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10/20/03
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ANNOUNCE LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE FOR ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
CAPAC Members co-sponsor important legislation to reduce minority health care disparities
    WASHINGTON, DC -- Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) joined the House and Senate Democratic Leadership in announcing legislation today to improve health care for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other minority groups.
    The Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act of 2003 aims to reduce the proven disparities in health care and access to medical service between minority communities and other Americans.
    CAPAC members David Wu (D-OR), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), joined Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Native American Caucus, and the Democratic Leadership in announcing the legislation today.
    "Language barriers within the APA community make it difficult for people to interact with health care providers and social service agencies effectively," said Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), Vice Chairman of CAPAC. "The bill we are announcing today will address this and other health care obstacles for limited English proficient Asian Pacific Americans."
    "For too long, disparities in health care between Asian Pacific Americans and other Americans have been diagnosed, but gone untreated," said CAPAC Chairman David Wu (D-OR). "All Americans deserve the same quality of health care and access to medical services, and this legislation will take an important step toward that goal."
    "Americans residing in the Pacific Island territories face additional barriers in accessing health care. As a result of the caps in Medicaid and social welfare program allocations, territorial governments are restrained in their ability to access resources to provide adequate health care and social services," said Congresswoman Bordallo (D-GU). "This bill removes the Medicaid cap and provides funding to improve public health facilities and services in the Pacific Island territories so that all Americans receive high-quality health care."
    Persistent disparities in health care between Asian American and other populations are well documented. For instance, according to a June 2003 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Asian Pacific Americans are less likely than white Americans to have medical insurance, to lack a usual source of health care, or to have visited a health care professional in the last year. Also, limited data on Pacific Islander health disparities make it challenging to address what evidence suggests are growing needs within their communities.
    The Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act of 2003 seeks to reduce these disparities and improve the quality of health care for minority communities by:
    - Removing language and cultural barriers. Approximately one-third of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders live in linguistic isolation. Because language and cultural differences create barriers to health care, the bill would help Asian American and Pacific Islander patients, including those with limited English proficiency, with provisions such as codifying existing standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate health care, assisting health care professionals provide cultural and language services, and increasing federal reimbursement for these services.
    - Improving data collection. Asian Pacific Americans are an ethnically and linguistically diverse community with widely varying health needs. Better information is needed to identify the sources of health disparities, implement effective solutions, and monitor improvement. With appropriate safeguards to protect privacy, the bill would require federal agencies and recipients of federal funds to collect and report data on race, ethnicity, and primary language.
    - Strengthening health institutions that serve minority populations. Many areas with high concentrations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders lack adequate health care services and health care facilities. The bill would establish loan and grant programs as well as quality improvement initiatives for health institutions that provide substantial care to minority populations.
    - Expanding health coverage. To reduce the number of minorities without health insurance, the bill would give states the option to expand eligibility and streamline enrollment in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. This will expand health insurance coverage for Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrant populations.

