Educational Opportunity and Equity Commission Act of 2009

Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have left?

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am very respectful of my dear friend here. Mr. Speaker, I thank my fellow Members of Congress who join us today in honoring Asia Pacific Heritage Month. I especially want to thank the gentleman from California, my colleague, Mr. Honda, for his leadership as chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and in requesting this Special Order to allow members of this institution to pay tribute and to recognize the contributions of the Asian Pacific American community to our Nation.

Founded in 1994 by then-Congressmen and my dear friend and former colleague, Congressman Norman Mineta, this caucus has been a strong advocate for the Asian Pacific American community on critical issues such as housing, health care, immigration, civil rights, economic development, and education, just to name a few. And so it is fitting that we are gathered here today to advocate as advocates of our community to acknowledge the wide-ranging contributions that Asian Pacific Americans have made in the history of our great Nation.

It's been 18 years now that Congress has given authorization that our Nation pay special tribute in the month of May to the contributions of our Asian Pacific American community. I will try and elaborate on the achievements and successes of Asian Pacific Americans to highlight our rich legacy and diversity but, more importantly, to demonstrate that the greatness of our Nation lies in its diversity and ability to accept people from all over the world as they pledge themselves to become fellow citizens of this great Nation.

Americans of Asian Pacific descent, over 16 million of us, make up about 8 or 9 percent of our Nation's population. In recent years, the Asian Pacific American population has more than doubled. There are some predictions that it is now considered the most active and rapidly growing group in our country.

Time will not permit me to share with you the names and contributions of many of our prominent Asian Pacific American leaders in the fields of law, business, and finance. Too many to mention. One only needs to read today's newspapers or a magazine to know that Asian Pacific American students both in secondary schools and universities are among the brightest minds our Nation offers to the world. I fully expect these students now and in the future will contribute their talents and their expertise to solve major issues and problems confronting our Nation and the world.

Many of our prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs are of Asian Pacific descent. For example, many of the popular brands and icons that we know today were created by the brilliant minds of Asian Pacific Americans. For example, the Bose Corporation, which specializes in audio equipment used by historical venues and facilities such as the Sistine Chapel, the Space Shuttle, and the Olympic Stadium, is headed by Amar Bose, an Indian American. Steve Chen, a Chinese American, and Jawed Karim, a Bangladeshi American, were the co-creators of the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube. Vera Wang, a Chinese American fashion designer and model, established herself as an icon by dressing celebrities and creating one of the most fashionable clothing lines for women in the world today.

In the realm of sports, Asian Pacific Americans have come to the forefront. Five Asian Pacific Americans competed for Team USA in the recent Winter Olympics, including short-track skaters J.R. Celski, Apolo Ohno, and Simon Cho, and snowboarder Graham Watanabe. Chinese American Julie Chu, who helped lead the U.S. women's ice hockey team to a silver medal, is the first Asian Pacific American to play for the U.S. Olympic women's ice hockey team. Ms. Chu is also the former team captain at Harvard University, where she became the all-time NCAA leading scorer for women's ice hockey.

Before I share the accomplishments of other Asian Pacific Americans in the Olympics, I must first recognize the pioneer of them all, in my humble opinion. It's a native Hawaiian by the name of Duke Kahanamoku, the first Asian Pacific American ever to win Olympic gold for the U.S. in the 1912 games. Duke went on to win two more golds and two more silver medals for the United States. Also considered the ``father of modern surfing,'' Duke was the first person to be inducted to both the Swimming Hall of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame.

Other prominent Olympians include Kevin Tan, a Chinese American who was selected as captain of the U.S. men's gymnastics team in the 2008 Summer games; high-diver Greg Louganis, of Samoan descent, who won three gold medals in the 1980s; and a high-diver by the name of Sammy Lee, the first Korean American to win a gold medal for the United States in the 1948 games. Four years after his historic feat, Lee also won his second gold medal at age 32, becoming the oldest person to win a gold medal in diving and the first male diver ever to win back-to- back gold medals.

A very, very interesting story about Dr. Sammy Lee. At that time, the U.S. diving team for the Olympics would not even allow Dr. Sammy Lee to practice with them because he was a Korean American. So he had to be somewhat innovative and creative, diving off the cliffs just to try to get himself practice to prepare for the Olympics. Guess what? Despite all the difficulties that he was confronted with, he still won the gold medals for Uncle Sam.

I remember years ago when I attended the 1988 Olympics in Korea and I ran into Dr. Sammy Lee, and I asked him why the Samoan American named Greg Louganis was so good in high-diving. He said, Eni, look at his legs. Greg Louganis has Samoan legs. The reason for this is because of the strength that he gets from his legs. It allows him to jump higher than any of the other divers to do more difficult tricks. I said, Oh, that's a very interesting thing to know.

I've also mentioned many of our young Asian Pacific Americans in the NFL. Today, in the 2010 NFL draft there were seven young men: four Samoans, one Tongan, and one Hawaiian. Probably even more were selected to seven different teams across the Nation.

Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, I usually have to give a lesson in geography when people ask where I'm from--Samoa, not Somalia. But when I mention Troy Polamalu and Junior Seau, they say, Oh, those guys. They're Samoans. They're Asian Pacific Americans. I must also mention that Asian Pacific Americans excelled in the sport of rugby. Many of you may have heard world-renowned New Zealand All Blacks team, whose name, I might add, describes the color of their uniforms and not the skin of the people that play the game. Some of the world's most famous rugby players are of Samoan descent. And the All Blacks team includes Brian Williams, Va'aiga Tuigamala, Tana Umaga, and Michael Jones.

Also of note, a history of discrimination. At the time of apartheid, New Zealand having one of the most powerful rugby national teams, when the South African Springbok team found out there may be a Samoan or Maori that was included in the All Blacks team, they refused to play them because they did not want to associate with these Polynesians or Asian Americans that made up the All Blacks team in New Zealand.

I must also mention in the sport of sumo, as the gentleman from California had alluded to earlier, yes, Asian Pacific Americans also excel in the sport of sumo. I can only mention that the gentleman that started it was a native Hawaiian named Jesse Kuhaulua, whose wrestling name was Takamiyama. He, in turn, trained a Samoan kid by the name of Saleva'a Atisanoa, whose name later became Konishiki. Of course, Konishiki weighed only 570 pounds after they trained him. And, of course, he was able to bench 600 pounds.

And then we have native Hawaiian Akebono, whose name was Chad Rowen. He was about 6'8'' and weighed 500 pounds. Another Samoan Tongan sumo wrestler, also a Yokozuna national champion, by the name of Musashimaru.

As I shared this with my colleagues, I just wanted to mention, Mr. Speaker, in terms of the achievements of these Asian Pacific Americans, in the field of martial arts, the late Chinese American kung fu martial artist Bruce Lee

captivated movie audiences all over the world by destroying the common stereotype of the passive, quiet Asian Pacific American male. The tradition continues today with Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Mr. Speaker, recently I had the privilege of presenting the Congressional Horizon Award to someone else of interesting making, a gentleman by the name of Dwayne Johnson, commonly known as the Rock. The Rock was featured in movies such as ``The Scorpion King,'' ``Rundown,'' ``Get Smart,'' ``Grid Iron Gang,'' ``Race to Witch Mountain,'' and most recently the comedy fantasy film ``Tooth Fairy.''

The unique thing about Dwayne Johnson is his father is part African American European and Native American, but his mother is pure Samoan. Now, just about every Samoan alive claims to be related to the Rock, including myself. Recently I had the privilege of presenting the Congressional Horizon Award to Dwayne Johnson for his contributions and volunteer work in enriching the lives of children worldwide. Dwayne Johnson has made numerous contributions, especially towards terminally ill children through his Rock Foundation.

There are also an unprecedented number of Asian Pacific Americans in top government positions, and I think many already may have been mentioned. For example, President Obama appointed Dr. Steven Chu, a Chinese American to be Secretary of Energy. Secretary Chu's extensive work in physics and molecular biology has earned him many accolades. Most notably, he won a Nobel Prize for his work in physics by developing methods to cool and trap atoms in laser light. I don't know what that means, Mr. Speaker, but it must have been something very important.

Dr. Chu's dedication to physics led him to the academic side of research as a teacher of physics and molecular and cellular biology at Stanford University and also U.C. Berkeley University. Concerning global warming, Secretary Chu has been a leading advocate for the research of finding alternative sources of energy, steering away our dependence on fossil fuels. Secretary Chu is the first person ever appointed to a Presidential Cabinet after receiving a Nobel Prize.

Also, another member of the President's Cabinet, Secretary of Veteran Affairs, my dear and good friend, former General Eric Shinseki, a Japanese American born in Hawaii, a graduate of West Point and a decorated veteran who fought in two combat tours in Vietnam. General Shinseki, wounded from his last tour in Vietnam, understands from personal experience the plight of veterans and the support those veterans and their families really need. General Shinseki is also the only Japanese American and Asian American to be promoted to the Army's top position as Chief of Staff of the Army. He was the first 4-star general of Asian descent in the history of our U.S. military.

