Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentlemen for his remarks concerning the legislation that has been recently considered and passed in the Congress in providing for the needs of our Filipino veterans.

My understanding is it has been requested a little over $200 million to provide proper compensation. Sixty years. We're spending $12 billion a month on this war in Iraq, and after 60 years, we cannot manage ourselves not only morally but as a matter of legal obligation that we should have for these fellow patriots who helped us fight the war in World War II that we've just now gotten around to trying to provide justice and fairness to the system.

So I want to commend the gentleman for noting that, as well as my good friend, the gentlelady from Hawaii, the chief sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlelady from California for her management of this legislation and also my good friend from California (Mr. Issa) for bringing this legislation to the floor and for its consideration. I especially also want to thank my good friend and dear colleague, the dear lady from Hawaii as the author and chief sponsor of this important legislation. I know that the chairman of our Asian Pacific Congressional Caucus would have been here, Congressman Honda, to also make comments concerning this proposed legislation.

I do want to say that in honor of Asian Pacific Heritage Month in which this Nation pays a special tribute to the contributions of some 15 million of our fellow Americans who are of Asian Pacific descent, I want to honor especially in particular the thousands of our Asian Pacific Americans who served in the Armed Forces of our Nation. In fact, this weekend it will be my privilege and a personal honor for me to visit Fort Bragg which has a lot of my fellow Samoan tribesmen who are members of the 82nd Airborne. We're going to have a tribal gathering there in Fort Bragg. There are going to be a whole bunch coming out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the 101st Airborne group, and I'm looking forward to meeting with them and also as part of our Asian Pacific Heritage Month.

Fifteen million Americans, Mr. Speaker, Asian Pacific Americans, are considered among the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States today. Although it makes up only 4 percent of our Nation's population, permit me to share with you an overview of some of the contributions of our Asian Pacific Americans. I know time will not permit me to give you the whole story here but just a couple just to note.

A couple years ago, a world-renowned physicist by the name of Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, a Chinese American lady, perhaps little known to the average American, passed away quietly in her home in New York but for decades dedicated her life in study of beta ray physics. She was born in Shanghai and in her youth studied with Nobel Laureate E.O. Lawrence, the inventor of the cyclotron facility at U.C. Berkeley, where Dr. Wu also received her doctorate degree in physics. For some 30 years she taught physics at Columbia University. And in 1957, she also won the Nobel Prize in physics for her work on emission of electrons from radioactive nuclei.

Years ago, Time magazine featured as its Man of the Year Dr. David Ho for his medical research in an effort to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Makio Murayama, a Japanese American, conducted vital research in the United States that laid the groundwork for combating sickle-cell anemia.

There is also Dr. Leo Esaki, another Japanese American, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his electron tunneling theories.

And in the field of engineering, few have matched the architectural masterpieces created by the genius of I.M. Pei.

I could talk to you about Bruce Lee. I could talk to you about Jet Li. But there is another one.

Now, another sports and movie icon is coming through his way in the movie industry. Believed to be the heir apparent to Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, none other than the former World Wrestling Federation champion wrestler, Dwayne Johnson, or commonly known as The Rock. After starring in his first movie, The Scorpion King, the Rock has also completed his sixth movie now, Get Smart, which is scheduled for release next month. Some of you may remember him in Be Cool, The Game Plan, The Rundown, and Walking Tall. His newest movie, G.I. Joe, is slated for release in the fall of next year.

The unique thing about the Rock is that while his father is African American/Native American and of European descent, his mother is pure Samoan Polynesian. Now just about every Samoan alive claims to be related to the Rock, including myself, Mr. Speaker.

Years ago, Duke Kahanamoku, a native Hawaiian, won the Olympic gold medal in swimming for the United States. And then there was Korean American Dr. Sammy Lee, who also won the Olympic gold medal in high diving for the United States in the Olympics. The interesting thing about Dr. Lee when I met him at the Olympics in Korea in 1988, because he was non-white, he was not allowed to train along with his fellow American Olympic athletes.

So he had to become creative by performing high dives off cliffs and all the trees and I suspect even coconut trees, and despite all this, he still won the gold medal for our country.

Then we have our fellow Polynesians whom we exported to Japan. One happens to be a relative of mine, a Samoan Polynesian by the name of Saleva'a Atisanoe, who's a Sumo wrestler named Konishiki, that followed the other great Sumo wrestlers, Chad Rowen, Akebono; Peitani Fiamalu, also a grand champion, Musashimaru. These are some of the great athletes.

As a Vietnam veteran, Mr. Speaker, it's ludicrous for me not to say something in honor and respect for the hundreds of thousands of Asian Pacific Americans who served then and now in all the branches of the armed services of our Nation. As a former member of the U.S. Army Reserve unit known as the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Combat group, I would be remiss if I did not share with you the contributions of the tens of thousands of Japanese American soldiers who volunteered to fight our Nation's enemies in Europe during World War II.