10/11/03: Asian-Americans on Arnold Schwarzenegger Transition Committee.  The Transition Committee is comprised of 65 members who are leaders in their respective fields and are drawn from a broad range of professional, community, and academic backgrounds.  http://www.joinarnold.com/en/transition/
Viet Dinh
Currently, a professor of law and Deputy Director of Asian Law and Policy Studies at Georgetown University Law Center, Mr. Dinh has had a distinguished career in the field of legal policy. Prior to his current position, he was the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Justice Department. Mr. Dinh was a law clerk to Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. He also served as Associate Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Whitewater Committee. He is a member of the District of Columbia and U.S. Supreme Court bars. Washington, D.C.
Matt Fong
An attorney and business leader, Mr. Fong is president of Strategic Advisory Group and serves on various corporate boards and advisory groups. Mr. Fong was the State Treasurer from 1995-1999. From 1991 and 1995 he served on the State Board of Equalization. In 1998 he was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate. He graduated the USAF Academy and continues to serve as a Lt. Col. In the USAF Reserves. His MBA is from Pepperdine University; J.D. from Southwestern University. Los Angeles.
Sean Liou
President of Always Best Tours and Travel. Previously he served as President and COO of Keylinus, Inc., a global solutions provider of enterprise storage networking systems software and services, and CEO of Hi-Tech USA, a leading high-volume PC systems integrator and provider of Linux solutions, integrated software and services from 1989-2000. He is a member of President Bush's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. He holds a Masters in Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts, Fremont.
Safi Qureshey
Mr. Qureshey is founder and chairman emeritus of AST Computers. Mr. Qureshey is the patron in chief of Forbes International Pvt. Limited and a seasoned businessman, having diversified business experiences in computer hardware, software, internet service provider and credit cards. Orange County.
Dr. Sophie C. Wong
She is a well-respected leader in the Asian Community and has extensive reach into the education and small business communities surrounding the Monterey Park area of Southern California. She has served on the U.S. Small Business Administration Advisory Council, Board of Medical Quality Review for the State of California and co-founded the Chinese Elected Officials as well as the Asian Pacific Islander School Board Member Association. Los Angeles.


9/26/03: Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans Launches Anti-Recall Website AsianAmericansAgainstRecall.org features more than 150 APA leaders opposed to recall
On the Web: http://www.asianamericansagainstrecall.org/media/
    San Francisco - The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) today launched www.AsianAmericansAgainstRecall.org, a Web site asking Asian Pacific Americans (APA) to vote "no" on the recall of Gov. Gray Davis. The site includes information on why the recall is threat to APAs in California, lists more than 150 APA leaders opposed to the recall and asks supporters to pledge their "no" vote on the site.
   The recall opponents include Congressman Bob Matsui, Congressman Mike Honda, State Board of Equalization member John Chiang, state Assembly majority leader Wilma Chan, Assemblywoman Carol Liu, Assemblywoman Judy Chu, Assemblyman George Nakano, Assemblyman Leland Yee and Appointments Secretary Michael Yamaki - and community leader such as Dr. Stanley M. Toy, Jr., chair of Chinese Americans Against the Recall, and California Arts Council member Dr. Jerrold Hiura.
   APA leaders such as Dale Minami and Maeley Tom formed CAPA as a registered political action committee in 1989 to fight for better APA representation in California issues, politics and government.
   "APAs can play a pivotal role in this close election and should not remain silent when their own future is at stake," said Dale Minami, CAPA president. "Not only is this election an affront to our democracy and a waste of tens of millions of dollars better spent on education and social services, but APAs need to recognize that Gov. Davis has proven to be an ally and supporter of our issues and for the fair representation of APAs in government and politics.
   "Because of the way the recall works, the next governor could be elected by 20 percent of the vote, or even less," said Maeley Tom, a CAPA co-founder. "There is no guarantee that the next governor who would immediately take office the next day has the experience to solve the problems facing the state. Why should Californians take such a risk?"
   Highest Number of APA Appointments to Key Government Positions
   Gov. Davis' historic contribution to empower the APA community includes appointing a greater percentage of outstanding Asian Pacific Americans to key state government positions than any previous governor, with more than 280 APA appointments, including:
. the first APA cabinet member, Lon Hatamiya, as the Secretary of the Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency;
. Michael Yamaki as the Governor's Appointments Secretary;
. Judge Harry Low as the Insurance Commissioner in 2000;
. Betty Yee as Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Finance;
. Darryl Young as the Director of the Department of Conservation;
. Agnes Lee as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services;
. Randall Iwasaki as the first APA Deputy Director of CalTrans;
. Joy Higa as the first APA Deputy Director of the Department of Managed Health Care; and . Maeley Tom as the first APA State Personnel Board Member.
   Gov. Davis' historic judicial appointments include
- the first Vietnamese American Superior Court Judge, Nho Trong Nguyen,
- the first Vietnamese American female Superior Court Judge, Jacqueline H. Nguyen, and
- the first Korean American female Superior Court Judge, Tammy Chung Ryu.
   Gov. Davis has also:
. Greatly increased funding for the country's largest K-12 English-Language Learners Program from $328.6 million in 1997-98 to $535.3 million in 2001-2002, a 63% increase;
. Expanded the Healthy Families program among APA children by more than 366% (21,260 to 77,800) with outreach information campaign in major APA languages; and
. Created merit scholarships for high-achieving high school students and expanded the Cal-Grant program to help disadvantaged students who need financial assistance to pay for college.
   Gov. Davis has signed numerous bills empowering the APA community:
. Creating an Asian Pacific Islander Anti-Hate Crimes Program within the Department of Justice to provide information and training in the APA community;
. Improving consumer protection in the APA community by requiring businesses that negotiate contracts with Asian-language speakers to provide the contract in the consumers' native language;
. Establishing the first Californian Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs;
. Authorizing high school districts, unified school districts, or county office of educations, to retroactively grant high school diplomas to persons who were interned during World War II;
. Preserving the traditional serving of Korean rice cakes at room temperature;
. Enabling Filipino World War II veterans to return to their homeland without forfeiting their state benefit payments; and
. Provided funding for preservation of Asian Pacific American history at the Korean American Museum, Museum of Chinese American History and Japanese American National Museum.
   Unfairness and Destructiveness of the Recall
   The illegitimate use of recall shows a complete disregard for the democratic electoral process. The voters' clearly expressed will last November would be overturned for purely partisan maneuvering. If this recall succeeds, it will open a Pandora's Box that will be very destructive to the stability of California's political system. If the recall prevails, the next Governor could be elected with as little as 15% of the votes. The recall is not a solution to the challenges that California faces. Forty-seven states and the federal government are all facing budget deficits and a slowing economy. The recall will further erode California's economy and its credit rating. The $70 million of taxpayers' money that will be spent on the recall election could be better spent on education, health care, and public safety.
   Also important to note is that proponents of the recall are ardent supporters of Prop 187, seeking to overturn the progressive, pro-APA, pro-immigrant agenda of Gov. Davis.
   Supporters can contact CAPA through the Web site, www.AsianAmericansAgainstRecall.org, by email at info@AsianAmericansAgainstRecall.org, or by phone at 415-379-3893.
   Contact: Keith Kamisugi (for CAPA) keith@AsianAmericansAgainstRecall.org (877) 835-5679


