Recognizing the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center to the Nation and the importance of establishing an appropriate memorial at that site to serve as a place for remembering the hardships endured by Japanese Americans, so that the United States remains vigilant in protecting our Nation's core values of equality, due process of law, justice, and fundamental fairness.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 129) recognizing the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center to the Nation and the importance of establishing an appropriate memorial at that site to serve as a place for remembering the hardships endured by Japanese-Americans, so that the United States remains vigilant in protecting our Nation's core values of equality, due process of law, justice, and fundamental fairness.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Born of war hysteria and racial prejudice, Executive Order 9066, issued 2 months after the United States entered World War II, would come to represent a stain on America's reputation.

Pursuant to Executive Order 9066, 120,000 Japanese Americans were ordered to leave behind their entire lives, and bring only their bare necessities to an unknown place with an unknown future. They spent 3 long years in internment camps in Arizona, Northern and Central California, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Arkansas. And when the war ended and they attempted to return home, many found their houses looted. Others lost their homes to foreclosure in their absence, and many could not find jobs to feed and shelter their families.

One of those wrongly interned was our own Representative Mike Honda from California. He was a young boy when he and his family were ordered to report to the Merced Assembly Center in California, along with close to 5,000 other Japanese Americans. He and his family were sent from Merced to internment in Colorado.

Sadly, it took our government almost 50 years to formally apologize for this mistake and offer compensation to those who suffered through internment.

On August 10, 1988, the Civil Liberties Act was signed into law, offering an official apology for internment and authorizing payments of $20,000 to each person wrongfully interned.

Although there is hardly anything that can replace 3 years of freedom wrongfully lost to internment, an official apology and some compensation provided solace to those who had suffered and helped heal a Nation stained by this terrible mistake during World War II.

It is extremely important that this Nation never forget this dark chapter in American history so that it is never repeated. As part of that effort of remembrance, a memorial to that dark chapter is being placed at the Merced Center later this month. So today, with this resolution introduced by Representative Dennis Cardoza of California, we recognize the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center to the United States, and the importance of that memorial being placed there as a pledge to national vigilance in protecting our core values of equality, due process of law, justice, and fundamental fairness. I strongly urge the House to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza) may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we don't have any further speakers, and I would like to know if the minority has any speakers.

Then we reserve the balance of our time, and we will return to the subject matter at hand.

I would like to inquire if the minority has any additional speakers.

With the understanding that they don't have to be germane, but with my personal concern because I think this is a solemn moment honoring Japanese Americans interned during World War II and should be respected as such, I yield to the minority to continue.

I reserve my time to speak on this important resolution that recognizes a failing of our country and the fact that we apologized and we will find times to reflect on that error to the Japanese Americans and other minorities, and that this respectful moment should conclude with my remarks.

Mr. Speaker, once again I inquire whether the minority has any more time or if they are going to yield.

I will reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the honorable gentleman from Texas for his remarks and the bringing back to the purpose of this resolution and why we're here now.

It is, I understand, the rules of the House, and when one is in the minority, one takes the opportunity to have time on this floor to speak to the American people when they can. Although we just honored Mr. Dingell, and one of the things we honored Mr. Dingell for was his appropriateness and order and appreciation for the House and germaneness.

Now, I was a history major, Mr. Speaker, and maybe because of that I've got a certain perspective of these type of resolutions. I'm also Jewish, and being a minority, I've known discrimination in my life, and known discrimination against Jewish people all over this globe. And so, because this particular resolution recognizes a failing of our country in our efforts to become a more perfect union, and talks about the errors of the past in interning what shouldn't have to be hyphenated people, Japanese Americans, interning Americans in work camps and prison camps for 3 years, including one of our very own members, the Honorable Mike Honda. I find it a moment that should be dealt with with solemnity, and we should reflect on the errors of the past and understand that we can become a more perfect union if we remember those times and correct those injustices. This Congress did that in 1988, and now, in Merced, California, and this resolution talks about that, they are placing a marker to remind all Americans of the injustices that were done in World War II to Japanese Americans.

This Congress, in the 110th Congress, we recognized for the first time in our country's history, the errors of our ways in Jim Crow and slavery laws in this country and what we did to African Americans. There have been several incidents, with African Americans, with Japanese Americans, with American Indians, where this country has done wrong, but we've tried to correct those ways with apologies and with memorials.

It is appropriate that this resolution by Mr. Cardoza be brought and that it be considered and that it be passed. I am honored to speak in favor of it and ask that all Members vote in favor of it.

