Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks, and include extraneous material on the subject of my special order.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to call upon my colleague, Ms. Bordallo, who hails from Guam.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to call upon our good friend, colleague from Texas, Representative Al Green.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to call upon our good friend from California, Congressman Xavier Becerra.

Just to comment about both Congressmen Al Green and Xavier Becerra, they too are also members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus, and so they serve dual roles in their leadership. And I think CAPAC, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, enjoys the leadership, experience and the insights of these two gentlemen, and it makes our caucus stronger and partners with the other caucuses.

And it's no wonder that they come to Congress on behalf of the community because the communities there trust these two men and they trust their leadership and their insights and their conscience. So to both I say, thank you.

I'd like to call upon a Congresswoman who hails from the Aloha State who, I think, is probably the re-incarnation of the spirit of Patsy Mink, Mazie Hirono.

Mahalo. Thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Asian American Pacific Islander community and to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, commonly known as CAPAC, I feel privileged to be here tonight to speak of the Asian and Pacific Islander American history and accomplishments.

And before I continue, I would also like to recognize you, Mr. Speaker, for presiding over this Special Order and also knowing that you too have worked with other Asian American leaders in your home State, specifically Senator Stan Matsunaga. For that we are grateful.

Additionally, I will be highlighting those isues affecting our community and the priorities for CAPAC.

The history of APA Heritage Month: In celebrating APA Heritage Month, I want to give thanks to the late Representative Frank Horton from New York and my good friend Secretary Norman Mineta, along with Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Masayuki Matsunaga, that May is now designated as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

The first 10 days of May coincide with two important anniversaries: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants on May 7, 1843, to the U.S. and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.

In 1992 Congress passed public law No. 102-450, the law that officially designated May of each year as ``Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.'' The first AAPI settlement in this country dates back to 1763, when Filipinos escaped imprisonment aboard Spanish galleons and established a community near New Orleans.

The AAPI community quickly expanding. Currently, there are approximately 14.6 million AAPIs living in the United States, comprising just over 5 percent of the total U.S. population. By the year 2050, there will be an estimated 33.4 million individuals living in the United States who identify as Asian alone, representing a 213 percent increase from 2000, comprising 8 percent of the total U.S. population. My home State of California has both the largest AAPI population, 4.9 million, and the largest numerical increase of AAPIs since 2000.

There are some needs. Mr. Speaker, this year's theme for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, ``Meeting the Challenges for Asian Pacific Americans,'' reflects hardships overcome by the AAPI community while highlighting the hope we maintain as we contribute to the prosperity of this great Nation. As our community expands, we must also continue to educate our fellow citizens about the uniqueness of our experiences.

The AAPI community is often misperceived as monolithic. Our community is extremely diverse in our languages, ethnicities, culture, and challenges. Aggregating such a large and diverse group makes it difficult to understand the unique problems faced by the individual ethnicities and subgroups, such as the Southeast Asian Americans, who are refugees that fled their home countries during the late 1970s and the early 1980s. As a country, we need to better address the needs of the AAPI community when we discuss comprehensive immigration reform, education, health issues, and veterans' affairs.

Comprehensive immigration reform: Mr. Speaker, our Nation was founded by immigrants who valued freedom and liberty, who sought to be free from persecution and from tyranny. Families fled their home countries to seek refuge in this great Nation because they too believed in ``liberty, justice, and freedom for all.'' It is in this spirit that

CAPAC supports immigration legislation that shifts the debate from an exclusionary, anti-immigrant, enforcement-only approach to one that confronts the social and economic realities behind immigration; honors the dignity of all families and communities; and recognizes the economic, social, and cultural contributions of immigrants to our great country.

Today, AAPIs constitute a growing and vibrant piece of the American fabric. In 2005 close to 9 million of this Nation's foreign born were born in Asia, constituting approximately one quarter of the foreign- born population and over one half of the total AAPI population. Even with a relatively high naturalization rate, there are approximately 1.5 million Asian undocumented immigrants living, working, or studying in the U.S., representing 14 percent of the undocumented immigrants in the United States. These include victims of immigration fraud, who have become undocumented due to no fault of their own. Many work and study hard, pay taxes, and yet live in fear with no hope of gaining a path to legal permanent resident status. Let's give these workers and these students an opportunity.