9/9/03 press release: "NAPALC Supports Legislation Recognizing Native Hawaiians,"
    Washington, D.C.-The National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium announces its support for legislation sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), granting federal recognition of Native Hawaiians.
    Senate Bill 344, known as the "Akaka Bill," would give federal recognition to Native Hawaiians as an indigenous group, qualifying them for health and welfare initiatives currently focused on Native American and Native Alaskan groups. This legislation also establishes a process for the formation of a sovereign entity representing Native Hawaiian interests in a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
    "Passage of the Akaka Bill is vital to the preservation of the Hawaiian people and their culture and would continue the reconciliation process between the U.S. Government and the Native Hawaiian people, as authorized in the 1993 Apology Bill," said Karen K. Narasaki, President and Executive Director of NAPALC
    "This legislation extends the federal policy of self-determination and self-governance to Native Hawaiians. It authorizes a process of reorganization of a Native Hawaiian government for the purposes of a federally recognized government-to-government relationship with the United States," said Sen. Akaka. "This measure establishes parity in federal policies toward American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. I commend NAPALC for joining the impressive coalition of organizations supporting this important legislation."


8/22/03 Wall Street Journal
    Human rights aside, encouraging refugees is also a political strategy. Word of a safe harbor overseas would surely spread throughout the North, creating more internal pressure on the already troubled Kim regime. That's why Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (R) has written a letter urging President Bush to declare such a safe harbor. He also supports, as do we, a plan under consideration by the Bush Administration to admit 30,000 North Korean refugees currently in China. The U.S. could also put more pressure on China to let the United Nations help the nearly 300,000 North Koreans who may already be hiding there.
   Mr. Brownback proposes to expand the S-2 visa for aliens who provide assistance in the wars on terror and drugs. The number of "snitch visas" should be increased to 3,500 from the current 250 a year, he says, with eligibility extended to people offering information about rogue-state WMD programs. The mere chance that this would induce operatives in Pyongyang's WMD programs to defect is worth a try.


