[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               ASIAN-PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 2012

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the Asian and 
Pacific Islander community in the United States and celebrate the 
tremendous contribution these Americans have made to our Nation.
  There are an estimated 17.3 million residents of Asian descent in our 
country and 5.6 million Asian-Pacific Americans living in California. I 
am proud that our State has the largest Asian population in the 
country.
  California also boasts the highest number of Asian-owned businesses 
at 508,969, and the U.S. Armed Forces has more than 265,000 Asian-
American veterans.
  In 1977, Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii 
introduced a resolution in the Senate and President Jimmy Carter signed 
a joint resolution officially establishing Asian-Pacific American 
Heritage Week to honor the first Japanese immigrants to the United 
States and the Chinese individuals who worked on the Transcontinental 
Railroad. In 1992, May was officially designated Asian-Pacific American 
Heritage Month.
  This year's Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month theme, ``Striving 
for Excellence in Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion,'' is embodied in 
the accomplishments of numerous Asian-Pacific Americans.
  In Congress, my colleagues, Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, 
are joined by California Representatives Judy Chu, Mike Honda, and 
Doris Matsui as examples of good public servants.
  A number of California cities are led by Asian-Pacific Americans, 
including: Mayor Ling-Ling Chang of Diamond Bar, Mayor Edwin Lee of my 
hometown of San Francisco, Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, Mayor Richard 
Sun of San Marino, Mayor Jeremy Yamaguchi of Placentia, and Mayor 
Vincent Yu of Temple City.
  Additionally, it is appropriate to acknowledge the outstanding 
contributions of Asian-Pacific Americans who sit on the bench in 
California.
  Judge Edward M. Chen just finished his first year as a U.S. district 
court judge in San Francisco.
  Associate Justice Goodwin Liu was recently appointed to the Supreme 
Court of California.
  Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen has served with distinction as the first 
Vietnamese-American Federal judge since 2009, and was nominated to the 
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011. She has won confirmation to the 
Ninth Circuit, which makes her the first Asian-American female Federal 
appellate judge in the Nation.
  Public service is by no means the only area in which Asian-Pacific 
Americans have made great strides forward.
  National Basketball Association phenomenon Jeremy Lin, a California 
native, has provided inspiration well beyond the Asian-Pacific American 
community. From young children to adults, the Harvard-educated athlete 
has proven to millions that no dream is too big to achieve.
  Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month is particularly relevant in 
2012, as we recognize the 70th anniversary of the Japanese-American 
relocation during World War II, under Executive Order 9066.
  I remember this shameful page in our history. As a young girl, my 
father took me to the Tanforan Racetrack, near San Francisco, which was 
a staging point for Japanese Americans en route to more permanent 
detention centers. Seeing the barbed wire, and the men, women, and 
children housed in horse stables and small buildings on the infield of 
the racetrack was an experience I will never forget.
  It is important that our Nation acknowledge mistakes, no matter how 
far in the past. I am proud to have cosponsored and voted in support of 
a resolution expressing congressional regret for decades of legislation 
targeting Chinese people for physical and political exclusion, as well 
as reaffirming the commitment of the Senate to preserve civil rights 
and constitutional protection of all Asian-Pacific Americans.
  The future of the Asian-Pacific American community is bright, and I 
have no doubt it will see many triumphs in the years ahead. Today, it 
is my honor to recognize the ongoing determination, ambition, and 
success of Asian-Pacific Americans during Asian-Pacific American 
Heritage Month.

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