I know the other side did not mean to disrespect Japanese Americans or others who have been dishonored by errors in our country's past or, in fact, our country for taking such a noble step as to apologize, which a great country does, and the rules permit what they did. So I know they did not intend to do that, but I, as a history major and as a minority, feel somewhat concerned that Japanese Americans could feel that way.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud that this Congress in 1988 apologized. I am proud that this Congress apologized last year to African Americans. In order to become a more perfect union, we have to see our wrongs and try to correct them. The city of Merced, California, at the Merced Assembly Center, is trying to do that. They will be placing a marker, which Mr. Cardoza, I am sure, will participate in and in this House of Representatives resolution which recognizes the significance of that with an appropriate marker to remember the hardships endured by Japanese Americans so that United States, the country and its citizens, remain vigilant in protecting our Nation's core values of equality, due process of law, justice, fundamental fairness, and respect for the process and for people.

I would like to ask that all Members vote in favor of H. Res. 129.

Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H. Res. 129, a resolution which recognizes the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center.

I want to thank my friend, Congressman Dennis Cardoza, for taking the initiative to introduce this resolution. The Merced Assembly Center is a meaningful piece of our nation's history, and it strikes a very personal chord with me. I am grateful and honored that Congressman Cardoza asked to include me in this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, February 19th, known as the Day of Remembrance, marks the day in 1942 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans into holding centers and subsequently internment camps. As February 19th approaches and we recognize the Day of Remembrance, we are again reminded of the lessons learned from this experience.

Internment changed the paths of many lives. Families were separated, relocated in some cases across the country, and property and businesses were lost. As some of my colleagues know, when I was a young child, my family was uprooted from California and I spent time at the Merced Assembly Center before moving to an internment camp in Amache, Colorado. This experience undoubtedly shaped my life and my career, as I have fought arduously to protect civil liberties in our nation, and make sure that no community experiences the discrimination and violation of rights that Japanese Americans did during World War II.

During my time in the California State Assembly, I authored AB1915, the World War II Internment of Japanese Americans: California Civil Liberties Public Education Act, which became California public law in 1999. This legislation provides competitive grants for public educational activities and the development of educational materials to ensure that the events surrounding internment will be remembered and taught.

As a former teacher, I place a high value on education in order to understand the mistakes our Government has made, and how we can learn from them. I firmly believe that through education, our Nation will improve itself and avoid making the same mistake twice.

The Merced Assembly Center Commemorative Committee is currently charged with establishing a memorial to recognize the historic tragedy that took place at the Merced Assembly Center. This Memorial, which will be unveiled on February 21, 2009, will also serve to educate our Nation that we are committed to healing historical wounds and replacing prejudice and fear with the American values of equality and justice.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, I commend my friend, Congressman Cardoza, for his leadership on this resolution, for personally reaching out to me, and for rightfully recognizing the significance of the significance of the Merced Assembly Center.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from Houston, Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. Speaker, I first want to say I support this particular bill. And I will vote for it based on Mr. Poe's recommendation.

But the real reason I'm here is that I'm getting a little bit frustrated on behalf of the American people of being shut out of the process. We have this suspension bill and then three or four others from the Science Committee this afternoon. We're basically treading water because a decision was made last night by our Speaker and the majority leader in the Senate and the President to lock down the stimulus conference. The Speaker apparently has a plane trip scheduled to leave to go to Italy on Friday at 6:00 and can't be bothered with an open and transparent process on spending in the neighborhood of $800 to $900 billion to theoretically stimulate the economy. And to put that number in perspective, that is larger than the entire economy of the nation of Australia. It is 20 years worth of State spending. The State budget of the State of Texas, which I represent, is the second largest in terms of population in the country, second only to California. You would think if we were going to spend that kind of money, and it is an issue of such importance, that we would have some sort of a process around here that would have input from everybody.

Well, the committee that I'm on, Energy and Commerce Committee, Chairman Waxman did hold a markup. But the Republican amendments that were accepted, most of them were stripped out when the bill came to the floor. They did allow a few Republican amendments on the bill that came to the floor. And one or two of those were accepted. It went to the Senate. The Senate has worked its will. We have come back here. And now we have a conference that has been appointed so-called, it is the ``no conference'' conference. It is not going to meet because the deal has been made. There are five Members from the House. There are five Members from the Senate. At some point in time, the two House Members, Mr. Lewis, the senior Republican on the Appropriations Committee, and Mr. Camp, the senior Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, are going to be given a report, probably just a document sheet, that says sign or don't sign, and oh, by the way, you can maybe offer minority views if you object.

There is no conference going on right now. There's nothing happening. And in the case of the committee that I'm on, for the first time that I can ever tell, we don't even officially have a conferree. Now Chairman Waxman is a conferree. And he should be. But as the ranking member, I'm not a conferee nor is the Health ranking Republican, Mr. Deal, or Mr. Stearns, the ranking Republican on the Telecommunications, or Mr. Upton, the ranking member on Energy. This bill only spends $200 billion under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee. It's only $200 billion. But, again, there is not going to be a conference.