6/5/03 press release from Japanese American Citizens League: "Stuart Ishimaru Recommended to EEOC by Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle JACL commends Senator Daschle for his consistent and continued commitment to ensuring that the APA community is represented on civil rights commissions San Francisco"
    The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nations oldest and largest Asian Pacific American (APA) civil rights organization, lauds and expresses its deepest gratitude to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle for his consistent and continued commitment to ensuring that the APA community is represented on civil rights commissions by recommending Paul Igasaki for re- nomination to his seat at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last year and now by recommending Stuart Ishimaru for the vacancy. 
    The JACL urges the White House to act on Democratic Leader Daschles recommendation and promptly move Mr. Ishimarus candidacy forward.
    We applaud Democratic Leader Daschles decision to recommend Stuart Ishimaru for the EEOC, stated JACL National President Floyd Mori. Senator Daschle clearly understands the importance of having qualified people of diverse backgrounds bring their voices and experience to the federal civil rights commissions, and Mr. Ishimaru is an outstanding choice for the EEOC.
    Stuart Ishimarus credentials are impeccable, added John Tateishi, JACL National Executive Director. He will bring years of experience and keen insight to the Commission. The Asian Pacific American community is fortunate to have public officials of such caliber as former commissioner Paul Igasaki and Stuart Ishimaru, and we thank them for their service and steadfast commitment to issues of concern to our community. The JACL urges the White House to act on this recommendation immediately.
    Stuart Ishimaru, a long-time JACL member, received his BA from the University of California, Berkeley (1980) and his JD from the National Law Center, George Washington University (1983). He has long years of federal and community service and in the field of civil rights, including: research assistant to U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (1981); assistant to the director at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (1982-83); graduate course instructor in Equal Employment Opportunity at American University; assistant counsel to Committee on the Judiciary (1984-91) and professional staff to Committee on Armed Services (1991-93) for the U.S. House of Representatives; acting staff director for U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1993-94); counsel to Assistant Attorney General (1994-99) and Deputy Assistant Attorney General (1999-2001) in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
    Stuart Ishimaru is the second name recommended during this administration by Democratic Leader Daschle. Last year, after eight years of service on the EEOC, Paul Igasakis candidacy languished at the White House for months and failed to receive the administrations support. The JACL encourages its members and friends to express their appreciation to Senator Daschle for putting forward Stuart Ishimarus name for the EEOC (email: tom_daschle@daschle.senate.gov) and to urge the White House to act on this recommendation using the JACL website at: http://capwiz.com/jacl/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=2483051 .

5/28/03 Associated Press: "Law That Helped Hmong Veterans Become 
Citizens Expires"
A special law, which more than 3,000 Hmong veterans in Minnesota used 
to become citizens, expired Monday.  The Hmong Veterans Naturalization 
Act of 2000 gave up to 45,000 Hmong veterans and their wives and widows 
the chance to take the U.S. citizenship test in their own language rather than 
in English.  It also eased civics tests for applicants, though they still must 
meet other typical citizenship requirements.  Nationwide, only 5,331 people became citizens under the law.  With support from the late Sen. Paul 
Wellstone and Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., an 18-month extension was 
given to veterans. 

5/1/03: U.S. Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) and other Senators co-sponsored the re-introduction of the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, a bill that seeks to strengthen existing federal hate crimes statutes.  LLEEA adds actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation and disability to the list of federally protected categories, and gives the Justice Department jurisdiction over hate crimes involving bodily injury.  The bill authorizes federal grants for state and local law enforcement officials incurring expenses investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.

