[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING REGRET FOR PASSAGE OF LAWS ADVERSELY AFFECTING THE CHINESE 
                          IN THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 18, 2012

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 683. 
This resolution expresses the regret of the House of Representatives 
for the passage of laws that adversely affected the Chinese in the 
United States, including the Chinese Exclusion Act. These laws 
discriminated against people of Chinese descent and blatantly 
contradicted our belief that all people are created equal.
  Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The bill imposed a 
ten-year moratorium on immigration and naturalization of Chinese 
settlers. The law was expanded several times to apply to all persons of 
Chinese descent and each expansion imposed increasingly tougher 
restrictions on Chinese immigration and naturalization. As the 
resolution before us today states, the Chinese exclusion laws 
``enshrined in law the exclusion of the Chinese from the democratic 
process and the promise of American freedom.''
  The United States Senate passed a similar resolution in October 2011. 
I believe passage of H. Res. 683 will be a historic acknowledgment by 
Congress of the injustice of the Chinese exclusion laws.
  I am proud to cosponsor this resolution and I encourage my colleagues 
to support it.

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