I can remember well when General Shinseki was asked how many soldiers would it take to take control of Iraq. Strictly from a purely professional opinion as a soldier, not as a politician, he said something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers. For that he was vilified and severely criticized by civilian authority, namely, former Secretary Rumsfeld and former Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz in saying this is outrageous and not true. And guess what, Mr. Speaker, everything that General Shinseki said was absolutely true. And what did we do? We operated a war in Iraq on the cheap and that is why we have spent 8 years there, costing many more lives simply because of mismanagement and not taking more serious advice from people who know what it means to be in war.

Another Cabinet member of the Obama administration who exemplifies that through hard work the American Dream can come true, is former Governor of the State of Washington, Gary Locke, a Chinese American. Secretary Locke grew up in public housing, put himself through Yale University with loans and scholarships and the money he earned working part-time jobs. After earning his law degree, Locke broke many glass ceilings. In 1993 he became the first Chinese American to be elected to his county as county executive in the State of Washington, city of Seattle. And, of course, he served two terms as Governor of the State of Washington.

As a Vietnam veteran, Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not say something to honor and respect the hundreds of thousands of Asian Pacific Americans who served then and now in all branches of the armed services to our Nation. As a former member of the U.S. Army Reserve Unit known today as the 100 Battalion 442nd Combat Infantry 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.

As you probably know, after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there was such an outrage and outcry for an all-out war against Japan, and days afterwards President Roosevelt right here in this Chamber and the Congress formally declared war against Japan. But out of this retaliation against Japan, over 100,000 Japanese Americans--men, women and children--were caught in the crossfire. Our national government immediately implemented a policy whereby these Japanese Americans were forced to live in what they called relocation camps, but they were actually concentration camps. Their lands, homes, their properties were confiscated without any due process.

My former colleague and former Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta, and the late Congressman Bob Matsui from Sacramento spent their early years in these concentration camps. Secretary Mineta shared with us an interesting feature. In the camps they had machine gun nests posted all over the camp. And everyone in the camp was told that the machine guns were necessary to protect them against rioters and others who wanted to harm them. But Secretary Mineta observed if the machine guns were posted to guard and protect us, why is that they are all directed and aimed inside the prison camp compound and not outside.

Mr. Speaker, I submit it was a time in our Nation's history when there was so much hatred and bigotry and racism against our Japanese American community. Despite all this, tens of thousands of Japanese American men volunteered to join the Army, thus leaving their wives, their parents, brothers and sisters behind barbed wire fences to go train in order to fight America's enemies in Europe. As a result of such volunteerism, two combat units were organized. The 100th Battalion and the 422nd Infantry Combat Group were created and immediately sent to fight in Europe. History speaks for itself, Mr. Speaker, documenting that none have shed their blood more valiantly for our Nation than the Japanese American soldiers who served in these two combat units while fighting enemy forces in Europe during World War II.

The military records of the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Infantry are without equal in suffering, in my humble opinion. These Japanese American units suffered an unprecedented casualty rate of 314 percent and received over 18,000 individual decorations, many awarded posthumously for bravery and courage in the field of battle. For your information, 53 Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded for the bravery of these Japanese soldiers; 560 Silver Stars; 9,486 Purple Hearts; and seven Presidential Unit Citations, and I find it unusual that only one Medal of Honor was awarded at that time. Nonetheless, it is noted that the 442nd Infantry Group emerged as the most decorated combat unit of its size ever in the military history of the United States.

President Truman was so moved by the bravery in the field of battle, not only by Japanese Americans but African Americans during World War II, that he issued an executive order to finally desegregate all branches of the armed services. And I am proud to say that Senators Daniel Inouye and the late Senator Spark Matsunaga were members of the original units of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry.

I was very, very happy that the House made a change, reinvestigated and as a result of the investigation in 1999, 19 additional Congressional Medals of Honor were given to these Japanese Americans who were members of these combat groups. Senator Inouye was one of the recipients, and I was

privileged to witness this historic moment at a ceremony at the White House.

Mr. Speaker, looking back on history, I submit to you today that the wholesale and arbitrary abolishment of the constitutional rights of these loyal Japanese Americans should forever serve as a reminder and testament that this must never be allowed to occur again. When this miscarriage of justice unfolded during World War II, Americans of German and Italian ancestry were not similarly jailed en masse. Some declare the incident as an example of outright racism and bigotry in its ugliest form.

After visiting the Holocaust museums in both Washington, D.C. and in Jerusalem, I understand, Mr. Speaker, better why the genocide of some 6 million Jews has prompted the cry, ``never again.'' Likewise, I sincerely hope that the mass internments on the basis of race will never darken the history of our great Nation.

Bruce Yamashita, a Japanese American from Hawaii, was discharged from his training as an officer in the Marine Corps. Marine Corps superiors taunted Bruce with ethnic slurs and told him: We don't want your kind around; go back to your own country.

The situation was made worse when the commandant of the Marine Corps, who appeared on ``60 Minutes,'' said marine officers who are minorities do not shoot, swim or use compasses as well as white officers. Well, the general apologized, but it was too late. After research and investigations, Mr. Yamashita was vindicated and finally commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps.

Mr. Speaker, when I envision America, I don't see a melting pot designed to reduce and remove racial differences. No, the America I see is a brilliant rainbow, a rainbow of ethnicities, of cultures, different religions and languages with each person proudly contributing in his own distinctive and unique way for a better America.

Asian Pacific Americans wish to find a just and equitable place in our society that would allow them, like all Americans, to grow, to succeed, to achieve, and to contribute to the advancement of this great Nation.

I would like to close my remarks by asking all of us here, my colleagues, and the American people: What is America all about? I think it could not have been said better than on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial in the summer of 1963 when an African American minister by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr., poured out his heart and soul to every American who could hear his voice, when he uttered these profound words: ``I have a dream. My dream is that one day my four little children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.''

That is what I believe America is all about and that is what I firmly believe that the 16 million Asian Pacific Americans that are a part and fabric of our great Nation, that it will make us even a greater country, by looking at the characters of the people and judging them accordingly and not because of race.

I sincerely hope my colleagues will remember this month of May has been dedicated. It has been my privilege to visit several installations over the course of the 20 years I have been here, to share with the American people the contributions that Asian Pacific Americans have made to our great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my fellow members of Congress who join us today in honoring Asian Pacific Heritage Month. I also thank the gentleman from California, Mr. Honda, for his leadership as Chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, CAPAC, and in requesting this Special Order to allow Members of this institution to pay tribute to and recognize the contributions of the Asian Pacific American community to our nation.

Founded in 1994 by then-Congressman and my dear friend, Norman Mineta, CAPAC has been a strong advocate for the Asian Pacific American community on critical issues such as housing, healthcare, immigration, civil rights, economic development, and education, just to name a few. And so it is fitting that we are gathered here today as advocates for our community to acknowledge the wide-ranging contributions Asian Pacific Americans have made in the history of this great nation.

In 1992, Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution to designate the month of May to give special recognition of the contributions of our Asian-Pacific American community to our nation. Originally, Congress in 1978 designated the first week of May to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants and the completion of the transcontinental railroad that was built by the Chinese laborers. Every year since then, the President would issue an Executive proclamation from the White House to honor this month and direct all federal agencies and military installations throughout the country to conduct special events and ceremonies to honor our Asian- Pacific American communities throughout our country.

I will try and elaborate on the achievements and successes of Asian- Pacific Americans to highlight our rich legacy and diversity but, more importantly, to demonstrate that the greatness of our nation lies in its diversity and ability to accept peoples from all over world, as they pledge themselves to become fellow citizens of this great nation.

Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, over 16 million strong, are among the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States today, even though they make up only 9 percent of our nation's population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community is comprised of over 45 distinct ethnicities and over 28 language groups. In recent years, the Asian-Pacific American population has more than doubled and this rapid growth is expected to continue in the years to come--reaching 40.6 million by 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Time will not permit me to share with you the names and contributions of many of our prominent Asian-Pacific American leaders in the fields of law, business, finance, and too many to mention. One only needs to read today's newspaper or a magazine to know that Asian-Pacific American students--both in secondary schools and universities--are among the brightest minds our nation offers to the world. I fully expect that these students--now and in the future--will contribute their talents and expertise to solve major issues and problems confronting our nation and the world.

Many of our prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs are of Asian-Pacific descent. In fact, many of the popular brands and icons that we know today were created by the brilliant minds of Asian-Pacific Americans. For example, the Bose Corporation (note: one syllable, pronounced Boze), which specializes in audio equipment used by historical venues and facilities, such as the Sistine Chapel, the Space Shuttle, and the Olympic stadiums, is currently headed by its founder, Amar Bose--an Indian American. Steve Chen, a Chinese American, and Jawed Karim, a Bangladeshi American, were the co-creators of the popular video sharing Web site, ``YouTube.'' Vera Wang, a Chinese American fashion designer and mogul, established herself as an icon by dressing celebrities and creating one of the most fashionable clothing lines for women in the world.

In the realm of sports, Asian-Pacific Americans have come to the forefront. Of the five Asian-Pacific Americans who competed with Team USA in the recent Winter Olympics--including short track skaters J.R. Celski, Apolo Ohno, and Simon Cho, and snowboarder Graham Watanabe-- Chinese American Julie Chu, who helped lead the U.S. women's ice hockey team to a silver medal, is the first Asian American to play for the U.S. Olympic women's ice hockey team. Chu is also the former team captain at Harvard where she became the all-time NCAA leading scorer for women's ice hockey.