Some of you may not be aware that after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, by the Imperial Forces of the Japanese government, there was such an outrage and cry for an all-out war against Japan, days afterward our President and the Congress formally declared war. But caught in this crossfire were hundreds of thousands of Americans, Americans mind you who just happened to be of Japanese ancestry.

Our national government immediately implemented a policy where some 100,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced to live in what we call relocation camps.

In our Nation's history, Mr. Speaker, let me just share with you the results of the bravery and the courage of these Japanese Americans who fought in Europe. 18,000 individual declarations for heroism; over 9,000 awards of the Purple Heart; 560 Silver Stars; and after some corrective action taken by the Congress, 19 Medals of Honor were awarded to these Japanese Americans who fought for our Nation.

We need to be reminded that forevermore we should never have this kind of thing happening in our Nation's history where people who happen to be of different ancestry or ethnicity are discriminated against simply because they are not like the rest of our fellow Americans.

I fully support this proposed legislation, and I ask my colleagues to approve this legislation. I thank again my good friend from Hawaii for her sponsorship and authorship of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from California for yielding me time.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 1153, celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. First, I want to thank the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the 78 cosponsors of the resolution. I hope all the Members of the House will join me in supporting this measure.

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is composed of over 15 million people. AAPIs own 1.1 million businesses, generating an estimated $326 billion for our economy. The community is a crucial element in the cultural fabric of the United States, representing people from East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Pacific islands. We celebrate the month of April as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month to not only commemorate the achievements of the AAPI community, but to remind us of the work that is left to do.

In this resolution I highlight four leaders of the AAPI community. One such leader is Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese American civil rights activist who was involved in attaining reparations for Japanese Americans, and the reformation of the Harlem school system in the 1960s.

Another notable member is Private First Class Herbert Pililaau, a native Hawaiian Medal of Honor recipient who died in combat during the Korean War while courageously volunteering to defend his fellow soldiers as they withdrew from their posts.

Also noteworthy is Dalip Singh Suand, the first Asian American and Sikh American elected to Congress, who advocated for naturalization rights for people of South Asian descent.

Finally, I'd like to commend my predecessor, the late Patsy Takemoto Mink, for becoming not only the first Asian American woman, but also the first woman of color elected to Congress. Her work to increase access to education, particularly through title IX, is an inspiration for my bill, the PRE-K Act, which focuses on our youngest children.

The AAPI community has accomplished much and given much, given their history of discrimination. For example, in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States, even though prior to this date, Chinese laborers built our transcontinental railroad.

And another example, in 1942, 120,000 Japanese American citizens and legal residents were relocated to internment camps, while many of their sons served in the 442nd regimental combat team, the most decorated unit in U.S. history.

We've repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act and have granted reparations for surviving Japanese Americans. But

there is still much to do to address social and political challenges facing the AAPI community.

One major issue is securing self-determination rights for native Hawaiians. H.R. 505, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, grants native Hawaiians the same rights to manage their affairs currently enjoyed by other indigenous people, the American Indians and the Alaskan Natives. I thank the Members who supported passage of H.R. 505 in the House last year.

Additionally, about 2,000 Filipinos fought alongside American servicemen in World War II. These Filipino veterans were promised full veterans benefits, yet in 1946, President Truman signed the Rescission Act which stripped them of benefits that were accorded to all other soldiers. Compounding this inequity are the immigration quotas that delayed for up to 20 years the issuance of visas to sons and daughters of these Filipino veterans, a major hindrance to the reunification of these families.

We have an opportunity in the House to remedy these situations through two measures that address these issues. S. 1315, which passed the Senate by an overwhelming 96-1 vote, would allow the surviving Filipino World War II veterans to obtain veteran benefits; and my bill, H.R. 1287, the Filipino Veterans' Family Reunification Act, which would exempt the sons and daughters of naturalized Filipino veterans from immigration quotas.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in advancing these legislative priorities for the AAPI community.

In closing, our vast pool of knowledge, talent, and cultural diversity is a source of strength for the United States. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1153 and to participate in events celebrating AAPIs throughout your communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1153. I think the gentlelady from Hawaii did a wonderful job of going through the highlights and contributions of Asian Americans, and I think, quite frankly, she did a very good job of recognizing some of the well-known and not-so-well-known examples of when we have failed the Asian Americans.

I support the United States Asian American Heritage Month. I also support many of the things that were commented on that we have, in fact, left undone. Very, very clearly, when it comes to the Philippine veterans, we stand in shame in this body. The Rescission Act was signed by Truman while Truman said, in fact, we didn't live up to a moral obligation, and made it very clear that this would be yet another example of America not being proud. That was a long time ago.

