[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 34 (Monday, February 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 70--RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF EXECUTIVE 
 ORDER 9066 AND EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT POLICIES THAT 
 DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY INDIVIDUAL BASED ON THE ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED 
RACE, ETHNICITY, NATIONAL ORIGIN, OR RELIGION OF THAT INDIVIDUAL WOULD 
BE A REPETITION OF THE MISTAKES OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 AND CONTRARY TO 
                    THE VALUES OF THE UNITED STATES

  Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, Ms. 
Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Mr. Carper, Mr. Coons, 
Ms. Cortez Masto, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Kaine, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Reed, 
Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. 
Franken) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 70

       Whereas, on December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy 
     launched a surprise attack against the United States naval 
     base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which led to--
       (1) increased prejudice and suspicion toward Japanese 
     Americans; and
       (2) calls from civilians and public officials to remove 
     Japanese Americans from the west coast of the United States;
       Whereas, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano 
     Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407; 
     relating to authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe 
     military areas) (referred to in this preamble as ``Executive 
     Order 9066''), which led to--
       (1) the exclusion of all individuals of Japanese ancestry 
     in the United States; and
       (2) the incarceration of 120,313 United States citizens and 
     lawful permanent residents of Japanese ancestry in 
     incarceration camps during World War II;
       Whereas President Gerald Ford formally rescinded Executive 
     Order 9066 in Presidential Proclamation 4417, dated February 
     19, 1976 (41 Fed. Reg. 7741) (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``Presidential Proclamation 4417'');
       Whereas Presidential Proclamation 4417--
       (1) states that Japanese Americans were and are loyal 
     people of the United States who have contributed to the well-
     being and security of the United States;
       (2) states that the issuance of Executive Order 9066 was a 
     grave mistake in United States history; and
       (3) resolves that actions such as the actions authorized by 
     Executive Order 9066 shall never happen again;
       Whereas, in 1980, Congress established the Commission on 
     Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to investigate 
     the circumstances surrounding the issuance of Executive Order 
     9066;
       Whereas, in 1983, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and 
     Internment of Civilians issued a report entitled ``Personal 
     Justice Denied'' in which the Commission on Wartime 
     Relocation and Internment of Civilians concluded that--
       (1) the promulgation of Executive Order 9066 was not 
     justified by military necessity; and
       (2) the decision to issue Executive Order 9066 was shaped 
     by ``race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political 
     leadership'';
       Whereas, on August 10, 1988, the Civil Liberties Act of 
     1988 (Public Law 100-383; 102 Stat. 903) was enacted--
       (1) to acknowledge the grave injustice done to citizens and 
     permanent residents of the United States of Japanese ancestry 
     by requiring the evacuation, relocation, and internment of 
     those individuals during World War II;
       (2) to apologize for ``fundamental violations of the basic 
     civil liberties and constitutional rights of these 
     individuals of Japanese ancestry'' and provide monetary 
     reparations to Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated 
     by the Federal Government; and
       (3) to establish the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund 
     to ensure that ``the events surrounding the exclusion, forced 
     removal, and incarceration of civilians and permanent 
     resident aliens of Japanese ancestry will be remembered, and 
     so that the causes and circumstances of this and similar 
     events may be illuminated and understood'';
       Whereas the terrorist attacks carried out in the United 
     States on September 11, 2001, have led to heightened levels 
     of suspicion and hate crimes, xenophobia, and bigotry 
     directed toward the Arab, Middle Eastern, South Asian, 
     Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu American communities, including--
       (1) on August 5, 2012, an attack on the Sikh Temple of 
     Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which led to several 
     injuries and the death of 6 Sikh Americans; and
       (2) on February 10, 2015, the execution-style shooting of 3 
     Muslim American students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina;
       Whereas the terrorist attacks carried out in Paris, France, 
     on November 5, 2015, have led to renewed calls from public 
     officials and figures to register Muslim Americans and bar 
     millions of individuals from entering the United States based 
     solely on the religion of those individuals, repeating the 
     mistakes of 1942;
       Whereas Executive Order 13769 (82 Fed. Reg. 8977; relating 
     to protecting the Nation from foreign terrorist entry into 
     the United States) (in this preamble referred to as 
     ``Executive Order 13769''), issued on January 27, 2017, 
     embodies an unconstitutional, disruptive step backwards that 
     has promoted discrimination against individuals based on 
     national origin and religion, which is contrary to the values 
     of the United States; and
       Whereas, on February 9, 2017, the United States Court of 
     Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously upheld the decision 
     of a Federal district court judge to temporarily block the 
     implementation of Executive Order 13769: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the historical significance of February 19, 
     1942, as the date on which President Franklin Delano 
     Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407; 
     relating to authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe 
     military areas) (referred to in this resolving clause as 
     ``Executive Order 9066''), which restricted the freedom of 
     Japanese Americans;
       (2) recognizes the historical significance of February 19, 
     1976, as the date on which President Gerald Ford issued 
     Presidential Proclamation 4417 (41 Fed. Reg. 7741), which 
     formally terminated Executive Order 9066;
       (3) supports the goals of the Japanese American community 
     in recognizing a National Day of Remembrance to increase 
     public awareness about the unjust measures taken to restrict 
     the freedom of Japanese Americans during World War II;
       (4) expresses the sense that the National Day of 
     Remembrance described in paragraph (3) is an opportunity--
       (A) to reflect on the importance of upholding justice and 
     civil liberties for all people of the United States; and
       (B) to oppose hate, xenophobia, and bigotry;
       (5) recognizes the positive contributions that people of 
     the United States of every race, ethnicity, religion, and 
     national origin have made to the United States;
       (6) steadfastly confirms the dedication of the Senate to 
     the rights and dignity of all people of the United States; 
     and
       (7) expresses the sense that policies that discriminate 
     against any individual based on the actual or perceived race, 
     ethnicity, national origin, or religion of that individual 
     would be--
       (A) a repetition of the mistakes of Executive Order 9066; 
     and
       (B) contrary to the values of the United States.

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