Before I share the accomplishments of other Asian-Pacific Americans of Olympic fame, I must first recognize the pioneer of them all--Native Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, the first Asian-Pacific American ever to win Olympic gold for the U.S. in the 1912 games. Duke went on to win two more gold and two silver medals. Also considered the ``father of modern surfing,'' Duke was the first person to be inducted to both the Swimming Hall of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame.

Other prominent Olympians include: Kevin Tan, a Chinese American who was selected as captain of the U.S. men's gymnastics team in the 2008 summer games; high-diver Greg Louganis, of Samoan descent, who won three gold medals in the 1980s; and high-diver Dr. Sammy Lee, the first Asian-American ever to win Olympic gold for the U.S. in the 1948 Games. Four years after his historic feat, Lee won his second gold medal at age 32, becoming the oldest person to win a gold medal in diving, and the first male diver to win back-to-back gold medals.

As a Korean-American living before the Civil Rights movement, Sammy had to overcome much discrimination to attain his goals. Even finding a place to practice was a struggle. For example, the Brookside pool in Dr. Lee's town would only allow non-Whites to use the pool once a week. Sammy described that at closing, the pool was emptied, and fresh water was brought in the next day. On other days, he would often practice his diving form by jumping onto a sand pile.

After attaining his goals of becoming both an Olympic diver and a medical doctor--which he promised his father--Sammy turned to coaching and not surprisingly, met with great success. He coached one of his most famous students, then sixteen-year old Greg Louganis, to a silver medal in 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

I remember years ago when I attended the 1988 Olympics in Korea and I ran into Dr. Sammy Lee. I asked him why this Samoan-American named Louganis was so good in the art of diving. He said, ``Look at his legs, they are Samoan.'' The reason for this is it gives him the ability to jump higher than any of his Olympic competitors. He could jump higher than anybody. That's what gives him the opportunity to do flips more difficult than any of the others to accomplish.

Asian-Pacific Americans are more prevalent in American sports now than ever before. We have Yao Ming, a Chinese basketball player, playing for the Houston Rockets; Daisuke Matsuzaka, a Japanese baseball player, playing for the Boston Red Sox; and Yutaka Fukufuji, the first Japanese to play for the National Hockey League, who played for the Los Angeles Kings.

I have to also mention our young Asian-Pacific Americans in the NFL. In the 2010 NFL draft, seven young men--four Samoans, one Tongan and one Hawaiian--were selected by seven different teams across the nation. These young men are ambassadors of goodwill and represent the Asian- Pacific Americans of past and present NFL fame--from pioneers such as Al Lolotai who played for the Washington Redskins in 1945, Charles Ane and Rockne Freitas of Detroit Lions, to the likes of Junior Seau of the New England Patriots and Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I must also mention Polynesians' first love which is rugby. Many of you may have heard of the world-renown New Zealand All Blacks team, whose name--I might add--describes the color of their uniforms and not their skin. Some of our famous Samoan rugby legends of the All Blacks include Bryan Williams, Va'aiga Tuigamala, Tana Umaga, and Michael Jones.

Michael Jones, who was noted for his refusal to play on Sundays (including major semifinal matches) due to his strong Christian beliefs, was once asked how a Christian such as himself could be such an uncompromising tackler. In reply, he quoted a scripture from the Bible saying, ``It is better to give than receive.''

Also to note is the history of discrimination that the All Blacks faced in international rugby--most notably, while playing the South Africa Springboks. During a time when the white South African government's apartheid views regarded the black majority as second- class citizens, the South African Rugby Union demanded Maori players be excluded from All Blacks teams. Just recently--in fact, last month-- South African rugby has given its first indication that it is willing to apologize to the Maori for this discriminatory practice which occurred decades ago.

Asian-Pacific Americans have also made their name in American rugby teams. I must also mention the successes of a young Samoan-American rugby player by the name of Thretton Palamo, who made his World Cup debut in 2007, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in a World Cup match, eight days after his 19th birthday. Palamo, a strong advocate for the sport, was additionally named as captain for the USA Sevens team at the 2009 World Games in Taiwan.

I must also mention our internationally renown Asian-Pacific Americans who excelled in Japan's most revered and ancient sport-- sumo--including: Takmiyama (Native Hawaiian), Konishiki (Samoan), Akebono (Native Hawaiian), and Musashimaru (Samoan-Tongan).

Years ago, an eighteen year old Samoan kid named Saleva'a Atisanoa-- then weighing only 384 poinds and an all-state football player intending to play college football--was walking along Waikiki Beach with his buddies when he caught the attention of the famous Native Hawaiian sumo wrestler and teacher, Jesse Kuhaulua or, as he was known as throughout Japan, Takamiyama.

After convincing Salevaa's parents to have their son try sumo wrestling as an optional sport, Takamiyama brought this young man only with a lavalava and a t-shirt on his back, to start a training program so rigorous and demanding that very few foreigners could endure the first six months.

Saleva'a told me that during his six to seven hours of training every day--in which he didn't understand the language--his body would take about every form of pain and physical punishment including hours of stretching, pushing, and pulling. If you want to know how conditioned a sumo wrestler has to be in order to be successful in this ancient sport, he must be able to do the splits just like a seasoned ballerina dancer at an opera concert.

Salevaa's name was changed to Konishiki and weighing in at only 570 pounds and standing 6 feet tall, he took the entire sumo wrestling world to a different level. His success in winning matches within two years usually would take most sumo wrestlers five years to, achieve. Although he achieved the second highest level in sumo, which was Oyeki, Konishiki became a household name throughout Japan, and was forerunner to two other Polynesian sumo wrestlers who eventually became Yokozuna, or grand champions.

Indeed, these two sumo wrestlers scaled even greater heights by attaining the highest status in this ancient Japanese sport. A native Hawaiian, Chad Rowen or Akebono as he is known in Japan became Yokozuna. Of course, he weighed about 500 pounds and stood 6 feet 8 inches tall. The other was Samoan-Tongan American Fiamalu Penitani, also known as Musashimaru who tipped the scale at 550 pounds and stood 6 feet 4 inches.

In the field of martial arts, the late Chinese-American kung-fu martial arts expert Bruce Lee captivated the movie audiences all over the world by destroying the common stereotype of the passive, quiet Asian-Pacific American male, and the tradition continues today with Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Now, another sports and movie icon moving his way through the movie industry--and believed to be the heir apparent to Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger--is none other than the former World Wrestling Entertainment champion wrestler, Dwayne Johnson, or commonly known as the Rock. The Rock was featured in movies such as the Scorpion King, Rundown, Get Smart, Grid Iron Gang, Race to Witch Mountain, and most recently the comedy fantasy film Tooth Fairy.

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

Recently I had the privilege of presenting the Congressional Horizon Award to Chief Seiuli Dwayne ``The Rock'' Johnson for his contributions and volunteer work in enriching the lives of children worldwide. Dwayne Johnson has made numerous contributions--especially towards terminally- ill children--through The Rock Foundation.

There are also an unprecedented number of Asian-Pacific Americans in top government positions, and these leaders were not appointed to their positions because of their race and heritage but because they bring vast knowledge, experience and different viewpoints that their APA backgrounds have contributed to.

For example, President Obama appointed Steven Chu, a Chinese American, to be the Secretary of Energy. Secretary Chu's extensive work in physics and molecular biology has earned him accolades and achievements throughout the world--most notably he won a Nobel Prize for his work in physics by developing methods ``to cool and trap atoms with laser light.''

Chu's dedication to physics led him to the academic side of research, as a teacher of physics and molecular and cellular biology at Stanford and UC Berkley. Concerning global warming, Secretary Chu has been a leading advocate for the research of finding alternative sources of energy, and steering away from our dependence on fossil fuels. Secretary Chu is the first person ever appointed to the Cabinet after receiving a Nobel Prize.

Our newest Secretary of Veteran Affairs, my good friend General Eric Shinseki, is a Japanese American born in Hawaii, a graduate of West Point, and is a decorated veteran who fought in two combat tours in Vietnam. Secretary Shinseki, wounded from his last tour in Vietnam, understands from personal experience the plight of veterans and the support those veterans and their families need. General Shinseki is also the only Japanese American and Asian American to be promoted to the Army's top position, and was the first four-star general of Asian descent in the history of our U.S. military.

As the Army Chief of Staff during the beginning stages of the war in Iraq, Shinseki publicly clashed with Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld over how many troops the U.S. would need to keep in postwar Iraq. Shinseki testified to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that ``something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers'' would probably be required for postwar Iraq, an estimate far higher than the figure being proposed by Secretary Rumsfeld.

As many of you know, Shinseki's counsel was ultimately rejected in strong language by both Rumsfeld and his Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and when the insurgency took hold, his comments and their public rejection were often cited by those who felt the Bush administration deployed too few troops. In his November 2006 testimony before Congress, CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid stated that General Shinseki had in fact been correct that more troops were needed.

