[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 400 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 400
Recognizing the significance of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and
Pacific Islander 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2025
Ms. Meng (for herself, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Bera, Mr.
Carbajal, Mr. Case, Ms. Chu, Mrs. Dingell, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Foushee,
Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Gomez, Mr.
Gottheimer, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Khanna, Ms.
King-Hinds, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Lieu, Mrs.
McClain Delaney, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Min, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Pressley, Ms.
Sanchez, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Simon, Ms. Strickland, Mr.
Subramanyam, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of
California, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr. Tran,
Mr. Vargas, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) submitted
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the significance of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and
Pacific Islander 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 70 distinct
ethnicities and speaking 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,
growing by 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 more than 25,000,000 residents of the United States who
identify as Asian and approximately 1,800,000 residents of the United
States who identify as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, making up
more than 10 percent of the total population of the United States;
Whereas the month of May was selected for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and
Pacific Islander 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 2025 marks several anniversaries, including--
(1) the 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-
51C, crewed by Ellison Shoji Onizuka, the first Asian American in space;
(2) the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the
beginning of the Southeast Asian diaspora in communities across the United
States;
(3) the 50th anniversary of the completion of the double-hulled
voyaging canoe, Hokulea, marking the first traditional Polynesian voyaging
canoe built in Hawaii in more than 600 years;
(4) the 60th anniversary of the enactment of the Act entitled ``An Act
to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for other purposes'',
approved October 3, 1965 (79 Stat. 911), landmark legislation that reversed
restrictive immigration policies against immigrants from Asia; and
(5) the 115th anniversary of the establishment of Angel Island
Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay, California, which served as a
major port of entry for immigrants coming to the United States from Asia
and the Pacific;
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 Armed Forces, including--
(1) Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian American elected to Congress;
(2) 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;
(3) Hiram L. Fong, the first Asian American Senator;
(4) Patsy T. Mink, the first woman of color and Asian American woman
elected to Congress;
(5) Herbert Y.C. Choy, the first Asian American to serve as a Federal
judge;
(6) Daniel K. Akaka, the first Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry; and
(7) Norman Y. Mineta, the first Asian American member of a Presidential
cabinet;
Whereas the 119th Congress includes 25 Members of Asian and Pacific Islander
descent;
Whereas, in 2025, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is composed of
82 Members, and other congressional caucuses work on Asian American,
Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander issues also;
Whereas, in 2025, 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, California, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and
(2) the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands;
Whereas Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders represent more
than 8 percent of Federal judges and hundreds of thousands of Federal
employees, including hundreds of staffers of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and
Pacific Islander descent who serve as staff in the Senate and the House
of Representatives;
Whereas the incidence of hate crimes against Asian Americans continues to be
above levels observed before the COVID-19 pandemic;
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 Act entitled ``An Act supplementary to the
Acts in relation to Immigration'', approved March 3, 1875 (commonly
referred to as the ``Page Act of 1875'') (18 Stat. 477, chapter 141), 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 Act entitled ``An Act to execute certain
treaty stipulations relating to Chinese'', approved May 6, 1882 (commonly
known as the ``Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882'') (22 Stat. 58, chapter 126),
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 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407; relating to
authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe military areas) on February
19, 1942, which authorized the forced relocation and incarceration of
approximately 125,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry during World War II,
the majority of whom were citizens of the United States;
(4) on June 23, 1982, the murder of Vincent Chin;
(5) on January 17, 1989, the Cleveland Elementary School shooting 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, Arab,
Middle Eastern, and South Asian Americans following the attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001;
(7) on August 5, 2012, the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek,
Wisconsin, in which a white supremacist fatally shot 6 people and wounded 4
others; and
(8) on March 16, 2021, the murder of 8 people, including 6 Asian women,
at 3 separate Asian-owned businesses in the Atlanta, Georgia, region;
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 on May 20, 2021;
Whereas, in celebration of the contributions of Asian Americans, Native
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States, Congress passed
the Commission To Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of
Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act (Public Law 117-140; 136
Stat. 1259) to establish a commission to study the creation of a
National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, which was
signed into law on June 13, 2022;
Whereas, as part of the American Women Quarters Program, the United States Mint
has issued commemorative quarters honoring the contributions of--
(1) Chinese American film star Anna May Wong;
(2) Native Hawaiian composer and cultural advocate Edith Kanaka`ole;
(3) Japanese American Congresswoman Patsy Mink; and
(4) Korean American disability justice advocate Stacey Park Milbern;
Whereas, as part of the Native American $1 Coin Program, the United States Mint
has issued a commemorative $1 coin honoring the contributions of Mary
Kawena Pukui, a renowned Native Hawaiian scholar, anthropologist,
ethnographer, author, composer, dancer, and educator whose work ensured
the preservation and perpetuation of the Native Hawaiian language,
history, and culture;
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 Federal Government and continue to advance in the political
landscape of the United States; and
Whereas celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander
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 House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the significance of Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 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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