[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10031]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS 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 bring attention to the sixth 
leading cause of death in the United States, and that is Alzheimer's 
disease.
  Since 2000, deaths from Alzheimer's disease have increased by 89 
percent. Right now, there are more than 5 million Americans with 
Alzheimer's, and that number is expected to grow to 14 million--to 
almost triple--by the year 2050.
  Alzheimer's and other dementias can be especially devastating both 
physically and emotionally for those who have these diseases and for 
their loved ones, your family and my family--for me, too many aunts and 
uncles, including my mother.
  When Lena Costa was diagnosed with the disease, she took it on with 
the same strength and courage she had used to beat cancer and survive 
heart disease. She was in her late eighties. Upon hearing the 
diagnosis, she turned to my sister and to me and said calmly and 
bravely: ``Jim, Bette, I will just do the best I can.''
  Today, there is no cure for Alzheimer's and there is no effective 
treatment for it. There is no proven way to prevent the disease or no 
method for slowing its progression.
  Unlike my mother, we are not currently doing the best we can. We must 
come together to support additional Alzheimer's research--more funding. 
That is what we did in April when we in the House called for additional 
support for Alzheimer's research at the National Institutes of Health. 
But we must do more.
  Alzheimer's is a devastating disease. We must stand together, calmly 
and bravely, like my mom and so many of our loved ones who have been 
affected by Alzheimer's throughout our country.
  Just as importantly, we must fix America's healthcare system. 
Certainly, in the last week, we have proved that there is no Republican 
way or Democratic way, but there is an American way, and that is if we 
work together as Members of Congress to improve America's healthcare 
system for all.


               Executive Order 9066--Japanese Internment

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to speak also about Executive 
Order 9066, which was issued 75 years ago--75 years ago--by President 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
  The order authorized the evacuation and relocation of all persons 
deemed to be a threat to national security. What it did, however, was 
lead to one of the most shameful times in American history, and that 
was the internment of Japanese Americans. These were American citizens.
  From 1942 until 1945, the U.S. Government detained over 120,000 
American citizens of Japanese ancestry and of resident immigrants 
forcing them to live in internment camps, taking them away from their 
homes, their farms, and their businesses, many in California, in the 
San Joaquin Valley.
  As American citizens, the internment denied them their constitutional 
right of due process. These were U.S. citizens who were robbed of their 
rights and their freedoms. Yet, some of these Japanese Americans, while 
their families were forced to live in internment camps, never forgot 
their patriotism.
  Many served in our Nation's military in World War II in the European 
theater. The 442nd Infantry Regiment Combat Team was made up of 
Japanese-American soldiers.

                              {time}  1030

  The 442nd is the U.S. Army's most decorated infantry regiment ever. 
We must remember this time in American history and not repeat it.
  We had three assembly centers in the San Joaquin Valley under 
Executive Order No. 9066, locations where Japanese Americans were 
forced to relocate and stay for weeks before they were finally sent to 
the larger internment camps in other parts of the West.
  The centers in my district were the Pinedale Assembly Center, the 
Fresno Assembly Center, and the Merced Assembly Center. They were 
fairgrounds. Today, we have three memorials on these sites to ensure 
that we will always remember and never again treat Americans in this 
reprehensible way.
  As Americans, let us never again give into our fears and turn our 
backs on our fellow Americans. Let us never forget the sacrifice of 
American values in the name of protecting our great country. These are 
some of the lessons of American history that we should never, ever 
forget.

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