Another cabinet member in Obama's Administration, who has exemplified that with hard

work the American dream can come true, is former Governor of the State of Washington Gary Locke, a Chinese American. Locke grew up in public housing and put himself through Yale University with loans, scholarships and the money he earned working part-time jobs. After earning his law degree, Locke broke many glass ceilings. In 1993, he became the first Chinese American to be elected his county's County Executive, and in 1996, he became the first Chinese American to be governor of a state, serving the maximum of two terms.

Secretary Locke's family history is also an important one to emphasize, as it is one of many hardships that our Asian-Pacific American communities have faced. In an interview, Locke mentioned that his grandfather might have claimed that he was born in the U.S. and that the documents were destroyed. Some of you may know that in 1882 our government institutionalized racial discrimination against Chinese immigrants where they were banned from entering the United States. The Chinese people living in the U.S. at the time were excluded from becoming American citizens. And because of the restrictions of this law, it was nearly impossible for Chinese families to reunite. This Exclusion Act was repealed only 66 years ago. Locke's grandfather could have been one of the few Chinese immigrants who managed to get into the Untied States through ruses of lost documentation, while the immigration of people from all over Europe was unlimited.

Another prominent Obama appointee is Harold Koh, a Korean American, who currently serves as Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of State. What's interesting about Koh's background is that his father, a legal scholar and diplomat, was granted asylum in the U.S. after a military coup in Korea. Moving their family to Connecticut, he and Koh's mother soon became the first Asian Americans to teach at Yale University.

As a Vietnam veteran, I would be remiss if I do not say something to honor and respect the hundreds of thousands of Asian-Pacific Americans who served then and now in all branches of the armed services of our Nation.

As a former member of the U.S. Army's Reserve unit, known today as the 100th Battalion and 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.

As you probably know, after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there was such an outrage and cry for an all out war against Japan and days afterwards our President and the Congress formally declared war. Out of this retaliation against Japan, over 100,000 Japanese Americans were caught in the crossfire.

Our national government immediately implemented a policy whereby these Japanese-Americans were forced to live in what were called relocation camps, but were actually more like prison or concentration camps. Their lands, homes and properties were confiscated by the military without due process of law.

My former colleague and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta, and the late Congressman Bob Matsui from Sacramento spent the early years of their lives in these prison camps. Secretary Mineta shared one of the interesting features of these prison camps was the many machine gun nests posted all around.

Everyone in the camps was told that these machine guns were necessary to protect them against rioters or others who wanted to harm them. But then-Secretary Mineta observed, ``If these machine guns are posted to guard and protect us, why is it that they are all directed and aimed inside the prison camp compound and not outside?''

It was a time in our Nation's history when there was so much hatred, bigotry and racism against our Japanese American community. Despite all this, the White House accepted the request of tens of thousands of the Japanese Americans to volunteer to join the Army, thus leaving their wives, parents, brothers and sisters behind barbed wire fences. As a result of such volunteerism, two combat units were organized. The 100th Battalion and the 442nd Infantry Combat Group were created and immediately were sent to fight in Europe.

In my humble opinion, history speaks for itself in documenting that none have shed their blood more valiantly for our Nation than the Japanese American soldiers who served in these two combat units while fighting enemy forces in Europe during World War II. The military records of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry are without equal in suffering. These Japanese American units suffered an unprecedented casualty rate of 31.4%, and received over 18,000 individual decorations, many awarded posthumously, for bravery and courage in the field of battle.

For your information, 53 Distinguished Service Crosses, (the second highest medal given for heroism in combat), 560 Silver Stars (third highest medal), 9,486 Purple Hearts, and 7 Presidential Unit Citations, the Nation's top award for combat units, were awarded to the Japanese American soldiers of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry Group. I find it unusual however, that only one Medal of Honor was awarded at the time. Nonetheless, the 442nd Infantry Group emerged as the most decorated combat unit of its size in the history of the United States Army.

President Truman was so moved by their bravery in the field of battle, as well as that of African American soldiers during World War II, that he issued an Executive Order to finally desegregate all branches of the Armed Services.

I am proud to say that we must recognize Senator Daniel K. Inouye and the late, highly respected Senator Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii, who distinguished themselves in battle as soldiers with the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry.

It was while fighting in Europe that Senator Inouye lost his arm while engaged in his personal battle against two German machine gun posts. For his heroism, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. As a result of a Congressional mandate that was passed in 1999 to review the military records of these two combat units, President Clinton presented 19 Congressional Medals of Honor to the Japanese Americans who were members of these two combat groups. Senator Inouye was one of those recipients of the Medal of Honor and I was privileged to witness this historical moment at a White House ceremony.

Just last May, the House unanimously passed H.R. 347, thus granting the Congressional gold medal, collectively, to the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, United States Army, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.

Looking back on history, I submit to you today, that the wholesale and arbitrary abolishment of the constitutional rights of these loyal Japanese Americans should forever serve as a reminder and testament that this must never be allowed to occur again. When this miscarriage of justice unfolded during World War II, Americans of German and Italian ancestry were not similarly jailed en masse. Some declare the incident as an example of outright racism and bigotry in its ugliest form.

After visiting the Holocaust museums in both Washington, DC and in Jerusalem, I understand better why the genocide of 6 million Jews has prompted the cry, ``Never Again.'' Likewise, I sincerely hope that mass internments on the basis of race will never again darken the history of our great Nation.

To those who say, well, that occurred decades ago, I say we must continue to be vigilant in guarding against such evil today.

Not long ago we had the case of Bruce Yamashita, a Japanese American from Hawaii who was discharged from the Marine Corps officer training program in an ugly display of racial discrimination. Marine Corps superiors taunted Yamashita with ethnic slurs and told him, ``We don't want your kind around here. Go back to your own country.'' The situation was made worse by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Carl E. Mundy, who appeared on television's ``Sixty Minutes'' and stated, ``Marine officers who are minorities do not shoot, swim or use compasses as well as white officers.''

After years of perseverance and appeals, Mr. Yamashita was vindicated after proving he was the target of vicious racial harassment during his officer training program. The Secretary of the Navy's investigation into whether minorities were deliberately being discouraged from becoming officers resulted in Bruce Yamashita receiving his commission as a captain in the Marine Corps.

When I envision America, I don't see a melting pot designed to reduce and remove racial differences. The America I see is a brilliant rainbow--a rainbow of ethnicities, cultures, religions and languages with each person proudly contributing in their own distinctive and unique way for a better America. Asian-Pacific Americans wish to find a just and equitable place in our society that will allow them--like all Americans--to grow, to succeed, to achieve and to contribute to the advancement of this great Nation.

I would like to close my remarks by asking all of us here--what is America all about? I think it could not have been said better than on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in that summer of 1963 when an African American minister by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. poured out his heart and soul to every American who could hear his voice, when he uttered these profound words, ``I have a dream. My dream is that one day my four little children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.''

That is what I believe America is all about.

Will the gentleman yield?

I just want to again offer my commendation to the gentleman for his tireless service and also for his leadership in moving so very many important issues affecting the needs of our Asian Pacific American community in the course of the numbers of years that you have served as chairman. And I speak, I'm sure, on behalf of our colleagues and members of our Asian Pacific Congressional Caucus in doing such a splendid job.

My understanding, I think Monday the President's going to invite us to the White House to honor, this month, all the Asian Pacific Americans. And as you said earlier, President Obama is a Hawaiian. He's a Pacific Islander, the first President who at least knows where the Pacific Ocean is.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield to Member Sheila Jackson-Lee. I believe she wanted to address the floor.

I thank the gentlewoman from Texas and always count on her support for the issues that we care about together.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and to commemorate the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus,

what we call CAPAC, I feel privileged to be here tonight with my colleagues to speak of the Asian and Pacific Islander American history and accomplishments. Additionally, I will be highlighting those issues affecting our community and the priorities for CAPAC.

In celebrating the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I want to give thanks to the late Congressman Frank Horton from New York and my good friend, former Secretary Norman Mineta, along with Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Masayuki Matsunaga of Hawaii.

It is because of their efforts that May is now designated as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The first 10 days of May coincide with two important anniversaries: one, the arrival of the first Japanese American immigrants on May 7, 1843, to the United States, 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. Today the Asian Pacific Islander community is quickly expanding.

Currently, there are approximately 16.2 million APIs living in the United States. By the year 2050, there will be an estimated 43 million Asian Pacific Islanders, comprising 10 percent of the total U.S. population. My home State of California has the largest Asian population at 5 million. The States of New York and Texas followed at 1.4 million and close to 1 million, respectively.

The population is also growing in States beyond the usual hubs of New York and California. We are also seeing growth in other areas in our country such as Virginia, Nevada, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

I encourage my congressional colleagues to learn more about the Asian American Pacific Islander populations in their districts and become a member of CAPAC.

At this moment, Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from California, the gentlewoman, Laura Richardson.

I have a couple of comments to what you had shared with us. One is I'm very, very pleased that you have taken the initiative to join CAPAC, not only because you believe in it, but also there are folks in your district that need to be represented. Your knowledge and your understanding of the communities; that it has to be disaggregated to understand the different necessities and needs of each community rather than looking at one monolithic community, is greatly appreciated because, as you mention, about the census, it is about the census that drives us constitutionally to make sure that we count every person in this country. The fact that you express that there are different strategies of housing based upon family structures; that many times one family per household does not necessarily exist and that many families do live together to be with each other and give each other support, I wanted to thank you for that observation.