In addition to an earned pathway to citizenship, family reunification is a high priority in the AAPI community. Immigration reform must espouse the family values that are so fundamental to our national ideals. Family members provide care for the sick, for their children, and for their elderly. Family members are crucial for small businesses and educational opportunities. Close to 2 million AAPIs wait years, sometimes even decades, in order to reunite with their families in the United States. AAPI families who seek to be reunited with their family members overseas have not seen their dreams come true because of our dysfunctional immigration system. We need comprehensive immigration reform to address these backlogs.

And education: In addition to immigration reform, expanding educational access for all Americans is also a high priority for CAPAC. Mr. Speaker, as Americans, we need to ensure that our children receive a quality education by providing adequate teacher training, funds for after-school and extra-curricular activities, and ensuring that college is affordable for every student who desires to receive a higher education.

According to the U.S. Census, 41 percent of Asians age 25 and over have a bachelor's degree or higher level of education. However, when the data is disaggregated for AAPI subgroups, we find that the ``model minority'' stereotype is, in fact, a myth. According to the 2000 Census, only 9.1 percent of Cambodian Americans, 7.4 percent of Hmong Americans, 7.6 percent of Lao Americans, 19.5 percent of Vietnamese Americans, and 16.5 percent of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who are 25 years and older have a bachelor's degree or higher degrees.

These numbers show that we must do a better job of disaggregating the data and information about our communities to assess the needs of those hardworking Americans who still falter behind.

To address the disparities between subgroups of the larger AAPI community, we need Congress to pass the Asian American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions bill, which my colleague from Oregon, Representative David Wu, has introduced in January. This legislation will provide Federal grants to colleges and universities that have an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 10 percent AAPI and at least 50 percent of its degree-seeking students receive financial assistance.

As a caucus, we will work to increase the availability of loan assistance, scholarships, and programs to allow AAPI students to attend a higher education institution; to ensure full funding for teachers and bilingual education programs under the No Child Left Behind law to support English language learners; and to support full funding of minority outreach programs for access to higher education such as the TRIO programs to expand services to serve AAPI students.

In health, Mr. Speaker, a common misperception of AAPIs is that as a group, we face fewer health problems than other racial and ethnic groups. But, in fact, AAPI as a group, and specific populations within this group, do experience disparities in health and health care. For example, AAPIs have the highest hepatitis B rates of any racial group in the United States.

This week, health advocates from around the country will be participating in a National Awareness Campaign to bring attention to and educate their communities about prevention of hepatitis B through testing and vaccination. In the United States, 12 million people have been infected at some time in their lives with the hepatitis B virus, and more than 5,000 Americans die from hepatitis B related liver complications each year.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for more than half of the chronic hepatitis B cases and half of the deaths resulting from chronic hepatitis B infections in the United States. In order to break the silence surrounding this deadly disease and bring awareness to the American people, Congressman Edolphus Towns, Congressman Charlie Dent and I have introduced H.R. 366, which supports the goals and ideals of National Hepatitis B Awareness Week. I hope my colleagues will join me in educating our communities about the dangers of this disease.

AAPIs are also five times more likely to develop cervical and liver cancer than any other ethnic and racial group. Furthermore, according to the Census Bureau, 18 percent of AAPIs went without insurance for the entire year in 2000. This means that the uninsured are not only more likely to go without health care for serious medical conditions, they are also more likely to go without routine care, less likely to have a regular source of care, less likely to use preventive services, and have viewer visits per year.

At the same time, without appropriate language translation services or properly translated materials, limited English proficient immigrants cannot receive adequate care as well as State and Federal benefits for which they may be eligible. In the AAPI community, 76 percent of Hmong Americans, 61 percent of Vietnamese Americans, 62 percent of Korean Americans and 39 percent of Tongans speak limited English. Therefore, eliminating health care disparities in the AAPI community must include data collection, linguistically appropriate and culturally competent services and access to health insurance.

