[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S4777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CELEBRATING ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today with the great pleasure of 
recognizing the month of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 
and honoring the many contributions that Americans of Asian and Pacific 
Islander descent have made to our great Nation and to my home State of 
Nevada.
  I am proud of the role this distinguished chamber played in the 
designation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, albeit many years 
too late. On June 19, 1978, some 135 years after the arrival of the 
first Japanese immigrant to the United States, Representatives Frank 
Horton and Norman Mineta introduced a joint resolution ``authorizing 
and requesting the President to proclaim the 7-day period beginning on 
May 4, 1979, as 'Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week''--H.J. Res. 
1007. Two months after being passed overwhelmingly by the House, the 
Senate unanimously approved the joint resolution and promptly sent it 
to President Jimmy Carter for his signature.
  In addition to recognizing the onset of Japanese immigration to 
America, the month of May was selected because May 10, 1869, also known 
as Golden Spike Day, marked the completion of the first 
transcontinental railroad in the United States, to whose construction 
Chinese pioneers contributed greatly. Hundreds of miles of this 
railroad passed through a newly admitted and mostly uninhabited western 
state that I have called home for my whole life. Without the tireless 
efforts and tremendous sacrifices of these Asian settlers, the state of 
Nevada would have remained largely disconnected from the rest of our 
country for an untold number of years.
  Rising to support H.J. Res. 1007, Senator Spark Matsunaga, who served 
the State of Hawaii for over 13 honorable years before succumbing to 
cancer, remarked that ``most Americans are unaware of the history of 
Pacific and Asian Americans in the United States, and their 
contributions to our Nation's cultural heritage.'' He continued by 
saying that one of the two main purposes of the joint resolution was 
``to imbue a renewed sense of pride among our citizens of Pacific and 
Asian ancestry.'' I am delighted that the many celebrations taking 
place around the country to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage 
Month, particularly in my home State of Nevada, have showcased the 
enduring sense of pride that Senator Matsunaga spoke about nearly three 
decades ago.
  Almost 14 years after President Carter signed H.J. Res. 1007 into 
law, Representative Frank Horton once again assumed the leadership role 
on this issue and introduced a bill to permanently designate May of 
each year as ``Asian Pacific American Heritage Month''--H.R. 5572. 
After this bill was passed by both Houses of Congress, President George 
H.W. Bush signed it into law on October 23, 1992.
  Ever since, our country has taken the time at the end of each spring 
to celebrate the innumerable contributions that Americans of Asian and 
Pacific Islander ancestry have made and continue to make to the United 
States. To the roughly 15 million Asian and Pacific Islander Americans 
who currently live in our country, and most especially to the thousands 
of those who reside in Nevada, I wish you all the best during this 
joyous time of year. I urge my colleagues in this Chamber to do the 
same.

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