And one not very known fact about Patsy Mink. When she led the effort to pass the title IX legislation, that she did in fact open up quite a bit of avenues for women, but also I still remember the great tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.

That was a great contest. I believe that Billie Jean King won, didn't she?

Despite his tactics. And so what we do here has great impact not only in this country but worldwide. So I really do appreciate the time and thought that you have put into this presentation and the the idea that Asian Americans have contributed to this country and in building this country, as you had mentioned, on the transcontinental railroad.

It's interesting to note that when you look at pictures of the golden spike being driven into the ground at Promontory Summit, there are no Asian faces there. I often wonder what happened. Were they given the day off or something like that?

I think it's very clear today that they were excused. And the kind of history that we see that is shared in our history books need to be brought up to date and be accurate.

This kind of forum, where we have a month dedicated to discussions about our contributions and our perspectives of how we see the communities in this country, is greatly appreciated. The fact that we have many people from different backgrounds in our caucus only expresses the understanding and the sensitivity and the consciousness that each individual Congressperson representing their district, even though a district may have 14 percent or 1 percent, the fact that it is stated publicly that you are representing those districts and those communities is greatly appreciated.

So, to my sister from California, I really appreciate your time spent with us.

Thank you. The Asian American Pacific Islander community is often misperceived as an overachieving monolithic group. However, our community is extremely diverse in our languages, ethnicities, income, educational attainment, language capabilities, special need and challenges.

Stereotypes about our communities make it difficult to understand the unique problems faced by individual communities and subgroups. Data that is disaggregated by ethnicity for our various communities is hard to come by, but critical to the understanding where we must direct Federal attention.

As a country, we need to better address the needs of the AAPI community when we discuss comprehensive immigration reform, health care, economic recovery, and education. We are also barely visible in corporate America, underrepresented in political and judicial offices throughout the country, and misportrayed in our mainstream media.

As our community expands, we must also continue to educate our fellow citizens about the uniqueness of our experiences. Despite the daunting challenges we face, this is a time of great optimism and hope for the communities.

This year, we are marking Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month under the twin banners of National Service and Recovery. We are at a pivotal moment in our Nation's history where the national spirit is shifting to a new era of volunteerism, public service, and working for the common good.

The Asian Pacific Islander American communities are no stranger to these changes, and our communities have taken hold of a new civic spirit engendered by President Obama's new administration.

At this time, Madam Speaker, I'd like to yield such time as she may consume to our gentlelady from the Aloha State, Mazie Hirono.

Mahalo.

I'd like to thank the gentlelady from Hawaii. It appears that the mainland Asian Americans have to strive real hard to catch up to the contributions that many of the folks from Hawaii had accomplished.

You mentioned Patsy Mink. I think a lot of us understand that when we come from humble backgrounds--and she often shared that she was born on a plantation; went for many years without shoes. She understood what it meant to be a woman. And I suspect your background has been very similar.

The idea of title IX and equity for women was probably one that formulated in her life and in her work, and the opportunity came about when she was able to walk the Halls of Congress. She did that, but she didn't stop there because I understand there is a story about her where she led a contingent of women to protest that there were no gymnasiums here for women and only for men. That must have been a real sight.

Thank you for sharing that. I guess in English we say you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth, nor golden chopsticks. Knowing your history of political participation, being the lieutenant governor of Hawaii and now representing Hawaii, I guess one can say that you are a statistical aberration of probabilities, and who would guess except for the fact that your mom had such great strength.

Thank you very much.

For the record, I know I said I would go until 7:30, but it seems we have gotten verbose and more comfortable with this kind of presentation so we will move on as designated.

Madam Speaker, for the first time we are marking Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with an American President with close ties to Asia, as has been mentioned previously. President Obama grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. His sister is half Indonesian, and his brother- in-law is Chinese Canadian, and he has maintained close ties with Asian friends and colleagues throughout his life.

President Obama's campaign made unprecedented efforts to reach out to the APIA communities, and we have found a receptive and engaged administration with a close ear to our shared interests.

Many APIA community members have responded to President Obama's call for public service.

The President's Cabinet appointments include a record three Asian Americans: Energy Secretary Steven Chu; Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the former Governor of Washington; Veterans Affairs Secretary General Eric Shinseki of Hawaii; and General Shinseki is joined at Veterans Affairs by Colonel Tammy Duckworth, who serves as Assistant Secretary.

He has chosen AAPIs for positions in the White House and throughout his

administration, including Peter Rouse, Chris Lu, Tina Tchen, Kal Penn, Nicholas Rathod, Kundra Vivek, and Sonal Shah.

Among many others in the White House, CAPAC's own Victoria Tung transitioned from her position as CAPAC executive director to an appointment Under Secretary Locke at the Department of Commerce.

The ranks of Asian American Pacific Islander Members of Congress also increased this past year with the election of Anh ``Joseph'' Cao from Louisiana's Second District, Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan from the Northern Mariana Islands, and Steve Austria from Ohio's Seventh District.

Representative Cao has the distinction of being the first Vietnamese American elected to Congress.

Representative Sablan is the first Member to represent the Northern Marianas, and the only Chamorro person serving in Congress today. Representatives Cao and Sablan are also the newest members of the CAPAC executive board. Our newest associate members are Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York and Congressman Jerry McNerney of California, and we have many more lined up to join.

It is a testament to our evolving national character as a nation of immigrants to have our newest Members of Congress come from upbringings beyond our shores.

Talking about beyond our shores, the Northern Marianas, the most western outpost of the United States, here to speak with us is the gentleman from Northern Marianas, Congressman Sablan.

Thank you very much, Congressman Kilili, as you like to be called.

Many things that happen in the Northern Marianas is that--and a lot of people don't seem to understand or know--is that there is a dire need in those islands that we should be paying attention to. Many times when you're out of sight, you're out of mind; and your presence has brought to our sight and to our understanding the many things that the islands are facing, such as the situation in Saipan.

Could you just share a little bit about that.

Thank you. And the admonition of you can't take care of 33 years in 7 weeks, if we all believed that, then we would still be back, perhaps, in the dark ages. Many people in the old days used to say, just be patient and by and by things will happen, but things don't happen without some initiative and some understanding and the information you bring with you. So the people of the Northern Marianas and this country, we are very responsible for many of the things that happened in the Pacific Islands because of the testing we've done out that way and things like that, really does speak to the responsibility of trying to find ways, with technology, to be able to afford and provide the necessary kinds of things that are required for living a quality of life, such as fresh water. So we thank you very much.

Madam Speaker, our Nation was founded by immigrants who valued freedom and liberty, who sought to be free from persecution, 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 2007, approximately 10.2 million of the Nation's foreign born were born in Asia, constituting over one-quarter of the foreign- born population and over one-half of the total Asian American Pacific Island population.

Even with a relatively high naturalization rate, Asian undocumented immigrants living, working, or studying in the U.S. represent approximately 12 percent of the undocumented immigrants in the U.S. These include victims of immigration fraud who have become undocumented due to no fault of their own. Many work and study hard and pay taxes, yet live in fear with no hope of gaining a path to legal permanent resident status.

We must also recognize that reuniting families gives strength to American communities and are the bedrock of a vibrant and stable economy. We must eliminate the long backlogs keeping families apart for years and often decades. We have the tools and resources to remove the obstacles of massive backlogs, insufficient staffing, and unused visas that cause unnecessary misery for our newest Americans.

Let's keep families together. By strengthening the social fabric of our communities and integrating workers, we can get our economy back on track while reuniting American workers with their families.

The American people spoke in a united voice last year when they voted down the politics of division and embraced the politics of change. President Obama, the son of a Kenyan immigrant, has made comprehensive immigration reform a high priority. CAPAC is prepared to work with our colleagues to push through the long-deferred changes needed to ensure a fair, efficient, and secure immigration system. We join with the other caucuses to make sure that becomes a reality.

Madam Speaker, a common misperception of AAPIs is that as a group we face fewer health problems than other racial and ethnic groups. In fact, AAPIs 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. We must bring attention to and educate our 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, Congressman Anh Cao, and I will introduce a resolution to support the goals and ideals of Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month and World Hepatitis Awareness Day. I hope my colleagues will join me in educating our communities about the dangers of this disease.

Furthermore, according to the Census Bureau, 16.8 percent of AAPIs went without insurance in 2007, up from 15.5 percent in 2006. This means that the uninsured are not only more likely to go without 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 preventative services, and have fewer 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, 52 percent of Korean Americans, 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 Healthcare Equality 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. CAPAC has also joined the Congressional Black, Hispanic, and Progressive Caucuses to strongly support a public health insurance plan option, such as Medicare.

In addition to immigration and health care reform, expanding educational access for all Americans is also a high priority for CAPAC. This Saturday marks the 55th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. As we celebrate, we must remember that education is at the very center of our democratic meritocracy, and it is imperative that every American should be afforded the true opportunity to achieve their highest potential.

I have reintroduced the Educational Opportunity and Equity Commission Act, H.R. 1758, to begin the process of overhauling the country's education system and to finally address the disparities among America's schools. This legislation creates a national commission charged with gathering public opinions and insights about how government can improve education and eliminate the disparities in our educational system. I hope you will join me as cosponsors to this legislation.

