The following statements were issued by Representatives (partial list): Mike Honda (CA-15), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34), Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), Diane E. Watson (CA-33), Melvin L.  Watt (NC-12),

David Wu (OR-1).

Rep. Mike Honda (CA-15):

Introduction

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Asian and Pacific Islander American 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 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.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge and remember extraordinary community leaders, and long time friends of the APIA community that we have lost this year: Judge Delbert Wong and journalist Sam Chu Lin.

Sam Chu Lin, who began reporting in the 1960s worked as a correspondent for CBS News and Fox. Sam Chu Lin was also a respected print journalist, writing columns and articles on Asian-American affairs for Asian Week, Rafu Shimpo, and the San Francisco Examiner.

Judge Delbert Wong was the first Chinese American Judge in the continental U.S.Delbert Wong was a fourth generation American of Chinese heritage. After earning his undergraduate degree in business at U.C. Berkeley, Wong served in World War II as a B-17 navigator, and was awarded numerous medals. After the war, Judge Wong faced a choice between "joining his family's grocery business or entering law school." This was not met with much support from his parents: "Who would hire you, a Chinese?" Undeterred, Wong completed his law degree in 1948, becoming the first Chinese American graduate of Stanford Law School.

After graduation, he was appointed Deputy Legislative Counsel serving the California State Legislature in Sacramento, and later appointed Deputy Attorney General, becoming the first Asian American to hold those positions.

History of APA Heritage Month

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

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

In 1992, Congress passed the law that officially designated May of each year as “Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.”

The first APIA settlement in this country dates to 1763, when Filipinos escaped imprisonment aboard Spanish galleons and established a community near New Orleans. Today, the APIA community is one of the fastest growing populations in the country, with over 13 million APIAs living in the U.S. and representing 4.5% of the total U.S. population.

My home state of California has both the largest APIA population --4.6 million--and the largest numerical increase of APIAs since April 2000.

APIA needs

Mr. Speaker, this year’s theme for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month “Dreams and Challenges for Asian Pacific Americans” reflect hardships overcome by the APIA community while highlighting the hope we maintain as we contribute to the prosperity of this great nation.

This year, I’d like to particularly honor the centennial celebration of Filipinos in Hawaii and the 50^th year since Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian American to be elected to the U.S. Congress.

On December 20, 1906, a group of Filipino plantation workers arrived in Hawaii aboard the Doric, leading the first wave of Filipinos to migrate to Hawaii. The first group of Filipinos was followed by subsequent waves of Filipino immigrants who came to settle in Hawaii and also in other parts of the United States, contributing to a migration pattern that continues up to this day.

Today, Filipinos with their rich culture and heritage have become a positive influence on mainstream life in Hawaii, with many of them succeeding prominently in their respective professions, in business, politics, government, the academe and the arts;

2006 also marks the 50^th year since Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian American to be elected to the U.S. Congress. While in office, Dalip Singh Saund forged a measure that allowed South Asians to become U.S. citizens.

As our community expands we must also continue to educate our fellow citizens about the uniqueness of our experiences. The APIA community is often misperceived as monolithic. Our community is extremely diverse in our languages, ethnicities, and culture.

Aggregating such a large and diverse group makes it difficult to understand the unique problems faced by the individual ethnicities and sub groups, such as the Southeast Asian Americans, who are refugees that fled their home countries during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

As a country, we need to better address the needs of the APIA community when we discuss disaster preparedness, comprehensive immigration reform, voting rights, education, health issues and veterans.

Disaster Preparedness

National disasters—such as the September 11th terrorist attacks, Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina—exposed serious gaps in the delivery of public services to LEP communities.

In fact, the lack of linguistic and culturally competent services within FEMA and related federal agencies prevented many LEP individuals from accessing critical disaster relief related services such as cash assistance, healthcare, mental healthcare, housing assistance, and small business loans.

As a result, at least 20,000 of the 21 million LEP individuals in the United States suffered unnecessary hardship. Many of the Asian Americans in the Gulf Coast region hit by Katrina were shrimpers and fishermen and were significant contributors to the local economy and fishing industry for years. 

Plaquemines Parish, in southern Louisiana is the location of one of the main fishing and shrimp sites.  Plaquemines Parish commercial landings average $441,181,891 in retail annually.  Plaquemines Parish has an average annual landing of 28.8 million pounds of shrimp valued at $238.3 million in retail value.