CAPAC has been working with both the Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses on the Health Care Equity and Accountability Act to eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities for all of our communities. The act would expand the health care safety net, diversify the health care workforce, combat diseases that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, emphasize prevention and behavioral health, and promote the collection and dissemination of data and enhance medical research.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to extend my gratitude to the patriotic men and women serving our country in the military, including the 62,378 AAPIs who are on active duty in the military, and the 7,904 AAPIs who are currently deployed in the global war on terrorism. I also commend and thank the 446,000 AAPI veterans who have fought for our country.

I would like to highlight and honor the Filipino veterans who have not been compensated or recognized for their service, which I believe is a national disservice to these brave veterans. As a country, it is our duty to ensure these veterans have equal access to all of the benefits and treatment that other veterans receive. We believe that our troops should be taken care of when we send them into battle and that they should be given the respect when they return home. Therefore, CAPAC endorses H.R. 760, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act introduced by Representative Bob Filner, who chairs the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. CAPAC thanks Representaive Filner for his leadership on this issue.

H.R. 760 would do justice by providing the full benefits promised to all Filipino veterans who fought in World War II under the command of the U.S. military. The Filipino Veterans Equity Act would eliminate the disparities and

benefits between some Filipino veterans and restore the honor and dignity they so deserve. With Congressman Filner as the Chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, we have a great chance to get this bill to the floor.

There are many firsts among the AAPIs. I am proud of our community's accomplishments, and I would like to recognize many of the AAPIs first in areas of art, film, sports, science, academia and politics, but also emphasize that they should not be the last.

In 1847, Yung Wing, a Chinese American, graduated from Yale University and became the first AAPI to graduate from an American university.

In 1863, William Ah Hang, a Chinese American, became the first AAPI to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War.

In 1922, Anna May Wong, in her lead role in ``The Toll of the Sea,'' at the age of 17 became the first AAPI female to become a movie star, achieving stardom at a time when prejudice against the Chinese in the United States was rampant.

In 1944, An Wang, a Chinese American who invented the magnetic core memory, revolutionized computing and served as a standard method for memory retrieval and storage. And today we have iPods that are smaller than a deck of cards that can hold up to four gigabytes of information, all coming from this 1944 invention by An Wang.

During World War II, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army, comprised mostly of Japanese Americans, became the most highly decorated unit of its size in the history of the U.S. Army, including 22 Medal of Honor recipients, Senator Daniel Inouye being one of them.

In 1946, Wing F. Ong, a Chinese American of Arizona, became the first AAPI to be elected to State office.

In 1947, Wataru ``Wat'' Misaka became the first ethnic minority and the first AAPI to play in the National Basketball Association for the New York Knicks. How about that?

In 1948, two Californian divers, Dr. Samuel Lee, a Korean American, and Victoria Manalo Draves, a Filipina American, became the first AAPIs to win Olympic gold medals for the U.S.

In 1956, Dalip Singh Saud, an Indian American, became the very fist AAPI to be elected to the U.S. Congress.

In 1959, Hiram Leong Fong, a Chinese American, became the first AAPI to be elected as a United States Senator and is the only AAPI to actively seek the Presidential nomination of a major party.

In 1965, Patsy Takemoto Mink, a Japanese American, becames the first AAPI woman and woman of color elected to the United States Congress.

In 1971, Judge Herbert Choy, late Ninth Circuit Court judge, became the first AAPI to sit on the Federal bench.

In 1985, Haing Ngor, a Cambodian American survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, became the first AAPI to win an Academy Award for his role in ``The Killing Fields'' movie.

In 1985, Ellison Onizuka, grandson of a Japanese immigrant, became the first AAPI astronaut to reach outer space, and in 1986 died in the space shuttle explosion of the Challenger.

In 2000, Secretary Norman Mineta was confirmed as Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton and became the very first AAPI to hold a cabinet post; then continued his service to America as Secretary of Transportation under President Bush.

In 2001, Secretary Elaine Chao was confirmed as Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush, becoming the first AAPI female to hold a cabinet position.

Mr. Speaker, the Asian and Pacific Islander American community continues to fight for our civil rights as Americans. Even after the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, we as a community did not grow embittered or cowed by discrimination; instead, we progressed and moved forward.

