[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8339]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      ASIAN PACIFIC HERITAGE MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Asian Pacific 
Heritage Month.
  In May of each year, we come together to celebrate the Asian and 
Pacific heritage cultures that have made up America for generations. It 
is time to recognize those important significant roles that Asian 
Americans play in our American story.
  We are very lucky in the San Joaquin Valley to have a community rich 
with culture and ethnic diversity. Our Asian-American and Pacific 
Islander neighbors are an integral part of that richness.
  From the Chinese Americans, who helped build the transcontinental 
railroad in the 1860s, to the Japanese American farmers, who cultivated 
our valley in the early 1900s, to the Hmong and Vietnamese Americans 
who joined our community beginning in the late 1970s and 1980s after 
the Vietnam War, these Asian communities all have an important story 
that have added value to our country.
  As we reflect upon Asian Pacific Heritage Month, I am proud to join 
all Asian Americans and the Pacific Islanders in my district and across 
our country in celebration. So let me thank all of our Asian Americans 
for their contributions to our country.


                        Celebrating Memorial Day

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the significance of 
Memorial Day this coming weekend, which we will celebrate across our 
Nation.
  This weekend, I will have the honor and the privilege to participate 
in three Memorial Day ceremonies in my district. We will pause to 
memorialize and thank those American servicemen and -women who have 
made the ultimate sacrifice and to mourn the loss with their families.
  Words, for me, never seem adequate to express a profound thank-you, 
having members of families and my own family that have served and that 
have made those sacrifices, for these men and women are our heroes. 
They gave America the most precious thing they had: the last full 
measure of devotion to country. Because they did, we are who we are 
today: a free and prosperous nation that is reflected around the world 
in most positive ways.
  Our valley and our Nation owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to 
these individuals and their families who so selflessly answered the 
call of duty, and our Nation can never, ever say thank you enough.
  Their sacrifice, bravery, therefore, must never, ever be forgotten. 
We must continue to work on behalf of veterans and their families. 
Whether it is cutting through red tape with their veterans' claims or 
helping with assistance programs or educational benefits, we can always 
and should do more.
  As President John F. Kennedy said: ``As we express our gratitude, we 
must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, 
but to live by them.'' So each day, not just on Memorial Day, we must 
work to ensure that our veterans and soldiers who today are on Active 
Duty in harm's way all around the world and their families receive the 
benefits that they have earned.
  On Monday, we will honor and we will remember and we will pledge 
never to forget, and we will say, in our most humble way, thank you.

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