Extensive reports from FEMA Community Relations and local fishermen determine that all but twenty percent of the fishing boats were destroyed in the Hurricanes. In order for these

families to go back to their old way of life, approximately 430 boats must be repaired and in the water before the shrimp season begins in May.

Many of the fishermen due to cultural and linguistic barriers, were not accustomed to the American way of accessing public assistance, navigating the intricacies and bureaucracies of public agencies and commercial transactions.

The fishermen have been denied Small Business Administration (SBA) loans which would help them rebuild their boats due to the fact that they need to buy insurance prior to getting a loan, but one can not buy insurance for a boat until it is in working order. Fishermen must also prove that they can pay back the loan.  Without income, SBA is reluctant to give loans.

 Due to the complications of the system and the linguistic and cultural barriers that are posed to them, the Asian American community faces an even bigger struggle.

This month, I will introduce legislation to improve disaster relief and preparedness services for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) by requiring the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to bolster federal resources and outreach to community organizations that serve LEP populations.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Mr. Speaker, our nation was founded by immigrants who valued freedom and liberty, who sought to be free from persecution from a tyrant government. Families fled their home countries to seek refuge in this great nation because they, too, believed in “Liberty, Justice, and Freedom for All.”

APIA families who seek to be reunited with their family members overseas have not seen their dreams come true, because of our broken immigration system. Over 1.5 million Asians are caught in the family immigration backlog, and immediate family members from overseas wait as long as 10 years to reunite with their family in the U.S.

Mothers and fathers wait to reunite with their children, but due to the long years of waiting, their children may have already reached the age of 18 and the families will have to start the process all over again.

As we honor the 41^st anniversary of the Immigration Nationality Act of 1965 and the 31^st anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1975, we need to remember that our country was founded and created to protect our freedom and civil liberties.

I believe we need comprehensive immigration reform to fix our broken immigration system

Voting Rights:

This past week, H.R. 9, the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization was introduced. The right to vote is keenly felt by the Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) community.”

Chinese Americans could not vote until the Chinese Exclusion Acts of 1882 and 1892 were repealed in 1943. First generation Japanese Americans could not vote until 1952 because of the racial restrictions contained in the 1790 Naturalization Law.

With the markup in Judiciary Committee tomorrow, we need to ensure that important provisions such as Section 203 which has been vital to the APIA community’s ability to participate in the electoral process gets reauthorized this Congress.

Language minority citizens were often denied needed assistance at the polls. In the 1975 amendments to the Voting Rights Act, such assistance became required in certain situations. And we need to ensure that these provisions continue to remain in the current law.

Education

Mr. Speaker, as Americans, we need to ensure that our children receive a quality education by providing adequate teacher training, funds for after-school and extra-curricular activities, and ensuring that college is affordable for every student that desires to receive a higher education.

According to the U.S. Census, 50% of Asians age 25 and over have a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education. However, I would like to emphasize that when we disaggregate the data for APIA subgroups, we find that the “model minority” stereotype is in fact a myth.

Only 9.1% of Cambodia Americans; 7.4% Hmong Americans; 7.6% Lao Americans; and 19.5% Vietnamese Americans, and 16% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who are 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree.

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

To address the disparities between subgroups of the larger APIA community, we need Congress to pass the Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions bill, which my colleague from Oregon Representative David Wu, will be introducing later this month.

This legislation will provide federal grants to colleges and universities that have an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 10% APIA, and at least 50% of its degree-seeking students receive financial assistance.

As a Caucus, we will work to increase the availability of loan assistance, scholarships, and programs to allow APIA 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 APIA students.

Health

Mr. Speaker, a common misperception of APIAs is that as a group, we face fewer health problems than other racial and ethnic groups.  In fact, APIAs as a group, and specific populations within this group, do experience disparities in health and healthcare.

For example, APIAs have the highest Hepatitis B rates of any racial group in the U.S. APIAs are also five times more likely to develop cervical and liver cancer than any other ethnic and racial group.

According to the Census Bureau, 18% of APIAs went without insurance for the entire year in 2000.

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 preventive services, and have fewer visits per year.