As we celebrate Brown v. Board of Education, we must remember the needs of all young people, including Asian American and Pacific Islander students, many of whom struggle in low-income communities, refugee communities, and do not have sufficient English skills. Brown paved the way

for future Supreme Court rulings, such as in 1974, the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Lau v. Nichols. That decision enumerated the educational rights of English language learners and established that education is a civil right. As Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, we should be proud of our community and its participation in our country's civil rights movement and not forget that we have a long way to go yet.

According to the 2000 Census, only 9.1 percent of Cambodian Americans, 7.4 percent Hmong Americans, 7.6 Lao Americans, 19.5 percent of Vietnamese Americans, and 16.5 of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who are 25 years and older have a bachelors degree or higher. These numbers show that we must do a better job of disaggregating data and information about our communities and to assess the needs of those hardworking Americans who still falter behind.

To address the disparities between subgroups of the larger AAPI community, we must support greater funding for Asian American and Pacific Islander-serving institutions. This program provides 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.

On behalf of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressman David Wu and I will be working 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 service AAPI students.

I am proud of our community's accomplishments, and I would like to recognize many of the AAPI ``firsts'' in the areas of art, film, sports, sciences, academia, and politics.

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 1913, A.K. Mozumdar became the first Indian-born person to earn U.S. citizenship, having convinced the court that he was Caucasian, and therefore met the requirements of naturalization law that restricted citizenship only to free white persons.

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 Chinese in the U.S. was rampant.

In 1944 An Wang, a Chinese American who invented the magnetic core memory, revolutionized computing and served as the standard method for memory retrieval and storage.

During World War II, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the U.S. 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.

It appears that my time is expiring. So let me quickly indicate that we have young people like Wataru ``Wat'' Misaka who was born in 1947 who became the first ethnic minority and the first AAPI to play in the National Basketball Association, the New York Knicks. Imagine that, an Asian American in basketball.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for this opportunity to share within a short hour the history of the Asian Americans and a variety of communities that reside in this country that have contributed, yet many of these names are still unknown.

Ang Lee is probably the most widely known today, the Chinese American director who was the first to win an Academy Award for Best Director.

Thank you very much, and we would hope that we have opportunities in the near future to be able to share more.

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

As chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, better known as CAPAC, I feel privileged to be here tonight with my colleagues to speak of the Asian and Pacific Islander American history accomplishments. Additionally, I will be highlighting those issues affecting our community and the priorities for CAPAC.

In celebrating the APA Heritage Month, I want to give thanks to the late Representative Frank Horton from New York, and to my good friend, former Secretary Norman Mineta, along with Senators Daniel Inouye and Sparky Matsunaga of Hawaii. It is because of their efforts 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 number 102-450, the law that officially designated May of each year as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Today I, along with Congresswoman Judy Chu, introduced a resolution honoring the accomplishments of my dear friend, Norman Mineta, who cut his teeth in politics in California's 15th District in Silicon Valley, which I represent today. Throughout his career, Norm has broken through many glass ceilings, himself, but also for the rest of us. He is a close personal friend, and I consider him a dear mentor.

Norm was the very first Asian American mayor of a major city, the first Asian American to hold a Presidential Cabinet post. Not only did he pierce through the glass ceilings, he dedicated much of his energy building the infrastructure needed for the Asian American and Pacific Islanders to grow and thrive to what it is today.

Norm had a hand in establishing and/or strengthening so many of our key

national organizations. They span from policy advocacy, coalitions like National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, to voter engagement organizations like APIA Vote, to organizations and fellowship programs that develop the future leaders of our community such as the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, which I chair today. CAPAC is a caucus of members dedicated to representing the interests of underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and I am proud to honor Norm Mineta today through this resolution, along with my colleague Congresswoman Judy Chu.

Before I introduce Congresswoman Chu, I would just like to have a couple of personal notes.

Norm Mineta had a great impact, as I have said, on our communities, and the way he has done that is through delicate diplomacy. In the area in San Jose where ethnic groups are growing in political activity, oftentimes our communities would be in conflict with the police department. Rather than taking sides, Norm, as mayor, found ways to bring people together in an amicable way where the outcome was positive, always. And that has always shown us the way, through conflict resolution, that one does not need to have winners and losers, but that we can seek ways to make things happen in a positive way. That's one of the most important lessons I think that Norm has left many of us to pursue today here in Congress, to seek partnerships across the aisle and with each other on issues of great importance to this country.

And so I want to say to Norm as a friend, as his mentee, thank you very much for all the patience and mentoring that you have done. At times it was on purpose and at times it's just because that's the way you are.

I'd like to turn the microphone over to my colleague, Congresswoman Judy Chu.

Thank you, Congresswoman Judy Chu.

I want to thank you very much for initiating the resolution honoring Norm Mineta, but I want to make it very clear to the audience and to Norm that we are doing this not in anticipation of your demise. It sounds like almost a memorial, but it is to acknowledge you while you are around and you can appreciate it. And we want to let you know that we do appreciate all the work that you have done and the kinds of trailblazings that you have done. And so that is our way of doing it, and I want to acknowledge Judy for doing that.

In terms of growth, today the AAPI community is quickly expanding. Currently, there are approximately 16.6 million AAPIs living in the United States. There are approximately 45 distinct ethnic groups within our populations speaking various dialects within each group. And it is certainly a diverse community, one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States.

By 2050, the Asian Pacific Islander community and population is expected to more than double and reach 40.6 million, or 9 percent, of our population. My own State of California has the largest Asian population at 5.1 million. The States of New York and Texas follow, about 1.5 million and close to 1 million, respectively, in Texas.

The population is also growing in States beyond the usual hubs of New York and California. We are also seeing growth in other areas in our country, such as Virginia, Nevada, Minnesota, Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. I encourage my congressional colleagues to learn more about the API populations in their district and become a member of this caucus.

The stereotypes and lack of data around our community--there is a stereotype about Asian Americans that all Asians are healthy, wealthy, and wise. However, our community is extremely diverse in our ethnicities, income, educational attainment, language capabilities, special needs, and challenges. Stereotypes about our communities make it difficult to understand the unique problems faced by individual communities and subgroups. Data that is disaggregated by ethnicity for our various communities is hard to come by but critical to the understanding where we must direct Federal attention.

As a country, we need to better address the needs of the AAPI community when we discuss comprehensive immigration reform, health care, economic recovery, and education. We are also barely visible in corporate America, underrepresented in political offices throughout the country, and misportrayed in our mainstream media. As our community expands, we must also continue to educate our fellow citizens about the uniqueness of our experiences. And so the whole concept of disaggregation of our data is critical to making sure that we target very accurately the needs of our community.

Despite the daunting challenges we face, this is a time of great optimism and hope for the Asian American Pacific Islander communities. President Obama and the APIs in the administration and new Members of Congress are evidence of that. We are making this month with an American President with close ties to Asia.

President Obama grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. His sister is half Indonesian; his brother-in-law is Chinese-Canadian, and he has maintained close ties with Asian friends and colleagues throughout his life.

President Barack Obama has a deep understanding of our community and many milestones celebrated may be attributed to his commitment to our community. He has made significant outreach efforts to reestablishment of the White House initiative on Asian Pacific American islanders to coordinate multi-agency efforts to ensure more accurate data collection and access to services for these communities.

The President's Cabinet includes a record of three Asian Americans, as was mentioned by Congresswoman Chu. Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Laureate, the leader of the Livermore Labs in Berkeley; well- suited for the job. Well trained. Commerce Secretary Governor Gary Locke of Seattle, Washington. And Veterans' Affairs Secretary General Eric Shinseki, a man of great integrity and one that has earned his reputation not only among the military folks but all Americans.

The President has also demonstrated a commitment to judicial diversity through the nomination of high-caliber Asian American and other minority jurists at all levels of the Federal bench. Our faces are lacking very much. The nomination of these folks are appreciated because this says a couple of things. One, that we need to be there on the bench. Two, we have capable jurists that can administer and conduct a courthouse, from the very municipal courts to the highest--the Supreme Court.

The service in Congress. The ranks of Asian American Pacific Islander Members of Congress also increased this Congress with the election of Anh ``Joseph'' Cao from Louisiana's Second District, Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan from the Northern Mariana Islands, and CAPAC's newest member, Representative Judy Chu from California's 32nd District.

Representative Cao has the distinction of being the first Vietnamese American elected to Congress. He also makes our caucus bipartisan, coming from the Republican Party. Just on top of that, our caucus is also bicameral, with representation from Senators Akaka and Inouye. Representative Sablan is the very first member to represent the Northern Marianas and the only Chamorro person serving in Congress today. Representative Chu is the very first Chinese American woman elected to Congress. Representatives Cao, Sablan, and Chu are also the newest members of CAPAC's executive board. Our newest associate members are Representative Joseph Crowley of New York and Representative John Conyers of Michigan. It is a testament to our evolving national character as a Nation of immigrants to have our newest Members of Congress come from upbringings beyond our own shores.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to share the microphone and the podium with a gentleman who's been here in excess of 25 years. Probably 30 years. He claims that all the sumo champions of Japan that are over 6'5'' are his cousins. I don't deny that. I think that his service to this country representing the island of American Samoa has been long and distinguished. He's an articulate advocate for Asian American issues and, through CAPAC, I believe that he has a platform of bringing the issues of Asian Pacific islanders in that area to the public's attention. And through the last battle for comprehensive health reform, he has been an outspoken leader in making sure that territories such as the Virgin Islands, Samoa, Guam, Marianas, have a greater respect and attention paid to them.