I am a proud member of the AAPI community, and I am proud to be one because we continue to serve as positive contributors to our many communities by investing in education, business and cultural opportunities for all Americans.

In closing, this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month we take pride in our history, accomplishments and the promise of our future as we continue to pave the way for a better tomorrow and a better America.

Mr. Speaker, more than anything else I'd like to thank Chairman Mike Honda from California for organizing tonight's special order to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month because it's important for us to not only say it today, but have it recorded in the Congressional Record for all time that we appreciate what members of American society have done for us, especially members, this month we want to celebrate of Asian Pacific American heritage, who are Americans, patriotic, hardworking, and in every respect trying to live the American dream.

And so I stand here with a great deal of pride as a Member of Congress who represents a portion of the city of Los Angeles, a very diverse district with a substantial Asian Pacific American population. I stand here as a very proud member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus' Executive Committee.

And I also stand here very proud to say that on many occasions I've had the opportunity to author legislation very important to the Asian and Pacific American community here in this country, whether it has been the issue of reuniting families of Korean descent who have not seen family members in North Korea for many, many years, or whether it's been legislation to try to help obtain justice for Asians of Latino descent who were deprived of their rights back during World War II and never, never received the recognition they deserved to get their rights and their property back. I had that opportunity.

But rather than talk about the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act which began the whole process of discrimination and racism towards Asian and Pacific Americans in this country, or rather than dwell much longer on the history of the internment of Japanese Americans, some 120,000 back during World War II for no reason, without due process, when, in fact, we found out that Japanese Americans served this country proudly and patriotically. In fact, they were among the most decorated of American soldiers during World War II.

And rather than talk about, as I just mentioned, the plight of Filipino soldiers during World War II, who as Filipino veterans, served under the American flag, yet, by an act of Congress in 1946, were deprived of the rights to veterans benefits in this country, let me talk about something else, and not in general terms.

Let me talk to you a little bit about America's leaders today and tomorrow. Just yesterday I had the opportunity to award the winner of my Congressional Arts Competition, which we do every year, so the one winner in my district in high school who has an opportunity to present his or her piece of art work in the Capitol of the United States is introduced on that day of the selection. And that was yesterday.

My winner, for the 31st Congressional District, was Julie Lee, a high school student in my congressional district who did a phenomenal piece of art work. She will be a leader tomorrow. We know it not just because of her artistic talents, but because she came forward to participate in this process.

I could name the various military academy nominees that I've sent off to, whether it's West Point or the Air Force Academy of Japanese, Chinese or Korean American descent that I've had the pleasure and honor to send on to become leaders of this country.

Or I could simply talk about someone by the name of Christine Oh, who happens to be a legislative assistant in my Congressional office here, or Henry Truong, who happens to be my executive assistant here in my Washington, D.C. office, who many would consider my gatekeeper because he decides what my schedule looks like; or perhaps Melvin Tabilas in my district office in Los Angeles, who is one of my field representatives who helps me manage an area that has some 650,000 people there to try to make sure we give the people in my district the coverage they need.

Or perhaps I could mention the names of people like Stuart Kwoh, who has been a champion for civil rights and simply the rights of Americans, especially those of Asian Pacific American descent in Los Angeles through his work with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.

Or I could speak to you about Grace Shimizu, who has been a champion to have restored to those Japanese Latin Americans the rights they lost during World War II through the organization Campaign For Justice, which she is a part of and leads.

Or I could mention Hyepin Im, who is the leader of the Korean Churches for Community Development in the Los Angeles area, now a national organization, which tries to help, through the Korean churches throughout this country, to bring Korean Americans forward and to receive the benefits of what this society offers to Americans.

Or perhaps I could mention Joel Jacinto, who is the Director of the Search to involve Filipino Americans, SIPA, an organization which truly goes out into the community, especially in the Filipino American community in Los Angeles to make sure that whether it's on education, housing, health care issues, SIPA is there to offer Filipino Americans those services.

Mr. Speaker, to Mr. Honda we say, thank you for letting us have this opportunity to talk about the achievements, the accomplishments of people of Asian Pacific and American descent. Clearly, these are Americans who have persevered and excelled in this country.