4/20/03 South Florida Sun-Sentinel 
"Rights group, legislators work to end anti-Japanese bias, law"
    A national civil rights group and local political leaders are trying to get rid of vestiges of World War II discrimination still visible on Florida billboards and in its constitution. 
    At issue is the proliferation of auto repair signs using the slur "Jap" from Miami to Jacksonville, the word's use in countless Bell South phone books and in newspaper ads.
    Florida is also one of the last states in the nation with a constitutional provision created to ban Japanese immigrants from owning property. 
    State Sen. Steve Geller of Hallandale Beach and state Rep. Phillip Brutus of North Miami, both Democrats, introduced legislation in February to seek voter approval for a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the "Alien Land Law." 
    First adopted in California in 1913, the law was designed to keep Japanese immigrants from settling. It was added to Article 1 of the Florida Constitution in 1926 and lays out basic rights such as land ownership -- except in the case of "aliens ineligible for citizenship."
     State Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, wants language in the bill that keeps "illegal aliens" from owning land. 
    Geller, who did not expect an "anti-immigrant backlash," said he hopes to work out a compromise. "I'm doing my best to ensure we take the offensive language out of the constitution," Geller said. "I could've done this before 9/11 with no problem, but the war has made it even worse." 


12/10/02 Associated Press: "Pataki Criticized for Ignoring Hard-Hit 
Chinatown Business,"
    Albany, NY -- A sharp geographic and partisan dispute has broken 
out over the awarding of the latest state Empire Zones, a designation 
designed to promote job growth through tax cuts and other business-
friendly incentives.
    New York City Democrats say they are angry that the sixth and final 
zone selected under the latest round of awards went to upstate 
Rensselaer County. The Democrats were pushing for Chinatown, in 
lower Manhattan, to help rejuvenate an area that Democratic state 
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says has suffered more than any 
other in the city due to the destruction of the World Trade Center towers.
    ``This was a blatantly political move by the governor to reward his 
re-election supporters,'' contended Gifford Miller, the Democratic 
speaker of the New York City Council. ``Apparently, a neighborhood 
that's only a stone's throw away from Ground Zero takes a back seat to 
ones located in Rensselaer County.''
    Rensselaer County is also home base to state Sen. Joseph Bruno, 
the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate and a usual ally of 
Republican Gov. George Pataki in Albany.
    New York City Council member John Liu, a Queens Democrat, said 
the governor ``pretended to care about Asian-American business 
owners'' during Pataki's successful re-election campaign in 2002 to a 
third term as governor.
    ``But now that he has won the truth has come out, the plight of 
immigrant businesses are not a priority,'' Liu said.
    Pataki said the Democratic criticism was wrong. He and the 
Legislature expects to create more Empire Zones in the future, he said.
    ``We have put in place good solid economic development programs 
to help Chinatown and we're going to continue to look to do more as 
well,'' Pataki said.
    The City Council and Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg had 
jointly endorsed a request of the state to designate areas of Chinatown 
and the Lower East Side of Manhattan as Empire Zone.
    The Democrats complained that all six of the most recently authorized 
zones went to upstate areas, and that 62 of 72 zones awarded in the 
16-year history of the program are outside New York City.
    Silver also criticized the decision not to put an Empire Zone in 
Chinatown. He said the predominantly Asian enclave was particularly 
hard hit by Sept. 11 because tourism was devastated by the virtual 
inability to get to Chinatown for weeks after the World Trade Center was 
destroyed. And the area's famed restaurants were highly reliant on the brokerages wiped out or displaced by the attack.
    ``It's unfortunate that it didn't happen,'' Silver said. ``It's unfortunate 
that, once again, the governor has designated an Empire Zone in an 
area that's dominated by Republicans and much of the designation of 
the Empire Zone has been influenced by that.''
    Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Bruno, said Senate Republicans 
pushed a bill earlier this year that would have expanded the Empire Zone program so that every county upstate would get at least one zone and 
every downstate zone would be expanded.
    ``Unfortunately, our proposal was strongly opposed by the Assembly Democrats who, by opposing the proposal to expand the program, 
created a competition that essentially set the Chinatown application up 
for failure,'' Hansen said.
    The zones are selected by a nine-member board that includes two 
designees of Pataki and three of Pataki's commissioners. The other 
members are picked by the Legislature, including Silver. The zones are 
approved through majority votes of the board.
    Pataki noted that Silver's representative on the board, Democratic Assemblyman Robin Schimminger of Erie County, voted for the latest 
zone designations.


