To make technical corrections to Public Law 110-229 to reflect the renaming of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

My legislation would make technical corrections to a 2008 law to reflect the renaming of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.

I would also like to thank Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva, as well as Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member DeFazio, for their efforts to move this legislation through their committee and ensure that Congress is properly recognizing this memorial.

The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 included the site now known as the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial as a unit of a national historic site. The memorial was established to recognize the historical injustice that was committed against the Japanese American community on Bainbridge Island.

In the wake of this surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, facing fears about potential threats among people of Japanese heritage, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing more than 120,000 people with Japanese ancestry to leave their homes, leave their jobs, their neighbors, their friends, and their communities. They were forced to travel great distances in order to be held indefinitely in one of ten relocation centers.

This order, now rightly denounced, first went into effect on March 30, 1942, when more than 200 residents of Bainbridge Island, Washington, were forced to leave their homes, gather at Eagledale Ferry Dock, and then were transported to a so-called relocation center. These individuals, many of them American citizens, committed no crimes, yet were deprived of their rights simply because of who they were.

Just recently, I had the honor of visiting this memorial and meeting with local Japanese American survivors who were forced to stay at these relocation camps for years before finally moving back to their homes. They told me their stories. Some were just little kids when it all happened, no older than my daughters are today. Some were older, teenagers and young adults.

The memorial tells their stories. The day I met with them I heard their stories, many of them were heartbreaking: the pain that they and their families experienced coming home to the family farm to find that you had to start over from scratch; in some instances, the painful reality, the constant reminder of having received a high school diploma from an internment camp; the challenges of coming back to a community.

Some of the Japanese American survivors told stories of hope, of coming home and having had a neighbor take care of the farm or of having many in the Bainbridge Island community welcome them back with open arms.

While the particular stories are different, there are some basic realities. This is a dark chapter in our Nation's history. We have an obligation to ensure that future generations remember what took place so that these mistakes are not repeated.

Today the National Park Service manages three national historic sites related to the Japanese American incarceration. The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, which was included in 2008, is the only site administered by the Park Service that commemorates the forcible removal of Japanese Americans.

In April of this year, the Bainbridge Island City Council and the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreational District, which jointly own the memorial, officially renamed it the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.

In order to eliminate any confusion and ensure that the official name of the site is formally recognized, H.R. 4751 would update the law to reflect the renaming of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. Not only will this name properly respect the unjustified and discriminatory treatment faced by this community, it will also bring greater attention to the beautiful site commemorating this difficult history.

I want to thank the many local leaders and community organizations who have worked in this for so many years. I am hopeful that we can move this effort forward for them, for our ancestors, and for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4751) to make technical corrections to Public Law 110-229 to reflect the renaming of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, and for other purposes.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 4751 makes technical corrections to reflect a change in the name of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial. The site will now be known as Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial to reflect a new name adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District in Kitsap County, Washington.

This legislation has no cost and is only a change in the name, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment Mr. Kilmer in his legislation. I am one of the few people on this floor who lived through that period of time. The reason I remembered it, I was 10 years old. My father happened to be from California--and I myself was born and raised in California--went to the local farm bureau and caused a great disturbance because they started putting Japanese into internment camps, and he actually stood up in that meeting and said, I don't see any Germans serving in internment camps.

It was an unjust thing. Not only were they interned, their property was seized. We have never had a black eye in our history of the United States such as we had during that period of time.

I just hope people in America realize it can happen again. We have to be very aware of what we actually have from people when they are under stress or when they are under, they think, attack by fellow Americans.

So, I compliment you on this legislation. I did have an individual-- actually, three individuals--from Alaska that I know of that served on that island during that period of time. So again, I compliment you, Mr. Kilmer, for your work on this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4751 changes the name of Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial in Washington State to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.

The addition of the word ``exclusion'' is significant, as it acknowledges the true purpose of the memorial: to recognize and honor the 276 Japanese Americans living on the island who were relocated and interned after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

When Congress adjusted the boundary of the Minidoka National Historic Site to include the site, the name Congress used was the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial. At the request of the Bainbridge Island community and owners of the memorial, H.R. 4751 amends the name to reflect the memorial's official name.

I would like to thank Representative Kilmer for sponsoring this bill and working to get it through the committee process. This name change is important for the Bainbridge Island community and the integrity of the memorial.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington State (Mr. Kilmer), the sponsor of the legislation.

I just also want to thank Representative Kilmer for bringing forth this very important bill. Hopefully, this will be another step towards closure in this very--as Representative Young mentioned, this tremendous injustice that occurred in this Nation.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 4751.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 493 I was temporarily off the House floor. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''