[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1727-S1729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND 
                    PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, 
and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
  This month is an opportunity to celebrate the many contributions of 
AANHPI communities and the critical role we have played throughout our 
Nation's history.
  From trailblazers like Patsy Mink and Anna May Wong to our own Vice 
President Harris, members of our community have long been leaders in 
government, science, business, the arts, and more. But while we 
celebrate our community, this month is also a reminder of how much work 
remains to advance equality and equity for our community.

  The AANHPI community has long been the target of racism and 
discrimination in this country. Among other challenges, our communities 
are still combating anti-Asian violence, suffering from health 
disparities, and experiencing sex trafficking and violence at alarming 
rates.
  The AANHPI community is the fastest growing demographic group in the 
United States. In the past 20 years alone, the number of Asian 
Americans in the United States has nearly doubled.
  But we are not a monolith. AANHPI communities come from dozens of 
countries and speak countless languages. The diversity makes our 
community and our country stronger. That is why, in a moment, I will 
seek unanimous consent to pass a resolution recognizing AANHPI Heritage 
Month.
  This resolution highlights many of the leaders of our community 
throughout history and some of the triumphs and challenges we have 
faced throughout the years. It affirms the important

[[Page S1728]]

role our communities continue to play in the story of our Nation and 
has bipartisan support.
  As in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the 
Senate now proceed to S. Res. 209.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 209) recognizing the significance of 
     Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
     Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the 
     significant contributions of Asian Americans, Native 
     Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United 
     States.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
  Ms. HIRONO. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to; 
that the Hirono amendment at the desk to the preamble be agreed to; 
that the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motions to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 209) was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 90) to the preamble was agreed to as follows:

                    (Purpose: To amend the preamble)

       In the eighth whereas clause, in the matter preceding 
     paragraph (1), strike ``important milestones for the Asian 
     American and Pacific Islander community'' and insert 
     ``anniversaries''.

  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution with its preamble, as amended, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 209

