[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 653 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 653
Recognizing the significance of Asian/Pacific American 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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 26, 2022
Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Grassley, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Collins, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Booker, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell,
Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr.
Durbin, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Padilla,
Ms. Rosen, Mr. Schatz, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Smith, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren,
and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary
July 12, 2022
Committee discharged; considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the significance of Asian/Pacific American 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.
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 other Pacific Islander, making
up nearly 7 percent of the total population of the United States;
Whereas the month of May was selected for Asian/Pacific American 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 2022 marks several important milestones for the Asian-American and
Pacific Islander community, including--
(1) the 140th anniversary of the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act
of 1882, which barred the entry of Chinese immigrants to the United States
for more than 50 years and spurred a series of anti-immigrant policies
targeting immigration from the Asia-Pacific region;
(2) the 40th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese-
American man who was beaten to death in Michigan by 2 White men angered by
layoffs in the auto industry;
(3) the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Act entitled ``An Act
to designate May of each year as `Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month''',
approved October 23, 1992 (36 U.S.C. 102); and
(4) the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Asian American and
Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions program, which was
authorized under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (Public Law 110-
84; 121 Stat. 784);
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 United States 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 Congressman;
(3) Patsy T. Mink, the first woman of color and Asian-American woman to
be 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 117th Congress includes a record 21 Members of Asian or Pacific
Islander descent;
Whereas, in 2022, 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 76 Members, and
other caucuses working on Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific
Islander issues may be established;
Whereas, in 2022, 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, Arkansas, California, Connecticut,
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and
(2) the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands;
Whereas, in 2022, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
honorably serve throughout the Federal judiciary;
Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders represent more
than 6 percent of Federal employees, including hundreds of staffers of
Asian or Pacific Islander descent who serve as staff in the Senate and
the House of Representatives;
Whereas, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, there was
a 339 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021, and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation recorded a 73 percent increase in such
crimes in 2020;
Whereas, since March 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in reports of
anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents related to the COVID-19 pandemic,
including approximately 11,000 hate incidents, including shunning,
verbal and online harassment, physical assault, and civil rights
violations, that were reported to Stop AAPI Hate from the start of the
pandemic through December 31, 2021, and countless other incidents that
have not been reported;
Whereas, according to a survey conducted during September and October of 2021 by
Stop AAPI Hate, 1 in 5 Asian Americans (21.2 percent) and Pacific
Islanders (20.0 percent) reported experiencing a hate incident in the
past year;
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 Page Act of 1875, 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 Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, 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 United
States citizens;
(4) the murder of Vincent Chin;
(5) the Cleveland Elementary School shooting on January 17, 1989, 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, and
South Asian Americans following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon;
(7) the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on
August 5, 2012, in which a White supremacist fatally shot 6 people and
wounded 4 others;
(8) the shooting of 9 people near Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021,
at 3 separate Asian-owned businesses, in which 8 people were killed,
including 6 Asian women; and
(9) the shooting of 6 people in Laguna Woods, California, on May 15,
2022, in which members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church were
targeted;
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 the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted the Asian-American and Pacific
Islander community;
Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have been
disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Native
Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have faced among the highest infection
and mortality rates out of any racial group in several States;
Whereas more than 2,000,000 Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific
Islander first responders, health care providers, and frontline workers
are among the unsung heroes in the Nation's fight against COVID-19;
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 Government of the United States and continue to advance in the
political landscape of the United States; and
Whereas celebrating Asian/Pacific American 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/Pacific American
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.
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