We could talk about the difficulties of discrimination and racism, the violence that has been experienced by many. But rather than that, I think it's better, most fitting to talk about today's leaders, and tomorrow's leaders in this country.

So to one of today's leaders, Congressman Mike Honda, I say thank you for letting us talk today about tomorrow's leaders in this country as well. And with that, with great pride in helping to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, a companion to Senator Akaka's bill of the same name, which will provide for the expedited reunification of the families of our Filipino World War II veterans. I am pleased to be joined in this legislation by Representatives Neil Abercrombie, Bob Filner, Michael Honda, Madeleine Bordallo, Robert ``Bobby'' Scott, Jim McDermott, Darrell Issa, Sam Farr, Al Green, Raul Grijalva, and Phil Hare.

As you know, Filipino veterans are those that honorably answered the call of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served alongside our armed forces during World War II. They fought shoulder to shoulder with American servicemen; they sacrificed for the same just cause. We made a promise to provide full veterans' benefits to those who served with our troops. And while we have recently made appreciable progress toward fulfilling that long-ignored promise, we have not yet achieved the full equity that the Filipino veterans deserve.

In 1990, the Congress recognized the courage and commitment of the Filipino World War II veterans by providing them with a waiver from certain naturalization requirements. Many veterans thereafter became proud United States citizens and residents of our country. However, allowances were not made for their children and many have been waiting decades for petition approval.

The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would allow for the further recognition of the service of the veterans by granting their children a special immigration status that would allow them to immigrate to the United States and be reunified with their aging parents. It is important to note that the Filipino soldiers who fought under the command of General Douglas MacArthur at this critical time in our Nation's history represent a unique category. These soldiers were members of the United States Armed Forces of the Far East. They were led to believe that at the end of the conflict they would be treated the same as American soldiers. It took more than 60 years to begin to make good on our commitment. The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act recognizes the special circumstances of this group of soldiers.

I would like to submit into the record an editorial from the Honolulu Advertiser that supports the expedited reunification of these families as a meaningful way to make amends for the injustice experienced by these brave soldiers. As the editorial frankly states, ``Reuniting these men with their children is not only the fair thing for the U.S. government to do, it's the least it could do.''

Last year, my home State of Hawaii celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first Filipino immigrants to arrive on U.S. soil. We are exceptionally proud of the accomplishments of our Filipino community and confident that the next 100 years will be as successful. It is unfortunate that prospective family-based immigration applicants from the Philippines face substantial, often decades-long, waits for visas.

In Honolulu, I recently had a meeting with a group of Filipino veterans from my district. I listened to many heartbreaking stories of sons and daughters waiting patiently in the Philippines with the hope that one day they will be able to come to the United States to care for their aging parents. The need to complete these families of our veterans is great.

As our Filipino veterans are entering the sunset years of their lives, Congress is running out of time to fulfill our obligations to them. I look forward to working with my colleagues by providing for the reunification of our Filipino World War II veterans with their families.

[From the Honolulu Advertiser, Feb. 25, 2007]

Filipino Vets' Families Deserve Special Status

Filipino veterans, who fought alongside U.S. troops during

World War II, have waited far too long--more than 60 years--

to get what's due them.

While they still seek full pension benefits from Congress,

another key measure would give them something that could be

more important in their senior years: family reunification.

Senate Bill 671, recently introduced by U.S. Sens. Dan

Akaka and Daniel Inouye, grants special immigrant status to

the children of naturalized Filipino veterans, enabling them

to move up in the visa backlog that has had some family

members waiting for entry to the U.S. for nearly 20 years.

Indeed, this solution is not a simple one. In the aftermath

of Sept. 11, visa policies were rightly revamped and strictly

enforced. To expedite the process for these family members

and not others merits concern.

But let's look at the bigger picture: An estimated 200,000

Filipinos were drafted in 1941 to fight under Gen. Douglas

MacArthur when war broke out. The men were promised

citizenship and benefits by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

But Congress reneged on the promise with the Rescission Act

of 1946.

Not until 1990 did the Immigration Act allow these men

citizenship. But they have yet to receive the same benefits

as their GI counterparts, and the change in immigration law

did not extend the same rights to the veterans' sons and

daughters.