Now I think the American people have a right to know. I think there ought to be a real conference. I think there ought to be a transparent process. I think we can take an extra day or two. If Speaker Pelosi doesn't get to leave to go to Italy until Monday or Tuesday, Italy is still going to be there. The ruins in the Forum are still going to be there. Venice is still going to be there. Pompeii is still going to be there. I'm not sure where she is going in Italy.

But I just think it is wrong. Eight hundred billion dollars or $900 billion is a lot of money. There is a process. We just honored John Dingell of Michigan for the being the longest-serving Member. He believes in process. He believed in it when he was chairman. He believed in it when I became chairman of the Energy Committee. If he told me once, he told me 100 times, you have got to have regular order. You have got to have hearings. You have got to have subcommittee markups. You have got to have full committee. You have got to have markup. You have got to go to the Rules Committee. You have to make sure that the minority views are heard. And I believed him. That is one reason he has got such acclamation.

So we're here doing the suspension bill. The people who are sponsors of it, bless their hearts. It is a good thing to do. But there are a lot of other things that we ought to be doing, Mr. Speaker, and we're not doing them. The American people are in the dark. We've got the ``no-conference'' conference with no Republican input from the House side. And we've got to vote it before 6:00 o'clock Friday. I think that is a tragedy. It is a disservice to the American people.

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

Mr. Speaker, I support House Resolution 129, which recognizes the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center to the memory of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed his Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment of Japanese Americans. President Roosevelt took this action even though, as chief historian for the Army Stetson Conn said, ``The only responsible commander in the military who backed the War Department's mass evacuation plan was the President himself, the Commander in Chief.'' Even Attorney General Frances Biddle and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover advised against this policy.

In 1942, President Roosevelt authorized the Army to evacuate more than 100,000 Japanese Americans from the Pacific coast States including Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona.

Interestingly, Mr. Speaker, many Japanese Americans loyally served in the United States military during World War II while their families were interned. This overbroad and unnecessary approach to maintaining America's security serves as a continuing reminder that the civil rights of American citizens should never be lost even in the mist of the chaos of war. Also, Mr. Speaker, this policy did not apply to German-Americans. Approximately 20 percent of the United States military during World War II were made up of Americans with German heritage. But German-Americans were not interned as Japanese Americans were.

Congress eventually enacted the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 in which it apologized on behalf of the Nation for the fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitutional rights of these individuals of Japanese descent. President Ronald Reagan signed that act into law on August 10, 1988, proclaiming it ``a great day for America.''

Over 20 years later, we stand here today to renew our Nation's commitment to remember the past and shepherd its lessons into the future. Part of remembering those lessons is remembering some of the tragic details. One site in particular, the Merced Assembly Center, located in Merced, California, was the reporting site for almost 5,000 Japanese Americans during the war. As a young child, it has already been said, our colleague Mike Honda and his family were held at the Merced Assembly Center prior to being interned in Colorado. Since then, he has championed the cause of preventing this type of injustice from ever happening again.

The Merced Assembly Center serves as a symbol of America's stumbling. But our country has regained footing and has appropriately apologized for the tragic mistake of President Roosevelt and his Executive Order 9066. And it is reaffirming its commitment, through this resolution before us today, to never forget its mistakes lest they be repeated to the detriment of our children and our children's children.

I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my fellow Texan, Mr. Barton.

I have one other speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

We have two additional speakers.

May I inquire of the Speaker how much time I have left?

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers).

(Mr. Rogers of Kentucky asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I give the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

I'm prepared to close. We have no other speakers.

I yield myself the balance of the time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Cardoza from California for bringing this bill to the House floor, and I agree with my friend from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) that we need to refocus on the legislation presently before the House of Representatives. This bill brings a close to a long memory, a bad memory in the United States of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. We need to show all Americans, and in this case, Japanese Americans, the due respect that they are entitled to, as being American citizens. And that's why this resolution is very important to establish the Merced Center in California.

I yield back the balance of my time, and urge the adoption of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 129, recognizing the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center to the Nation and the importance of establishing an appropriate memorial at that site to serve as a place for remembering the hardships endured by Japanese-Americans, so that the United States remains vigilant in protecting our Nation's core

values of equality, due process of law, justice and fundamental fairness. This resolution embodies the ideals and precepts that we hold so dear in the United States. I support this resolution and I strongly encourage my colleagues to do the same.