At the same time, without appropriate language translation services, or properly translated materials, Limited English Proficient (LEP) immigrants cannot receive adequate care as well as state and federal benefits for which they may be eligible.

In the APIA community, 76% of Hmong Americans, 61% of Vietnamese Americans, 52% of Korean Americans, and 39% of Tongans speak limited English.

Therefore, eliminating health care disparities in the APIA 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 community.

I have introduced the Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act, which will address:

• expanding the health care safety net;
• diversifying the health care workforce;
• combating diseases that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities;
• emphasizing prevention and behavioral health;
• and promoting the collection and dissemination of data and enhance medical research.

Veterans

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to extend my gratitude to the patriotic men and women serving our country in the military, including 60,813 APIAs serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Services, as well as the 28,066 in the Reserves and the National Guard.

I also commend and thank the 351,000 APIA veterans who fought for this country. I would like to highlight and honor the Filipino veterans who have not been compensated and recognized for their service, which I believe, is a national disservice to these brave veterans.

As a country, it is our duty to ensure these veterans have equal access to all the benefits and treatment that other veterans receive. We believe that our troops should be taken care of when we send them into battle and that they should be given the respect when they return home.

Therefore, I stand with my colleagues, Congressman Issa and Congressman Filner to support their bi-partisan legislation, H.R. 4574 to restore full benefits to these veterans who fought for our nation.

With Congressman Issa taking the lead and Congressman Filner in a leadership position in the Veterans Affairs committee, we have a great chance to get this bill to the floor in honor of the centennial celebration of Filipinos in Hawaii.

APIA firsts

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

1847: Yung Wing – the first Chinese American graduated from Yale University and the first APIA to graduate from a U.S. college in.

1863: William Ah Hang – who was Chinese American, became the first APIA to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War in.

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

1946: Wing F. Ong – a Chinese American of Arizona became the first APIA to be elected to a state office.

1948: Victoria Manalo Draves – a Filipina American diver, the first woman to win Olympic gold medals in both the ten-meter platform and three-meter springboard events.

1956: Dalip Singh Saud – the first Indian American to be elected to Congress.

1965: Patsy Takemoto Mink – the first Japanese American woman and woman of color elected to Congress, who championed Title 9.

1985: Haing Ngor – a Cambodian American became the first APIA to win an Academy Award for his role in the “Killing Fields” movie.

1985: Ellison Onizuka – a Japanese American, became the first APIA in space.

Conclusion

Mr. Speaker, the Asian and Pacific Islander American community continues to fight for our civil rights as Americans.

Even after the internment of the Japanese Americans during World War II, we as a community did not grow embittered, or cowed by discrimination; instead, we progressed and moved forward.

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

In closing, this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we take pride in our history, accomplishments, and the promise of our future as we continue to pave the way for a better tomorrow in the name of “Dreams and Challenges of Asian Pacific Americans”

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34):

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand with my colleagues today as we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. 

Our theme for this year’s festivities, “Dreams and Challenges of Asian Pacific Americans,” speaks to the generations of Asian Pacific Americans, who worked hard to overcome economic hardship, racism, and other barriers in their pursuit of the American dream. 

The theme reminds us of the Chinese who endured inhumane conditions to build our western railroads, and the Koreans who did the back-breaking work on the sugar plantations in Hawaii.  And it reminds us of the courageous Japanese-Americans who fought bravely for their country, despite the shameful treatment toward their families in internment camps during World War II. 

This year’s theme also reminds us that, in spite of these hardships, the API community successfully met the challenges it has faced and has greatly enhanced the richness and strength of our American society.

The cultural imprint and contribution of the API community is especially impressive in Los Angeles, where many of the first Asian-American immigrants made their home. 

I have the pleasure of representing the Los Angeles communities of Little Tokyo, and parts of Chinatown and Filipinotown.  As is true for all Angelenos, my life has been enriched by the magnificent culture of Asian Pacific Islanders and their positive impact on our City and on our nation as a whole.

Asian Pacific Islanders contribute to our economy in many ways.  They are leaders, for example, in our international trade, they are pioneers in our fashion industry, they are non-profit community leaders, restaurateurs, and small businesses owners. 

They are patriots who continue to defend our nation and our American way of life through their distinguished service in our Armed Forces. 

