[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the Hispanic Caucus, I 
rise today to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, the rich history, the 
culture, and the traditions of the Latino communities throughout our 
Nation and the world.
  The United States of America is a nation of immigrants past and 
present, and the stories of the Latino communities who live in 
California's San Joaquin Valley are similar to the millions of stories 
of other immigrant families who have come to our country striving for 
the American Dream. They have come to our country from around the 
world.
  Working together, we can ensure that policies that benefit our 
economy and keep families together, like the expanded DACA, the 
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and DAPA, the Deferred Action 
for Parents of Americans, as well as comprehensive immigration reform, 
are enacted. This is important to fix a broken immigration system in 
America today.
  These policies would move our country forward and provide a path to 
earned citizenship--not amnesty, but earned citizenship--so that 
individuals who only know the United States as their home can achieve 
the American Dream, the American Dream which is still a shining light 
around the world for people that are oppressed. Let us never forget 
what the American Dream embodies not just in our country, but for 
people around the world.
  Please join me in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the values, 
the dedications, and the rich diversity of immigrant families, of which 
my family was one and the majority of families in our country at some 
time or another were the proud immigrants from some other part of the 
world, that make this United States the greatest country in the world 
today.


               25th Anniversary of Armenian Independence

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to join in celebrating the 
25th anniversary of Armenia. Twenty-five years ago today, Armenia 
declared its independence from the Soviet Union and, once again, the 
Republic of Armenia was established.
  Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit Armenia for the 
first time, and it truly felt like coming home. Why? Well, because it 
felt so much like the San Joaquin Valley that I proudly represent, 
where so many Armenians have settled for generations since their 
diaspora and as a result of the Armenian genocide.
  Like so many other ethnic groups throughout the world, the people of 
Armenia are friendly. They are warm and proud of their traditions, 
culture, and religion.
  I had the opportunity as a young person to grow up with so many of 
our good friends and neighbors--the Kezerians, the Abrahamians, the 
Koligians--whose Armenian heritage I learned as a young person and has 
added so much not only to the community of the San Joaquin Valley, but 
to our Nation as a whole.
  It is an honor to recognize Armenia's 25th anniversary and the 
Armenian people in the San Joaquin Valley and the communities 
throughout the Nation and the world.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I think I would be remiss in this recognition if I 
did not take this opportunity to urge Congress and the President of the 
United States to go on record as recognizing the Armenian genocide and 
the devastating violence committed against the Armenian people over 100 
years ago, the first genocide recorded and recognized by historians in 
the 20th century.

                              {time}  1030

  Of course, we know from that genocide came the later followed by the 
Holocaust, and sadly generations have suffered. I want to thank my 
colleagues for joining in recognizing Armenia's 25th anniversary.

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