs. This action was the largest 
relocation of Americans in our history. Before being deported to 
permanent camps in desolate areas and behind barbed wires, thousands of 
Japanese Americans were temporarily held at assembly centers. Close to 
5,000 Japanese Americans reported to the Pinedale Assembly Center in 
Fresno, California.
  The Pinedale Assembly Center Memorial Project Committee will 
establish a memorial at that site, marking the tragedy that occurred 
there. The groundbreaking ceremony for the memorial will take place in 
just a few days, on February 19, 2007, 65 years after the signing of 
Executive Order 9066 and a day that the Japanese American community 
most appropriately recognizes as a national day of remembrance.
  H. Res. 109 recognizes the historical significance of the site. The 
site is a symbol of the injustices suffered by Japanese Americans 
during World War II and a reminder of how fragile our civil liberties 
are in the face of fear, prejudice, and paranoia. I particularly want 
to commend my colleague, Representative Costa of California, for 
introducing this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 109, recognizing the 
historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center, the reporting 
site for over 4,823 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were unjustly 
interned during World War II.
  The Pinedale Assembly Center is located 8 miles north of downtown 
Fresno, California, on vacant land. It is a stark place, as was the 
policy that was supported by Executive Order 9066 signed by President 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt to authorize the tragic internment of 
Japanese Americans at the beginning of World War II.
  The assembly center was encircled by a high chain-link fence, topped 
with three rows of barbed wire, and it caged American citizens whose 
only crime was their ancestry. Soldiers gave orders to citizens who 
should have been free; livelihoods were put on hold; uncertainty and 
fear punctuated each day. Thousands of law-abiding citizens who loved 
America and contributed to its strength had been trapped in endless 
rows of drab cell blocks.
  The center serves as a symbol of America's stumbling. But our country 
has regained its footing. It has appropriately apologized for the 
tragic mistake of President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, and it is 
reaffirming its commitment, through this resolution before us today, to 
never forget its mistakes lest they be repeated.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my 
colleague from California (Mr. Honda).
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Berman for his 
leadership.
  I rise today in support of H. Res. 109, which recognizes the 
historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center, and I want to 
thank House leadership for bringing two resolutions on the floor today 
recognizing the important historical aspects of the Japanese American 
internment. I also want to thank Congressman Costa for his leadership 
in introducing this very important resolution.
  Executive Order 9066 authorized the exclusion and internment of all 
Japanese Americans living on the west coast during World War II. As we 
recognize the Pinedale Assembly Center, I want us to place the 
internment period into a broader historical context rather than just 
focus on the plight of the Japanese Americans during World War II.

                              {time}  1545

  Our Nation has always battled the dueling sentiments of openness and 
freedom on the one hand and apprehension and fear of perceived 
outsiders on the other. Due to apprehension and fear when our economy 
took a downturn in the 1880s, the Asian community became the target of 
politicians looking for someone to blame.
  In 1882 the Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to keep out 
people of all Chinese origin. During World War II, Japanese Americans 
were the well-known target of the government's submission to 
apprehension and fear.
  During this time, 10,000 Italian Americans were forced to relocate; 
3,278 were incarcerated, while nearly 11,000 German Americans were 
incarcerated. German and Italian Americans were restricted during World 
War II by measures that branded them enemy aliens and required 
identification cards, travel restrictions, seizure of personal property 
as well.
  Our Federal Government has made amends for the fundamental violations 
of the basic rights of those of Japanese ancestry that took place 
pursuant to Executive Order 9066, but we must continue to learn from 
these events. In the post-9/11 world, we need to protect our Nation and 
our civil liberties more than ever.
  As political leaders we must not fail to uphold constitutional 
principles.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  I would like to associate myself with the comments of Mr. Honda. I 
think it is very clear that you can't remember 65 years ago with the 
resolution and

[[Page H1441]]

not have a permanent, physical site for people to go to every day and 
realize what internment meant. So I join with my colleagues in 
supporting this resolution, urge its passage and recognize that this 
pairing of resolutions means a great deal, because it is only with 
something that the public can visit 365 days a year that we will, in 
fact, prevent this from happening again.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize our new colleague, 
the gentlelady from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. HIRONO. I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of House Resolution 
109. Today we will be taking action on two related measures, House 
Resolution 122, earlier debated, and this resolution.
  One of the lowest points in American history occurred 65 years ago 
when the Constitution and civil rights of 120,000 persons of Japanese 
ancestry were trampled upon by their own government. Under the cloud of 
war, hysteria, false rumors and racial bigotry fueled official 
misconduct that led to the uprooting of innocent aliens and citizens 
alike in one of the worst wholesale infringements of constitutional 
rights in the 20th century.
  As a consequence, thousands of persons of Japanese ancestry were 
forced by their own government to dispose of their property, 
businesses, farms and possessions for pennies on the dollar, if 
anything at all. Families were split up and sent to different 
relocation camps. Educations were disrupted, and careers abruptly 
terminated on only a few days' notice. Wholesale violations of basic 
constitutional rights were committed in the name of national security. 
Yet not a single act of sedition or espionage by any of the evacuees 
was ever proven in any court of law.
  To the contrary, the historic exploits of AJA in the 100th Battalion 
and 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe and the MIS in the Pacific 
and Asia proved that patriotism was not skin deep. The psychological 
and emotional pain of this experience was so deep that many evacuees 
never talked about their experiences for decades.
  Many who were directly affected by the order live and work among us 
still. A member of my own congressional staff, my deputy chief of 
staff, Susan Kodani, was born in the Manzanar Relocation Camp. Her 
family was then relocated to Michigan, ironically to permit her 
college-educated father to assist in the war effort.
  Many more, of course, suffered personal losses and tragedies more 
traumatic and devastating. By recognizing the historic significance of 
the Pinedale Assembly Center and by observing the Day of Remembrance as 
called for in earlier House Resolution 122, we say to the Nation and 
our fellow citizens that America can never forget this horrible 
tragedy. While it directly affected one segment of our population, the 
ramifications to all Americans are profound and no less relevant today 
as we wage war in Iraq.
  The constitutional rights of all Americans are in jeopardy if any 
group of citizens can be persecuted without legal justification. We 
must all stand vigilant and alert for any attempt by any group, whether 
a small power clique or the majority of Americans, to overstep the 
bounds of the law for momentary expediency or even for claims of 
national security during war. The protection of our constitutional 
rights of all of our citizens require continued vigilance from all of 
us.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 
109, to recognize the historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly 
Center in Fresno, California, the reporting site for 4,823 Japanese 
Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II.
  It is fitting that a memorial will be established at this historical 
location, especially on this year's National Day of Remembrance. On 
that same day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive 
Order 9066, requiring 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to be removed 
forcibly from their homes and placed in internment camps--two-thirds of 
these were American citizens, none of which had ever shown disloyalty 
to the American cause. Forced to live under harsh conditions, the last 
internment camp closed four long years later.
  These innocent Americans were treated unjustly by their own 
government during a time of war, simply because of their national 
origins, and such an injustice must not go unremembered. It is 
absolutely essential to remember the past mistakes of our government in 
an effort to avoid future ones.
  In times of war it may be easy to get carried away and put labels on 
those around us, imputing disloyalty to persons of different national 
origins or religious backgrounds. But as we saw in World War II, such 
assumptions are frequently wrong, unjust, and can lead to disastrous 
consequences for a group of individuals.
  I thank my colleague, Representative Costa, for introducing this 
important legislation. We must never let such unjust practices occur in 
this great Nation again. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting 
H. Res. 109.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 109.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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