The API community also enriches our lives throughout the year with its many cultural celebrations. 

In my own district in downtown Los Angeles, I look forward to riding in the annual Nisei parade in Little Tokyo and the Chinese New Years parade in Chinatown.

Mr. Speaker, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is a wonderful opportunity for our country to pay tribute to the many worthy contributions of the API community and to explore their rich and diverse API culture, customs and history.

I thank my API constituents, who continue to enrich my life, the life of Angelenos, and our nation.  I honor them today as I stand with my colleagues to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. 

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (CA-15):

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.  And I’d like to thank the gentleman from California for putting together this Special Order to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly represent one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the world outside of Vietnam in Orange County, California. 

Many of them came to the United States only about thirty years ago, seeking refuge from an oppressive regime in an unknown land and facing an uncertain future.

These individuals risked everything for a chance to live freely and provide better opportunities for their children and for their families.

Since their arrival, these Vietnamese refugees have become Americans in the finest and truest sense of the word–hard working people trying to create a better future for themselves and their families. 

One success story that I love to mention is that of Mr. Chieu Le, founder and chief executive officer of Lee's Sandwiches in Orange County, California.

In 1981, one year after immigrating to the United States from Vietnam, Mr. Le and his family bought their first catering truck and began serving sandwiches in the community. 

Twenty years later, they opened the first Lee's Sandwich Shop in Garden Grove, California.

Today, Lee's Sandwiches is the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the West, with over 35 stores in operation or development. 

And Mr. Le and his family have given back to the community as well, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of the 9/11 attacks and the South Asia tsunami. 

But Mr. Le and his family are only one example.  Dr. Nguyen-Lam Kim Oanh of the Garden Grove Unifed School District is the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to a school board in Orange County. 

Or actress Kieu Chinh, who has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows including E.R. and The Joy Luck Club, and was the subject of the Emmy-award winning 1996 documentary "Kieu Chinh: A Journey Home."

And groups such as the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations -- a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that puts together the annual Tet Festival in Orange County, which draws twenty to thirty thousand attendees.

Or the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance -- the largest Pan-Asian Pacific Islander organization in Orange County.  Their health outreach programs, after-school programs, and policy advocacy programs make a real difference in the lives of Orange County residents. 

Through their hard work and dedication, Vietnamese Americans and other Asian-Pacific individuals and groups like these have become an integral part of the Orange County family – as entrepreneurs, as community leaders, and as activists for worthy causes at home and abroad.  On behalf of all my colleagues in the House, I offer them our praise and our gratitude.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rep. Diane E. Watson (CA-33):

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  I want to congratulate my good friend and colleague, Mr. Honda, for arranging this special order so that we can celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and acknowledge the important contributions of Asian Americans.  This year’s theme, “Dreams and Challenges of Asian Pacific Americans,” reflects the Asian and Pacific Islander American community’s commitment to fairness and equality. 

I represent California’s 33^rd congressional district.  It is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse congressional districts in the U.S.  It reflects the emerging “majority minority” demographic of the state of California.

California is home to the largest Korean-American population in the country.  More people of Korean heritage live and work in Los Angeles than in any place in the world outside Korea; and more Korean-Americans live and work in the 33^rd congressional district than in any other congressional district in California.

I want to comment briefly on the recent and, in many ways, historic visit of Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward to Korea last month.  His visit, I believe, embodies this year’s theme of fairness and equality.  The NFL hero, who is of mixed Korean and African-American ancestry,  traveled to his native country to express pride in his Korean roots even though he shunned that side of his heritage after he faced prejudice as a child.   His Korean mother accompanied him. 

By all accounts, South Korea warmly embraced Hines Ward and received him as a hero.  The government made him an honorary citizen.  Moreover, his visit not only galvanized the Korean community but also brought attention to the plight of Koreans of mixed ancestry.

Korea has 35,000 people of mixed race, and many are subjected to discrimination.  22 percent are unemployed, and only 2 percent have administrative jobs.  The rest are laborers.  Statistics suggest that 9.8 percent of mixed-race Koreans leave primary school and 17.5 percent middle school.  The average drop-out rate for Korean middle school students is 1.1 percent.  International marriages between Koreans and non-Koreans are on the rise. The mixed race population in Korea is estimated to grow to 2 million by 2020.