Today, there are an estimated 5,000 Filipino veterans in

Hawai'i and the Mainland, according to the American Coalition

for Filipino Veterans, but most are well into their 80s and

90s--and their number is quickly dwindling.

Reuniting these men with their children is not only the

fair thing for the U.S. government to do, it's the least it

could do.

And Congress shouldn't stop there. The aging veterans

deserve to see the final piece in their struggle for equity:

the granting of full pension benefits that could mean $200 a

month per veteran.

For these men, it's more than just a paycheck--it's a

promise.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Asian Pacific Heritage Month and to recognize the contributions of Asian and Pacific Island Americans to our Nation. First, I want to thank my colleague from California, the Honorable Mr. Honda, the chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, for his distinct leadership and dedication to the needs of our communities.

Every May during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we recognize the contributions Asian and Pacific Island Americans make to the United States economically, culturally, politically, throughout its history. Asian and Pacific Islander Americans continue to make notable and diverse contributions to every aspect of American life. Asian and Pacific Island Americans also serve public interests by serving honorably in the United States Armed Services and ably at every level of government in the United States. I am proud to participate in the effort to honor their contributions to this country and celebrate our heritage with this month's events.

Some people wonder why we continue to celebrate cultural diversity. I respond by saying that doing so helps to remind us that while many of us have no memory of fleeing oppression or desiring to live freely, many Vietnamese Americans can tell you of their desire to live freely and the risks that they took fleeing communism to do so. Or, the experiences of some Korean Americans can help us better understand the importance of family and the hardships and the pain created as a result of being kept apart from loved ones for generations. While many of our lives are relatively stable and certain, some Chinese Americans or Japanese Americans can inspire you with their stories of succeeding here in the United States after arriving with no money and no possessions.

Freedom and economic opportunity are attributes of the United States that have, for generations, inspired hope among the repressed people of the world. Some of us take the United States and the American way of life for granted. The United States and the privilege and the goodness of America's way of life are particularly important for at least two groups among the Asian and Pacific Islander American community. They are Chamorro or Filipino-Americans. And I say that because Chamorro or Filipino-Americans are among the very few Americans who can identify with heart-swelling pride inspired by witnessing the striking and the unique beauty of the Stars and Stripes flying proudly at the top of flagpoles for the first time after enduring and being liberated from a brutal and extended occupation by the foreign power.

To all Americans I say this: To learn of the experiences endured by these Americans during occupation and liberation will provide you invaluable perspective on what it means to be an American. In fact, before the House this week is H.R. 1595, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act. This bill would help fulfill a moral obligation on the part of our national government to a group of citizens, the people of Guam, most of whom were indigenous Chamorros who bore the burden of a brutal occupation. The people of Guam were brutalized through public executions, beheadings, rape, and severe injury, forced labor, forced march, and internment in concentration camps.

H.R. 1595 is called the Loyalty Recognition Act because the loyalty of the people of Guam to the United States during this 32-month enemy occupation should be honored.

It is a tragic injustice of history that, following liberation, Congress did not provide for war claims for the people of Guam in the same manner and with the same opportunities that were afforded to other Americans. The people who carried a disproportionate burden of the war were given less than other Americans when it came time to make our Nation whole. Those who gave more in blood got less in recognition. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month would be especially noteworthy if this legislation were to be agreed to by the House of Representatives.

Asians and Pacific Islanders have a powerful story to tell, and they have a love for this Nation that many take for granted. Our contribution to America is not just the great food and the intriguing cultures that we have introduced to this land; it is also the stories of our incredible journeys to freedom.

Our heritage is our gift to this Nation. Our unique cultures have survived and continue to thrive because America has come to know and appreciate how our contributions enrich our Nation.

I am very, very proud of the Chamorro culture on Guam and take every opportunity to share our culture and our traditions.

Today it is worth reflecting on who we are as a Nation and what values we stand for. We are a Nation of immigrants whose parents and grandparents have come to these shores seeking individual liberty, prosperity and human dignity. The Nation we call our own is one of compassion and of justice. And when it comes to our heritage, we may be Chamorros, Hawaiian, Japanese, Samoan, Chinese, Filipino, Palauan, Chuukese, Korean or any of the various proud cultures of Asia and the Pacific, but we all share a common love for this country.

