[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING NORMAN YOSHIO MINETA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 15, 2010

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the 
resolution honoring my dear friend and former colleague, Congressman 
Norman Mineta, the founder of the Congressional Asian Pacific American 
Caucus.
  After attending the University of California, Berkeley in my 
district, Congressman Mineta served as an intelligence officer in Korea 
and Japan.
  He was the first minority and Asian American city council member in 
San Jose, and was elected the first Asian American mayor of a major 
U.S. city.
  As a child, Congressman Mineta and his family suffered great loss 
when they were sent to an internment camp after the Japanese attack on 
Pearl Harbor.
  Upon his election to Congress, he worked tirelessly to pass the Civil 
Liberties Act of 1988, which officially apologized to and compensated 
Japanese families for their discriminatory and immoral internment.
  I had the privilege to work with Norm while serving Mayor of Oakland, 
then Congressman Ron Dellums' staff. I vividly remember sitting next to 
him on a flight from Washington, DC to San Francisco. During that 
flight, he told me his remarkable life story, which established our 
long term friendship. As a staffer, he treated me with respect, and I 
am proud to call him my friend.
  After his long career in Congress, Congressman Mineta became the 
first Asian American Cabinet member, first as Secretary of Commerce 
under President William J. Clinton and then as Secretary of 
Transportation under President George W. Bush.
  I wholeheartedly support this resolution honoring the accomplishments 
of an outstanding and inspiring public servant, colleague, trailblazer, 
and friend, Congressman Norman Mineta.

                          ____________________