10/25/02: AsianWeek Endorses Davis for Re-Election
AsianWeek noted Davis has empowered the APA community through 
"an incredible number of Asian Pacific American appointments, from high-
ranking state positions like Insurance Commissioner Harry Low to the 
recent appointments of the first Korean American and Vietnamese 
American women judges in Southern California." The newsweekly adds, 
"Davis has also accomplished a fair amount in terms of reforming hate 
crimes legislation, including supporting a bill that would create an Asian 
Pacific Islander Anti-Hate Crimes Program."
Davis Endorsed by Asian Pacific Islander Group
The Asian Pacific Islander American Political Association (APAPA) today announced its endorsement of Governor Gray Davis re-election. "Governor 
Davis has appointed more than 200 Asian Pacific Americans to office, 
including many "firsts" for the APA community. Among the breakthrough appointments are Lon Hatamiya, Secretary of the Technology, Trade & Commerce Agency, and the first Korean female superior court judge, Tammy Chung Ryu. Measures have also been taken to empower Asian Pacific-owned small businesses. During 2000-01, the State awarded 57 construction 
contracts through Catrans to certified Asian Pacific American-owned businesses."

9/19/02 politicalcircus.com: "Leaders Question Simon's Commitment,"
    "In just three years, the Governor [Gray Davis] has already appointed the first Asian Pacific American to a Cabinet position, the first Vietnamese American to 
a judgeship and the first Asian American Insurance Commissioner in California's storied history," said Rep. Robert Matsui. "The Governor has proven that he is one of the most ardent and loyal supporters for the advancement of California's growing Asian Pacific Islander community," he added.
    In addition, Davis also named the first Asian American gubernatorial appointments secretary, Michael Yamaki. Most recently, the Governor made history again by appointing the first female Vietnamese American judge, Jacqueline H. Nguyen, and the first female Korean American judge, Tammy Chung Ryu.
    On the contrary, "How many Asian Pacific Americans has [Republican 
nominee for Governor Bill] Simon appointed to positions of authority in his various business ventures? What has he ever done for the APA community that deserved our support?" Equalization Member John Chiang asked.

10/13/02 Los Angeles Times: "Davis' Picks Look a Lot Like Wilson's: Appointees requiring Senate approval are fairly alike in terms of gender 
and race, records show"
    Of Governor Gray Davis' (D) 592 appointees requiring Senate 
confirmation, 28.9% were women, 10.6% were Latino, 7.3% were African American and 6.6% were Asian American.
    Former Governor Pete Wilson's (R) first-term appointees were similar: 
28.4% women, 9% Latino, 6.1% African American, and 4.2% of Asian 
descent.  One difference is that Wilson was more partisan; 90% of his 
appointees were Republicans and 80% of Davis' appointees are 
Democrats.
    Davis' appointments secretary Michael Yamaki counters that the 
Senate figures ignore large numbers of appointees who required no 
confirmation.
    His statistics include posts that require Senate confirmation, plus 
Cabinet jobs, judgeships, many professional boards and others, 
including nearly 500 county fair board members.
    The administration's numbers show that Davis' full list of appointees 
is 40% women, 7.4% Asian Americans, 7.3% African Americans, and 
10.9% Latinos. Wilson, according to the Davis administration, 
appointed 38% women, 4.7% Asian Americans, 4.8% African 
Americans and 6.3% Latinos.