So as we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, let us honor the contributions of all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, and let us appreciate the cultural diversity, the patriotism and the communities that make our country, that make America so great.

Dangkulo na Si Yu'os Ma'ase.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my fellow Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, CAPAC members, and my other colleagues in celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

I'd like to, of course, thank Congressman Honda for organizing this special order tonight, and for his leadership shown throughout the year in his service as chairman of CAPAC.

The heritage month theme is ``Meeting the Challenges for Asian Pacific Americans.'' The APA community has

come a long way since the days when laws excluded us from coming to this country, barred us from many places, public places, and worse, interned us in camps solely because of our ethnic heritage.

Nationwide, we are now 14 million strong, and in the next 30 years the APA population is expected to double to about 8 percent of the entire U.S. population.

Because of our history of labor immigration and our indigenous island population, Hawaii has had a head start in terms of political representation. Our APA communities have lived and worked in our islands since the mid-1800s, when the first Chinese laborers were imported to work in the sugarcane fields. Since 2000, three of our communities, the Okinawans, Koreans, and the Filipinos, have celebrated their centennial anniversaries of arrival to the United States and to Hawaii.

Hawaii produced the first Governors in the Nation of Japanese and Filipino ancestry, George Ariyoshi and Ben Cayetano; the first Native Hawaiian Governor, John Waihee; the first Asian American Senators, Hiram Fong and Daniel Inouye; the first Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry, Daniel Akaka; the first Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Member of Congress, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole; and the first woman of color to serve in Congress, Patsy Takemoto Mink. And I am privileged to have served as Hawaii's Lieutenant Governor, becoming the first immigrant woman of Asian ancestry elected to statewide office and to be able to continue my service here as the first immigrant born in Japan serving in Congress.

Asian and Pacific Islander Members of Congress currently number only nine, including Eni Faleomavaega, our delegate from American Samoa. Also with me in the House are Congress Members Mike Honda and Doris Matsui, Oregon's David Wu, Virginia's Robert Scott, and Louisiana's Bobby Jindals. In the Senate we have Hawaii's two senior statesmen, Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka.

Although the successes of our APA community over the years have been many, there is another side to our story that is not often discussed. While more Asians have college degrees than any other group in the country, we also have more people who have not graduated from high school compared with other ethnic groups. And while APAs have higher incomes, the U.S. Census counts 1.3 million Asian and Pacific Islanders living in poverty. There are still many wrongs to be righted. Some of them are decades old.

On March 1, 2007, I reintroduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, H.R. 1287, a companion bill to S. 671, introduced by Senator Akaka. It will accelerate the immigration process for the sons and daughters of the Filipino veterans who fought with our American troops in World War II. I am also a cosponsor of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, H.R. 760, to fulfill our promise of full veterans' benefits to those Filipino soldiers.

I know that questions have been raised about the cost of carrying out our obligation to the Filipino World War II veterans. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the cost of enacting H.R. 760 will be $1 billion over a 10-year period. While this is a large sum, it is worth noting that the United States spends approximately $9 billion each month in the war in Iraq.

Challenges are also facing our Native Hawaiian population. The desire for self-determination by the indigenous people of my home State has been ignored for far too long by the Federal Government. Native Hawaiians remain the only indigenous group in our country still awaiting Federal recognition similar to the recognition Congress has granted to American Indians and Alaska Natives. H.R. 505, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, would set up a process for Native Hawaiians to organize a government entity.

By continuing to work together, I am hopeful that we will be able to meet these challenges as we have overcome others in the past. This month Washington, D.C. is hosting the Eighth Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders, PICL. The triennial PICL brings together the heads of government and senior officials from the Pacific, including Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Territories. This is the first time that the group has met in Washington, D.C., and it is quite an opportunity for all of us here to find common ground on issues facing the Pacific region and our world.

In closing, I would again like to thank Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairman Honda for allowing us this opportunity to reflect upon how far our APA community has come and yet, of course, remember how much further our community has to go.

Mahalo and aloha.