[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 196 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10156-H10157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CHINESE-AMERICAN WORLD WAR II VETERAN CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on 
Financial Services and the Committee on House Administration be 
discharged from further consideration of the 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, and ask for its immediate consideration in the 
House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the bill is as follows

                                S. 1050

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     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.
       (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.

[[Page H10157]]

       (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 read a third time, was read the third 
time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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