And so it gives me great pleasure to introduce my colleague, the Congressman from American Samoa, Eni Faleomavaega. Aloha.

I thank the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega). You have covered a lot of ground. To add a little bit to

what you indicated about the internment, during that process of studying the internment, the Commission on Wartime Internment, I believe it was 1985, they came to a conclusion based upon a study that the internment was based upon a racial prejudice, war hysteria and the failure, the failure of political leadership. I believe that is why these kinds of opportunities for us to be able to share our history, our involvement, our contributions in who we are as Americans are critical. I appreciate your help in this.

It is also the episode of the Filipino veterans who were asked by President Roosevelt to serve in the U.S. Army and also by General MacArthur who said that participating in the effort against the Japanese Imperial Army would bring them the possibility of citizenship and also full veterans benefits. Six months after the war, two precisely written rescission acts were written in the budget in 1946 specifically eliminating that possibility and that promise to those who had fought side by side with our soldiers in the Philippines.

These Filipino veterans fought side by side, protected them against the Japanese atrocities during the Bataan Death March, masterminded the release of the largest amount of POWs from Japanese POW camps in the Philippines, and they still, today, carry the pride and the dignity of a veteran. And just recently, we were able to provide them some compensation but did not match the promise that we had offered them as Congress, as a country, and as a government.

So I stand here as a Member of Congress, a Congress that is an organic, living being, that should be responsible for its past, its present, and its future. And certainly in this area we did not do great justice to our brethren who fought alongside of our own soldiers.

The area of comprehensive immigration reform is another area that our Nation needs to address. Our Nation was founded by immigrants who valued freedom and liberty, who sought to be free from persecution, from tyranny. Families fled from their home countries to seek refuge in the great Nation because they too believed in life, liberty, and freedom for all.

It is in this spirit that CAPAC supports immigration legislation that shifts the debate from the 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 2007, approximately 10.2 million of the Nation's foreign born were born in Asia, constituting over 1 quarter of the foreign-born population and over one-half the total AAPI population. Even with the relatively high naturalization rate, Asian undocumented immigrants living, working, or studying in the U.S. represent approximately 12 percent of the undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

We must also recognize that reuniting families gives strength to American communities and is the bedrock of a vibrant and a stable economy. We must eliminate the long backlogs keeping families apart for years and often decades. Let's keep families together. By strengthening the social fabric of our communities and integrating workers, we can get our economy back on track, while reuniting American workers with their families. CAPAC is prepared to work with our colleagues to push through the long-deferred changes needed to ensure a fair, efficient, and secure immigration system.

Certainly.

Well, that's news to me.

Thank you very much. As Chair, I appreciate that information in public. That's wonderful news. And we've been waiting for an invitation for this month, and I appreciate my colleague for that information. And I'll get my suit pressed.

So, Mr. Speaker, a common misperception of AAPIs is that, as a group, we face fewer health problems than other racial and ethnic groups. In fact, Asians, as a group, and specific populations within this group, do experience disparities in health and health care. For example, Asian Pacific Islanders have the highest hepatitis B rates of any racial group in the United States. We must bring attention to and educate our 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 hepatitis B virus, and more than 5,000 Americans die from hepatitis B-related liver complications every 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 this silence surrounding this deadly disease and bring awareness to the American people, Congressman Edolphus Towns, Congressman Charlie Dent, Congressman Anh Cao, and I have introduced the Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control and Prevention Act. And I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting a Federal strategy to prevent, treat, and manage viral hepatitis, and we invite them to join us.

In education, immigration reform and health expansion is also expanding educational access for all Americans. That's also a high priority for CAPAC. Education is at the very center of our democratic meritocracy, and it is imperative that every American child be afforded a true opportunity to achieve their highest potential.

I have reintroduced the Education Opportunity and Equity Commission Act, H.R. 1758, to begin the process of overhauling the country's education system and to finally address the disparities among America's schools. This legislation creates a national commission charged with gathering public opinions and insights about how government can improve education and eliminate disparities in the educational system. I hope that you'll join me as a cosponsor to this legislation among my colleagues. We must remember the needs of all young people, including Asian American and Pacific Islander students, many of whom struggle in low-income communities, refugee communities, and do not have sufficient English skills.

According to the 2000 census, only 9.1 percent of Cambodian Americans, 7.4 of Hmong Americans, 7.6 percent of Lao Americans, and 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 degree. These numbers show that we must do better. We must do a better job of disaggregating 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 must support greater funding for Asian American and Pacific Islander-serving institutions. This program provides Federal grants to colleges and universities that have an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 10 percent AAPI and lets 50 percent of its degree-seeking students receive financial assistance.

On behalf of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressman David Wu and I will work to strengthen the Asian American Pacific Islander-serving institutions program 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.

Now, there's a lot of firsts, as has been mentioned before by my colleagues. But before I start that, I just wanted to mention that there was a gentleman by the name of Dalip Singh Saud, who, in 1957, became the very first Asian American, Sikh American to be in the Halls of Congress. But he had to overcome some of the anti-Asian legislation that was on our books. Namely, there was one. One was the Chinese Exclusion Act. Another one was the Asian Exclusion Act that particularly named Asians as unfit to be citizens, and then they folded into Americans.

The studies among scholars say that the Indo American folks from that peninsula are not of the Mongolian race but of the Caucasian race. Very wisely, this person, Dalip had argued, as an attorney in the courts, saying that people of his background are not part of the race, are not part of the targeted group. He was able to convince them to change that law that allowed him to run for Congress and become a Representative and walk in the Halls of Congress. He broke the very first rib in the anti-Asian law, and then continued to do that, where folks like Bob Matsui, Norm Mineta and others like myself and Eni are able to serve here. So I just want to recognize him.

And a portrait hangs in the staircase. Going from this floor to the bottom floor, there's a portrait of Congressman Singh that hangs there, and I just would like to point that out to folks, so when they come and visit, or our Members go down those stairs, that they look up and recognize the person who had been first to break some of the glass ceilings and anti-Asian legislation that kept us from participating.

Very quickly, other firsts were the first person to graduate from Yale University was Yung Wing in 1847. In 1863, William Ah Hang, a Chinese American, became the first to enlist in the U.S. Navy, during the Civil War. And none of them were able to become citizens because of the anti-Asian laws that disqualified them from being citizens. A.K. Mozumdar, in 1915, became the first Indian-born person to earn U.S. citizenship. In 1922, Anna May Wong had her lead role in ``Toll of the Sea'' at the age of 17.

Mr. Speaker, following is my statement in its entirety.

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

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

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

In celebrating APA Heritage Month, I want to give thanks to the late Representative Frank Horton from New York and my good friend, former Secretary Norman Mineta, along with Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Masayuki Matsunaga.

It is because of their efforts 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.''

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

I thank my colleague for yielding me such time as I might use.

Aloha. I rise today to join my fellow congressional Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus members in celebrating Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. Of course, I'd like to thank Congressman Honda for organizing this Special Order tonight and for his continuing leadership throughout the year and his service as the chair of CAPAC.

In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two key anniversaries: The U.S. arrival of the first Japanese immigrant on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. In 1992, Congress expanded the week to a full monthlong celebration of the Asian and Pacific Islander American community.

We certainly have added to the diversity and the cultural richness of our country. As a first generation immigrant myself, having come to this country when I was about eight years old, this country has afforded not just me, but the millions of immigrants, the first generation we call issei and nisei, opportunities that we never would have had in our home countries.

With 16.2 million residents, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. In fact, the Census Bureau estimates that by the year 2050, more than 33.4 million Asian Americans will call the United States home.

Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have made valuable contributions to every aspect of American life--from business to education to politics to the arts to the military. For example, there are approximately 1.1 million APIA-owned small businesses all across the country that employ 2.2 million workers. There are also hundreds of thousands of APIA servicemembers and veterans, including more than 53,500 brave men and women who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.

Today, I was glad to join my colleagues in supporting passage of H.R. 347, which appropriately awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in honor of their extraordinary and dedicated service during World War II.

Comprised predominantly of nisei, the American-born sons of Japanese immigrants, members of the University of Hawaii's Reserve Officers' Training Corps, the ROTC, aided the wounded, buried the fallen, and helped defend vulnerable areas in Hawaii after the attack at Pearl Harbor.

In spite of these acts of courage, the U.S. Army discharged all nisei in the ROTC unit, changed their draft status to ineligible, and segregated all Japanese American in the military on the mainland out of their units. In the meantime, more than 100,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes to internment camps.

Undaunted, members of the Hawaii Provisional Infantry Battalion joined the 100th Infantry Battalion in California to train as soldiers. The sheer determination and pursuit of excellence displayed by this battalion in

training contributed to President Roosevelt's decision to allow nisei volunteers to serve in the U.S. military again, leading to their incorporation into the 442nd.