My home state of California is a leader in the growth of mixed race populations in the U.S.  In the 2000 Census, 7 million people self-identified themselves as multiracial.  Historically, the West has always been very multiracial due to high immigration levels, the rich mix of different ethnic groups, and the historical absence of  legal barriers to interracial marriage.  Much work, however, remains to be done as mixed race children in the U.S. suffer from sleights and discrimination as do their counterparts overseas.

Hines Ward’s visit to Korea has made a positive difference.  The government and the ruling Uri Party recently agreed to grant for the first time legal status to people having mixed-race backgrounds and their families.  The Ministry of Justice is now reviewing a plan to grant citizenship or residency status to those who marry Koreans.   All acknowledge the impact and importance of Hines Ward’s visit.

I want to congratulate Mr. Ward on his triumphal return to his homeland.  He has used his celebrity status to bring about positive change in both the U.S. and Korea.   I also want to congratulate the Korean government for taking positive steps to address an issue that until now has been largely ignored.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month, let us not overlook those Asian-Americans of mixed race who have also made significant contributions to our nation.

Rep. Melvin L. Watt (NC-12):

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the achievements of Asian and Pacific Americans and their invaluable contributions to the American family.

As Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and close friend of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I join with my fellow Tri-Caucus members in thanking my colleague, Mr. Honda, for organizing this special order.

The theme of this year’s celebration – “Dreams and Challenges of Asian Pacific Americans” – could not be more fitting. The genesis of Asian Pacific American Heritage month is rooted in the challenges faced by a community of hard-working Americans who dreamed of surmounting difficulties and contributing to the wonder that is the United States of America.

It is believed that this commemorative month came into being as a result of  the experiences of Mr. M.Y. Lee, a Chinese immigrant to the U.S. who experienced the travails, discrimination and even violence Chinese immigrants faced in this country in the Nineteenth Century.

Mr. Speaker, although Asian Americans have come very far since then, I rise today to emphasize that much work remains to be done to ensure that the civil and human rights of this community – and, indeed, of all communities of color -  are preserved and promoted.

This year, Congress will reauthorize the Voting Rights Act, legislation that was born of the African American struggle against institutionalized, legally sanctioned bigotry. Entitled the “Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks , and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization of 2006”, this bill is equally vital for Asian and Pacific Americans.

The Voting Rights Act – the most effective civil rights statute ever enacted -  is responsible for people of color communities being able to elect representatives who know and share their concerns.

Key provisions of the Act will expire next year unless they are renewed by Congress. These include Section 5 – requiring jurisdictions with histories of discrimination in voting to get federal approval of new voting procedures – and Section 203 – which ensures that Americans with limited English proficiency get the assistance they need at the poll in order to exercise the most fundamental right and duty of the country they love.

It is vital that these and all expiring provisions of this landmark legislation be renewed. We could bestow no greater honor on civil rights heroines Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King – and to Mr. M.Y. Lee, the father of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – than to ensure that their descendants enjoy the full bounties of this great land without condition or hindrance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rep. David Wu (OR-1):

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor and pleasure to join with my fellow members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  This May marks the 28th time America has recognized and celebrated the many contributions and achievements of Asian Pacific Americans.

America has reached greatness in part by the accumulation of ideas from those with varied heritage and backgrounds.  In particular, Asian Pacific Americans have made profound contributions to the arts, education, science, technology, politics and athletics.  Asian Pacific Americans have played an active and crucial role in the development of this country, from knitting together this nation with the transcontinental railroad to bringing the world closer together through development of the latest Internet technology.

This year, Congress will be reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act, including provisions that provide bilingual assistance to voters who need it. These measures protect the ability of all voters to participate in our nation's political process.  Toward this end, I, along with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, am reaching out to the Asian Pacific American community and speaking to the importance of civic participation and protecting the APA vote.

The Asian Pacific American community remains and always will be an integral and vibrant part of American society.  As we take part in the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I urge everyone to participate more deeply in the civic life of our nation.  The civic engagement of Asian Pacific American's will help define our collective future.  By working together we can build bridges, and build upon our great nation's diverse communities. We move forward with determination and unity.

I encourage Congress and the American people to spend part of May absorbing the legacy, culture and achievements of the Asian Pacific American community.