       Whereas the people of the United States join together each 
     May to pay tribute to the contributions of generations of 
     Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders who 
     have enriched the history of the United States;
       Whereas the history of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, 
     and Pacific Islanders in the United States is inextricably 
     tied to the story of the United States;
       Whereas the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
     Islander community is an inherently diverse population, 
     composed of more than 45 distinct ethnicities and more than 
     100 language dialects;
       Whereas, according to the Bureau of the Census, the Asian 
     American population grew faster than any other racial or 
     ethnic group over the last decade, surging nearly 55.5 
     percent between 2010 and 2020, and during that same time 
     period, the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population 
     grew by 30.8 percent;
       Whereas there are approximately 24,000,000 residents of the 
     United States who identify as Asian and approximately 
     1,600,000 residents of the United States who identify as 
     Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, making up more than 7 
     percent of the total population of the United States;
       Whereas the month of May was selected for Asian American, 
     Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month because 
     the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States on 
     May 7, 1843, and the first transcontinental railroad was 
     completed on May 10, 1869, with substantial contributions 
     from Chinese immigrants;
       Whereas section 102 of title 36, United States Code, 
     officially designates May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage 
     Month and requests the President to issue an annual 
     proclamation calling on the people of the United States to 
     observe the month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
     activities;
       Whereas 2023 marks several anniversaries, including--
       (1) the 125th anniversary of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 
     169 U.S. 649 (1898), a decision of the Supreme Court of the 
     United States that determined that the 14th Amendment grants 
     birthright citizenship to all persons born in the United 
     States, regardless of the national origin of their parents;
       (2) the 80th anniversary of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     repeal the Chinese Exclusion Acts, to establish quotas, and 
     for other purposes'', approved December 17, 1943 (commonly 
     known as the ``Magnuson Act of 1943'') (57 Stat. 600, chapter 
     344), which formally repealed 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);
       (3) the 35th anniversary of the passage of the Civil 
     Liberties Act of 1988 (50 U.S.C. 4211 et seq.), which granted 
     reparations to Japanese Americans incarcerated during World 
     War II; and
       (4) the 30th anniversary of the enactment of Public Law 
     103-150 (107 Stat. 1510), which acknowledged the 100th 
     anniversary of the January 17, 1893, overthrow of the Kingdom 
     of Hawaii and offered an apology to Native Hawaiians on 
     behalf of the United States;
       Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
     Islanders have made significant contributions to the United 
     States at all levels of the Federal Government and in the 
     Armed Forces, including--
       (1) Daniel K. Inouye, a Medal of Honor and Presidential 
     Medal of Freedom recipient who, as President pro tempore of 
     the Senate, was the then-highest-ranking Asian American 
     government official in the history of the United States;
       (2) Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian American elected to 
     Congress;
       (3) Patsy T. Mink, the first woman of color and Asian-
     American woman elected to Congress;
       (4) Hiram L. Fong, the first Asian-American Senator;
       (5) Daniel K. Akaka, the first Senator of Native Hawaiian 
     ancestry;
       (6) Norman Y. Mineta, the first Asian-American member of a 
     Presidential cabinet;
       (7) Elaine L. Chao, the first Asian-American woman member 
     of a Presidential cabinet; and
       (8) Kamala D. Harris, the first woman and the first Asian 
     American to hold the Office of the Vice President;
       Whereas the 118th Congress includes 21 Members of Asian or 
     Pacific Islander descent;
       Whereas, in 2023, the Congressional Asian Pacific American 
     Caucus, a bicameral caucus of Members of Congress advocating 
     on behalf of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
     Islanders, is composed of 72 Members, and other congressional 
     caucuses work on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
     Islander issues also;
       Whereas, in 2023, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and 
     Pacific Islanders are serving in State and Territorial 
     legislatures across the United States in record numbers, 
     including in--
       (1) the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, 
     Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, 
     Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, 
     Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
     York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
     Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, 
     Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and
       (2) the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
       Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
     Islanders represent more than 6 percent of Federal judges and 
     7 percent of Federal employees, including hundreds of 
     staffers of Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander 
     descent who serve as staff in the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives;
       Whereas, since March 2020, there has been a dramatic 
     increase in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, 
     including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including--
       (1) a 339-percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 
     2021, and a 124-percent increase in 2020;
       (2) according to Stop AAPI Hate, over 11,000 hate incidents 
     reported since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic through 
     March 2022, and countless others that have not been reported;
       (3) on March 16, 2021, the murder of 8 people, including 6 
     Asian women, at 3 separate Asian-owned businesses in the 
     Atlanta, Georgia, region; and
       (4) on May 15, 2022, the shooting of 5 people in Laguna 
     Hills, California, in which the Taiwanese congregation at 
     Geneva Presbyterian Church was targeted;
       Whereas the incidence of hate crimes against Asian 
     Americans continues to be above levels observed before the 
     COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas discrimination against Asian Americans, especially 
     in moments of crisis, is not a new phenomenon, and violence 
     against Asian Americans has occurred throughout United States 
     history, including--
       (1) the enactment of the Act entitled ``An Act 
     supplementary to the Acts in relation to Immigration'', 
     approved March 3, 1875 (commonly referred to as the ``Page 
     Act of 1875'') (18 Stat. 477, chapter 141), which restricted 
     entry of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian women to the 
     United States and effectively prohibited the immigration of 
     Chinese women, preventing the formation of Chinese families 
     in the United States and limiting the number of native-born 
     Chinese citizens;
       (2) the enactment of 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), which was the first law 
     to explicitly exclude an entire ethnic group from immigrating 
     to the United States;
       (3) the issuance of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which 
     authorized the forced relocation and incarceration of 
     approximately 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry during 
     World War II, the majority of whom were citizens of the 
     United States;
       (4) the murder of Vincent Chin;
       (5) on January 17, 1989, the Cleveland Elementary School 
     shooting in which a gunman used an AK-47 to kill 5 children, 
     4 of whom were of Southeast Asian descent;
       (6) the rise in discrimination and violence against Muslim, 
     Sikh, Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Americans 
     following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the 
     Pentagon on September 11, 2001; and
       (7) on August 5, 2012, the mass shooting at a Sikh temple 
     in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in which a White supremacist fatally 
     shot 6 people and wounded 4 others;

[[Page S1729]]

       Whereas, in response to the uptick in anti-Asian hate 
     crimes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the 
     COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (Public Law 117-13; 135 Stat. 265), 
     which was signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden on May 
     20, 2021;
       Whereas, in celebration of the contributions of Asian 
     American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders in the 
     United States, Congress passed the Commission To Study the 
     Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific 
     American History and Culture Act (Public Law 117-140; 136 
     Stat. 1259) to establish a commission to study the creation 
     of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and 
     Culture, which was signed into law by President Biden on June 
     13, 2022;
       Whereas, as part of the American Women Quarters Program, 
     the United States Mint has issued, or will issue, 
     commemorative quarters honoring the contributions of--
       (1) Chinese American film star Anna May Wong;
       (2) Native Hawaiian composer and cultural advocate Edith 
     Kanaka'ole; and
       (3) Congresswoman Patsy Mink;
       Whereas there remains much to be done to ensure that Asian 
     Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have 
     access to resources and a voice in the Federal Government and 
     continue to advance in the political landscape of the United 
     States; and
       Whereas celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and 
     Pacific Islander Heritage Month provides the people of the 
     United States with an opportunity to recognize the 
     achievements, contributions, and history of, and to 
     understand the challenges faced by, Asian Americans, Native 
     Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the significance of Asian American, Native 
     Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as an important 
     time to celebrate the significant contributions of Asian 
     Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to the 
     history of the United States; and
       (2) recognizes that Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and 
     Pacific Islander communities enhance the rich diversity of 
     and strengthen the United States.

                          ____________________