I am one of the cochairs of the Philippine Caucus and one of the authors of the underlying bill that is included in the Senate bill 1315, which is a package of noncontroversial U.S. benefit extensions for American veterans, but it's also an extension of a long-overdue benefit to people from the territory of the Philippines who fought with us in World War II.

Mr. Speaker, I would hope that this body would take note that these Asian Americans, and they were Asian Americans, had a governor, his name was MacArthur, at the beginning of the war. They fought to keep us from being driven off by an invading Army until, hopelessly, they had to withdraw; and yet these Rangers and Scouts continued fighting whenever possible in the jungles for years, even while MacArthur planned to return. MacArthur made this promise, America made this promise. We haven't kept that promise. As the gentlelady rightfully so said, there were over 200,000 Filipinos who fought with us for their country.

I take note that there are 4 million-plus Puerto Ricans today. I served in the United States Army from 1970 to 1980 and years beyond that in the Reserves. I was of the assumption that the Puerto Ricans who were in the service with me were Americans. I'm still of that assumption. Members of our territories are, in fact, Americans.

I might further note that Senator McCain, a U.S. Senator who could well end up being President, was born in the Panama Canal Zone. Is he less an American because he was born in a sovereign asset of the United States? Of course not. He's fully eligible to be President, and these veterans, these Philippine veterans, are American veterans, and they cannot and should not have to come before this body asking us to unstrip what we stripped away in shame 60 years ago.

So I join with the gentlelady in supporting this resolution, but I would like to emphasize as much as I can that we have an important vote this week, a vote about giving American veterans, veterans who are today Americans, veterans who, on that day, were Americans when they fought with us.

I yield to the gentleman from American Samoa.

Reclaiming my time, I might note that under our PAYGO rules, the bill that will come before the floor will even be less than that. It has been reduced below the mark that was set and passed 96-1 in the Senate in order to maintain a balance under PAYGO.

So the gentleman is absolutely right. This represents one or two days of the cost of what we're doing for our future veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan and, in fact, should not be controversial. And I hope when it comes to the floor on a bipartisan basis, it clearly shouldn't and wouldn't be controversial.

I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time and continue reserving.

Mr. Speaker, I would inquire of the gentlelady if she has additional speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I'll close by urging support for this noncontroversial bill but also reminding my colleagues that there are many things undone in the way of righting the wrongs to Asian Americans and in thanking Asian Americans for what they have done for our country for 150-plus years.

So with that, I would yield back the balance of my time and urge passage.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1153) celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Representing the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I'd like to join my colleagues in the consideration of H. Res. 1153, as amended, which proudly expresses our support for the celebration of May as National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

H. Res. 1153 was originally introduced on April 24, 2008, by Representative Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, along with members and associate members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. In addition to these 14 members of CAPAC, the measure is also cosponsored by over 60 Members of Congress. On May 5, 2008, the bill was approved by the Oversight Committee by voice vote after being amended.

I would like to offer as much time as she needs to Mazie Hirono.

I would like to call on the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Representative Joe Sestak, for 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to call now on Representative Faleomavaega from American Samoa for 3 minutes.

(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

I would like to offer Mr. Faleomavaega another 3 minutes.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton).

We continue to reserve. There's no more speakers, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the over 14 million Asian and Pacific Islander Americans and the entire population of America for that matter, let us demonstrate our full support of this year's celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by passing H. Res. 1153 without reservation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month which does take place this year during May.

The Asian American Pacific Islander, AAPI, community is, as was already noted, a very culturally and ethnically diverse community with a very rich heritage in the United States of America. The AAPI community, as was noted, is composed of over 15 million people across the United States and is one of the fastest growing minority groups in America. It represents nearly 5 percent of my Seventh Congressional District in Pennsylvania, and without any doubt plays a very vibrant part of the rich cultural fabric of my district.

The AAPI community has also made significant contributions in developing our Nation. As was just noted in this brief exchange, there were many leaders, which I saw in my nearly four decades of military service from this rich community, whether from the Philippines, Japan, China, or across to India or the United Arab Emirates from being leaders in education, to fostering business and economic development, to promoting arts and media, and to helping develop innovative breakthroughs in health care medicine technology.

In 1978, a joint congressional resolution was established which had the Asian Pacific American Heritage Week finally come about. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two key anniversaries: The arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, bringing together two parts of America, and I hope in more and more all the world. In 1992, Congress expanded the week finally to a month-long celebration.

Therefore, I am proud to join my colleagues in celebrating the rich heritage of the AAPI community that I see every day in my district and to recognize the contributions of the community during Asian Pacific Heritage Month.