[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6152-S6153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHINESE-AMERICAN WORLD WAR II VETERAN CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further
consideration of S. 1050 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate
consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1050) to award a Congressional Gold Medal,
collectively, to the Chinese-American Veterans of World War
II, in recognition of their dedicated service during World
War II.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. FLAKE. I ask unanimous consent that the Duckworth amendment which
is at the desk be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, be
considered read a third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 4015) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to,
as follows:
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chinese-American World War
II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) Chinese Americans served the United States in every
conflict since the Civil War, and distinguished themselves in
World War II, serving in every theater of war and every
branch of service, earning citations for their heroism and
honorable service, including the Medal of Honor;
(2) Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans faced
institutional discrimination in the United States since
before World War II, limiting the size of their population
and their ability to build thriving communities in the United
States;
(3) the Act entitled ``An Act to execute certain treaty
stipulations relating to Chinese'', approved May 6, 1882
(commonly known as the ``Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882'') (22
Stat. 58, chapter 126), was the first Federal law that
broadly restricted immigration and a specific nationality,
making it illegal for Chinese laborers to immigrate to the
United States and limiting the Chinese population in the
United States for over 60 years;
(4) major court decisions such as the decisions in Lum v.
Rice, 275 U.S. 78 (1927), and People v. Hall, 4 Cal. 399
(1854), found ``yellow'' races to be equal to African
Americans with regard to ``separate but equal'' school
facilities, and prohibited Chinese Americans, along with
``Black, mulatto, or Indian'' persons, from testifying
against White men;
(5) Chinese Americans were harassed, beaten, and murdered
because of their ethnicity, including the Chinese Massacre of
1871, where 17 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, California,
were tortured and murdered, the Rock Springs Massacre of 1885
where White rioters killed 28 Chinese miners and burned 75 of
their homes in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the Hells Canyon
Massacre of 1887 where 34 Chinese gold miners were ambushed
and murdered in Hells Canyon, Oregon;
(6) there were only 78,000 Chinese Americans living on the
United States mainland, with 29,000 living in Hawaii, at the
start of World War II as result of Federal and State
legislation and judicial decisions;
(7) despite the anti-Chinese discrimination at the time, as
many as 20,000 Chinese Americans served in the Armed Forces
during World War II, of whom, approximately 40 percent were
not United States citizens due to the laws that denied
citizenship to persons of Chinese descent;
(8) Chinese Americans, although small in numbers, made
important contributions to the World War II effort;
(9) of the total Chinese Americans serving, approximately
25 percent served in the United States Army Air Force, with
some sent to the China-Burma-India Theater with the 14th Air
Service Group;
(10) the remainder of Chinese Americans who served in World
War II served in all branches of the Armed Forces in all 4
theaters of war;
(11) the first all Chinese-American group was the 14th Air
Service Group in the China-Burma-India Theater which enabled
extensive and effective operations against the Japanese
military in China;
(12) Chinese Americans are widely acknowledged for their
role in the 14th Air Force, widely known as the Flying
Tigers;
(13) Chinese Americans assigned to the China-Burma-India
Theater made transoceanic journeys through hostile
territories and were subject to enemy attack while at sea and
in the air;
(14) in the Pacific Theater, Chinese Americans were in
ground, air, and ocean combat and support roles throughout
the Pacific including New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Solomon
Islands, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Philippines, Mariana Islands, and
Aleutian Islands;
(15) throughout the Pacific and China-Burma-India theaters,
Chinese Americans performed vital functions in translating,
coordinating Nationalist Chinese and United States combat
operations, servicing and repairing aircraft and armaments,
training Nationalist Chinese troops and sailors, delivering
medical care, providing signal and communication support,
gathering and analyzing intelligence, participating in ground
and air combat, and securing and delivering supplies;
(16) Chinese Americans also served in combat and support
roles in the European and African theaters, serving in North
Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Normandy D-Day invasion, which
liberated Western Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge,
occupying Western Germany while helping to liberate Central
Europe;
(17) Chinese Americans flew bomber missions, served in
infantry units and combat ships in the Battle of the
Atlantic, including aboard Merchant Marines convoys
vulnerable to submarine and air attacks;
(18) many Chinese-American women served in the Women's Army
Corps, the Army Air Forces, and the United States Naval
Reserve Women's Reserve, and some became pilots, air traffic
controllers, flight trainers, weather forecasters,
occupational therapists, and nurses;
(19) Captain Francis B. Wai is the only Chinese American
who served in World War II to have been awarded the Medal of
Honor, the highest military award given by the United States
(20) Chinese Americans also earned Combat Infantry Badges,
Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguished
Service Cross, and Distinguished Flying Cross;
(21) units of the Armed Forces with Chinese Americans were
also awarded unit citations for valor and bravery;
(22) the United States remains forever indebted to the
bravery, valor, and dedication that the Chinese-American
Veterans of World War II displayed; and
(23) the commitment and sacrifice of Chinese Americans
demonstrates a highly uncommon and commendable sense of
patriotism and honor in the face of discrimination.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Chinese-American Veterans of World II''
includes individuals of Chinese ancestry who served--
(A) honorably at any time during the period December 7,
1941, and ending December 31, 1946; and
(B) in an active duty status under the command of the Armed
Forces; and
(2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Treasury.
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The President Pro Tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of
Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the
Chinese-American Veterans of World War II, in recognition of
their dedicated service during World War II.
[[Page S6153]]
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall strike the
gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions
to be determined by the Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institute.--
(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in
honor of the Chinese-American Veterans of World War II, the
gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution,
where it shall be available for display as appropriate and
made available for research.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal
received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere,
particularly at other locations associated with the Chinese-
American Veterans of World II or with World War II.
(d) Duplicate Medals.--Under regulations that the Secretary
may promulgate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates
in bronze of the gold medal struck under this Act, at a price
sufficient to cover the cost of the medals, including labor,
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDAL.
(a) National Medal.--The gold medal struck under this Act
shall be a national medal for the purposes of chapter 51 of
title 31, Unites States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purpose of section 5134 of title
31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act
shall be considered to be numismatic items.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill, as
amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
The bill (S. 1050), as amended, was passed.
Mr. FLAKE. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be
considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________