As a Senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, I know the importance of due process, fairness, and equality. Indeed, as a child of the Civil Rights Movement, I have championed these uniquely American precepts that are the bedrock of our Democracy. We must never forget this fundamental infringement of civil rights that had a deleterious and one-sided effect upon a race of Americans. We must never forget so that we will never repeat the tragic horrors of that era. Spawned by a fear of a race during a time of war, this Great Country was led to do act and behave toward a race in a way that we must never allow again.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066, authorizing the forced internment of both United States citizens and legal residents of Japanese ancestry during World War II. This Executive Order resulted in the largest single relocation of individuals in the history of our Nation. As a result of this relocation, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps by the United States Government in violation of their fundamental constitutional rights.

Japanese-Americans faced tremendous hardships due to their unjust treatment. The hardships this group faced were reminiscent of the days of slavery where families were torn asunder and faced separation. Individuals endured the loss of their homes, businesses, jobs, and their dignity.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 9066, Japanese-Americans in the western United States, specifically Washington, Oregon, California, and southern Arizona were ordered to report to so called assembly centers before being removed to more permanent wartime relocation centers.

The Merced Assembly Center, located in Merced, California, was the reporting site for nearly 5,000 Japanese-Americans. Sadly, as a child, United States Congressman Mike Honda and his family were held at the Merced Assembly Center prior to being interned in Amache, Colorado. Through this tragedy and sadness, and in spite of this situation, Representative Honda forged a public career dedicated to educating and preventing this type of injustice from ever occurring again in this great country.

The Merced Assembly Center Commemorative Committee has been charged with the task of establishing a memorial to recognize the historic tragedy that took place at the Merced Assembly Center. The unveiling ceremony for the memorial at the Merced Assembly Center will take place on February 21, 2009.

I stand today to support this resolution. As a champion of civil rights for all Americans, I will continue to fight to ensure that Americans are treated fairly, humanely, and to the letter of the Constitution. I urge my colleagues to stand with me today to support this resolution and to continue to fight against prejudice in this country. As Members of Congress, we must never forget the injustice of the Japanese internment in this country and all of us need to continue in the fight to ensure that all Americans are treated fairly under law without regard to the race, color, creed, sexual orientation or any other form of differentiation.

Mr. Speaker. I support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on this momentous occasion of honoring a great man, John Dingell. And as we do so, I remember another colleague who is no longer with us, Bob Matsui from California, whose wife, Doris Matsui, so ably serves with us today in remembering the work he did on the bill to establish reparations and to make sure that we never forget what happened in the past. President Roosevelt was a great President. He led us through a great war. But he did not do so without making some errors.

Mr. Speaker, as it has been said, February 19, 1942, on that day, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 setting in motion the forced relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans. As a result, on May 7, 1942, all persons of Japanese ancestry were ordered to leave their homes and property, their farms, and take with them only what they could carry and report to a designated assembly center before 12 o'clock noon on Wednesday, May 13. This order was issued by the U.S. War Department and posted to telephone poles, store windows, placed across lawns of Japanese American's homes in Merced County, in my home city and throughout the West Coast.

Nearly 4,700 Japanese Americans from over seven counties reported to a structure that had been built in just 11 days at the Merced County fairgrounds in my district. They entered the assembly center not as Japanese Americans but as prisoners. Families were searched for weapons and surrounded by barbed wire. Armed guards watched over them as they settled in to makeshift housing. Mr. Speaker, no one had ever been accused of any crime, yet they were detained for over 131 days.

Among the victims of this unconscionable act was a young child and his family, someone very familiar to this Chamber, as has been mentioned. He was born of Japanese ancestry. His name is Congressman Mike Honda. And his family were among those assembled at the fairgrounds in Merced before taken to a more permanent internment camp in Colorado.

There were hundreds of other of my friends that I have gotten to know over

the years, also, that lost their farms from Livingston, California, from so many areas throughout the Central Valley. And it just pains me to remember how they lost so much during this relocation.

Each year, the Japanese American community comes together for a Day of Remembrance to reflect on the events that took place and to educate the community on the need to remain vigilant in protecting America's values of equality, justice, due process of law and fundamental fairness.

This February 21, the Merced Assembly Center Commemorative Committee will unveil a memorial on the fairgrounds to remember this time in our Nation's history and the unjust hardships faced by so many of our brothers and sisters. Mr. Speaker, I can also tell you that in that event there will be a lot of people thinking about our U.S. Constitution and reaffirming our devotion to it.

To my friend and colleague, Mr. Honda, I want to say, I'm sorry this took so long. I have served with you for over 12 years. You have been my friend all that time. And I am just glad that we can honor you in this way now. To my friends back home in the Merced area and in the Nissei farming community, I want to say I'm sorry it took so long, but I am so proud that I am the person who is able to do this. You are truly great mentors to me and great friends to our community.

Mr. Speaker, there is no better time to come together as a community, to heal the wounds of our past and to reaffirm our commitment to preserving the fundamental values of our great Nation than today. I wish my friend, Bob Matsui, was here to pass this bill with us.