Members of the 100th and 442nd risked their lives to fight for our country and allies in Europe. The 442nd ``Go for Broke'' unit became the most decorated in U.S. military history for its size and length of service, with its component, the 100th Infantry Battalion, earning the nickname ``The Purple Heart Battalion.''

I'd like to thank Congressman Schiff, the chief sponsor of H.R. 347, for providing us with the opportunity to bestow this body's most distinguished honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, to these brave soldiers on the behalf of a grateful Nation.

I would be remiss if I did not mention one of Hawaii's favorite sons as we celebrate this month, and that is President Barack Obama. While not ethnically Asian American or Pacific Islander himself, his ties to our community are strong ones, and his support on our issues could not be more heartfelt.

He has appointed, as mentioned earlier, Asian Americans to key cabinet positions: Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy; Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce. By the way, Gary Locke is the first Asian American to be elected Governor outside of Hawaii. And Kauai's own General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veteran Affairs.

One of the issues that President Obama has supported is self- determination for the indigenous people of our State of Hawaii--native Hawaiians who deserve to have the same right to self-determination enjoyed by other indigenous groups such as the American Indians and the Alaskan natives.

H.R. 2314, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, would set up a process for native Hawaiians to organize a governmental entity. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and our President in passing this important bill.

I would also be remiss if I did not pay tribute to my predecessor, Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink of Hawaii, a trailblazer in every sense of the word. I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Richardson, for mentioning Patsy Mink, for whom title IX was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.

Title IX changed the lives of women and girls across our country. In fact, a couple of years ago, several of the high schools in my district were given a special recognition for really promoting title IX and participation of high school girls in sports. When I attended one of these high schools to present them with a special recognition, one of the girls asked me a question that totally floored me. That question was, If you could pick a sport, what sport would you have participated in? And it floored me because it was a question that had never been asked when I was in high school.

That's the kind of difference that title IX is making. In fact, Patsy's own daughter, when she applied to a particular school and did not get accepted, the reason for that was, they told her, We have enough women in our university. This all preceded title IX. Literally thousands and thousands of lives have been change by title IX.

In closing, I'd like to also once again thank Chairman Honda for allowing us this opportunity to reflect upon how far our APIA community has come, and yet we must remember how much further our community has to go.

As we say in Hawaii, mahalo nui loa.

Thank you, Congressman.

I can tell you, having gone to the women's gym in the Rayburn Building, things have changed. We have full-size lockers now. Truly, in terms of gender equality, Patsy was a leader because she had to fight every step of the way. And, in fact, one of the other stories about Patsy is when she applied to medical school. And she was a very smart woman. She wanted to become a doctor. She applied to medical school and was refused because she was a woman. When she finally applied to law school, they put her in the international dorm because they thought she was a foreign person.

We have come a long way.

I did want to mention as long as we are talking about the challenges that immigrants face. There was a historic poll done recently focusing on immigrant women and the fact that so many of them come to this country to truly create a new life of opportunity for their children. Many of them were professionals in the countries from which they came, and so they did not come to make money. Often the kind of jobs they were able to get in this country were very poor paying with not very many benefits.

This was so reminiscent of when my mother brought us to this country. We came literally with nothing, and she started off in a very poor- paying job with no benefits. But what guided her was this immigrant spirit of wanting to create a new life for her children. That kept her going. She wanted for herself to be able to take care of her family, but to have us have opportunities that she never had.

That story is replicated in thousands and thousands and thousands of stories by the waves of immigrants from Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, over and over. And to know that even now these women and their families face particular challenges should reinforce in us our desire to not only celebrate all of the accomplishments of the APIA community, but to know that there is much more work to be done.

One of the things that I always say is that this is a great country, and even if we are not perfect, what a country. I am reminded once again of that with the election of our first African American President.

Thank you, Chairman Honda, for convening this Special Order hour on APA Heritage Month.

I stand proud this evening with Chairman Honda to commemorate the month of May as Asian Pacific Heritage Month. As the first Chinese American Congresswoman, it has been an honor and a privilege to be a representative and work on behalf of Asian Americans, and all Americans, on such critical issues affecting our Nation, like economic recovery, immigration, and, of course, the passage of health care reform.

Though Asian Americans have been here in this country for 160 years, it was not until 1992 when the designation of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law. It was because of Asian American leaders like Secretary Mineta, then a Congressman, and Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga who introduced the legislation. They designated this month of May, the very month when Japanese immigrants first set foot on U.S. soil and when Chinese immigrants worked tirelessly to complete the first transcontinental railroad, to celebrate the contributions of APIs to this country.

For far too long, Asian Americans have not been at the table where important decisions were being made. This is despite the fact that we were here for 160 years, and yet we were nearly invisible in State and Federal Government. But in recent years, we have broken the glass ceiling and have ushered in an era of change. Asian Americans are at a historic high in leadership positions in so many different arenas: in politics, in law firms, and in the judicial arena.

In my home State of California, not only do we have three Asian Americans who are statewide-elected constitutional officers, such as State Controller John Chung, we have 11 Asian Americans in the California State Legislature.

And, on the Federal level, it is astounding that out of President Obama's 19 Cabinet members, three are Asian Americans: General Eric Shinseki, Steven Chu, and Gary Locke. And recently, four Federal judges were appointed: Dolly Gee, Jacqueline Nguyen, Denny Chin, and most recently, Goodwin Liu, the first Asian American to the U.S. Court of Appeals. It is the greatest number of Asian Pacific Islanders in State and Federal office in history.

And we've all stood on the shoulders of Asian American leaders like Former Secretary Norman Yoshio Mineta, who was a leader and a role model ahead of his time. It was because of Secretary Mineta that the invaluable contributions of Asian Americans were memorialized and recognized this month. It was Secretary Mineta who spearheaded the long and hard push to get final passage because of the Japanese American reparations bill, because his entire family, along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans, were interned for 2 years during World War II. And it was Secretary Mineta who cofounded and once cochaired the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus so that today our caucus, which has grown in number and blossomed, has a unified voice and advocates for issues that are unique to the Asian American community.

That is why Chairman Mike Honda and I feel so strongly about introducing legislation to honor the legacy of Norman Mineta, who made history and still is an inspiration to many. We hope that our House colleagues will join us in honoring this veteran, public servant, and great American.

Secretary Mineta, we pay homage to you for all of your service to Asian Americans and all Americans. You are a pioneer, a visionary, and a leader who embodies the true meaning of service.

Of course, we still have much work to do. We must continue to advocate for greater diversity at all levels where important decisions are being made. And, in fact, here in the very Halls of Congress we have seen what diverse and fruitful coalitions are capable of accomplishing when we work together to advance our issues.

When the congressional Asian, Hispanic, and Black caucuses unite as one, we are a strong voice and no longer an invisible minority, but a majority that can advocate effectively for Asian, Latino, and African Americans and, for that matter, all Americans. As a united coalition, we can make a difference on problems that impact us today.

For instance, we can reform our broken immigration system, which has kept families apart for far too long. Today, 12 million people live in the shadows with no hope or path to legalization. Today, young people who are valedictorians and student body presidents are prevented from completing a college education. And today, States like Arizona can pass laws that are discriminatory, anti-immigrant, and, frankly, un- American, when all immigrants want to do is to be productive, contributing citizens and provide for their family and loved ones.

We know immigrants are indispensable to our Nation's economy. In California alone, businesses owned by Latinos and Asians make up more than one quarter of all businesses and contributed $183 billion to the State. And that's according to the 2000 census figures, which we know is much undercounted by now, certainly.

We can foster the economic strength and level the playing field for Asian Americans and minority-owned businesses. Today, API and minority businesses still face great obstacles in getting lending and access to capital. When minority-owned firms do receive financing, it is for less money and at a higher interest rate than nonminority-owned firms, regardless of the size of the firm.

Despite the fact that Asian Pacific Islanders are 5 percent of the U.S. population, they only account for 1.9 percent of total Federal contracting dollars, which was worth $535 billion last year. API and other minority businesses face discrimination by prime contractors and contracting officers in the Federal Government, leaving these businesses very little opportunity to compete for contracts. And this must change.

And, we can make sure that we are counted in the census so that the particular needs of the API and other minority populations can be addressed. Today, we still do not have the proper and disaggregated data to sufficiently address the specific needs of the API and other minority communities. Segments of our API community continue to suffer from a ``model minority'' myth, and those in our population with the greatest needs continue to go underserved.

And today, we continue to have problems with language accessibility and

cultural sensitivity in the current census, even though the language capability is out there to assist in a very, very accurate census. These things, of course, have to change. I truly believe that when the leadership of this country begins to look like the people who live in it, our country will finally reflect the issues and concerns of all its people and we will see the change that we desire.

As I reflect upon the journey and struggles of Asian Americans in this country, I am reminded of the day when I was sworn in. As I stood on the floor of Congress and raised my right hand, I thought about the fact that my grandfather came to this country with nothing. In fact, he faced the hostile laws of the time, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited him from becoming a naturalized citizen, and the California laws that prevented Asian Americans from owning land and from being hired in any corporation. But he decided to make something of his life anyway and worked day and night and night and day to make ends meet. And now, two generations later, his granddaughter can be a Member of Congress. That is what America is all about, the land of hopes, dreams, and opportunity.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.