9/19/02 Associated Press: "Colorado Governor Criticized for Not 
Appointing Asian-American Judge,"
    Denver -- Minority bar associations are criticizing Gov. Bill Owens for 
rejecting an Asian-American lawyer for a judgeship, saying the move will discourage other minority lawyers from applying to the bench.
    Kerry Hada said he was dumped from what appeared to be a sure appointment after advisers told Owens his views were left of center.
    ``What is most disturbing is now you don't know who's running the 
confirmation process,'' said Democratic senator and lawyer Penfield Tate. 
``You don't know who is whispering to who, saying, `This is what we want 
on the bench.'''
    Owens' spokesman, Dan Hopkins, said Hada was not appointed after 
an interview and an extensive background check.
    He added that the governor has an ``aggressive track record of 
appointing minorities'' when they are nominated by the judicial nominating commissions.
    He said that of the 21 Hispanic nominees the governor has received, he 
has appointed 10. Hopkins said the governor has received only three black nominees and has appointed one. The nominating commissions have recommended only one Asian-American, and that was Hada, 52.
    The former Airborne Ranger was one of four finalists who met with Owens 
last week. He was considered a finalist for one of four district court 
vacancies in Arapahoe County.
    Last Wednesday, the four finalists, Nancy Hopf, Marc Hannen, Mike 
Spear and Hada, met with Owens.
    Hada, in a memo circulated to many federal and state judges, said Owens 
told him he was highly praised by both people inside and outside the legal profession and that he had passed two nominating commissions with flying colors.
    ``However, Gov. Owens said there was a problem. He said that he had 
heard from key advisers that I might be judicially left of center,'' Hada wrote.
    Owens asked Hada to prepare a ``position paper'' overnight and send it to 
him the next day, Thursday.
    On Friday, Hada said Owens' assistant telephoned him to report that Magistrate Marilyn Leonard of Jefferson County had been picked for the 
position.
    ``It's a slight to the minority bar,'' said Wayne Vaden, chair of the Sam 
Cary Judicial Committee, an organization of black lawyers. ``Kerry is an 
Asian and really a big advocate in the minority community.
    Hada, who grew up in Denver, practices domestic law, personal injury, 
and criminal defense in state and federal courts.

 

6/20/02 National Immigration Law Center: "Immigrant Student Bill Passes 
Senate Judiciary Committee,"
    On Thursday, June 20th, immigrant rights advocates, educators, and 
students won a significant victory when the Senate Judiciary Committee 
passed S. 1291, the DREAM Act, sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
    Before approving the DREAM Act, the committee made important changes in the bill in the form of a substitute amendment proposed by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and supported by Sen. Hatch. As a result, the bill was able to pass out of committee with strong bipartisan support that bodes well for eventual passage.
    As amended in the committee, the DREAM Act repeals the provision of 
federal law that discourages states from providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants, and it permits long-time resident immigrant young people with good moral character to obtain lawful permanent resident status 
once they graduate from high school. In addition to Sens. Hatch and Durbin, the amended DREAM Act now enjoys the co-sponsorship, among others, of Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) who are, respectively, the chair and ranking minority members of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee.
    The committee session engendered more back and forth among the senators than usual, but in the end the amended bill passed by a voice vote. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Durbin, and Hatch all spoke movingly about young people in their states whom they had heard from and who would benefit from the DREAM Act. Other senators vocalizing their support included Joseph Biden (D-DE), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the chair of the committee.
    All of these senators pointed out that the young people who would benefit from the DREAM Act have grown up in the country and have a lot to contribute if freed to do so. They also emphasized that the states where these young people live should not be blocked by federal law from providing them with an education.
    Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) spoke in opposition to the amended bill. They argued that it would reward lawbreakers, provide an 
incentive for more immigrants to come to the country illegally, and permit young people who had committed drug crimes and vandalism to legalize their status.
    Theoretically, the next step towards passage of the DREAM Act would be Senate floor consideration. But there is very little floor time left before the end of this session of Congress. Advocates will have to build momentum for the bill if they hope to enact the DREAM Act before Congress adjourns in October 2002.
    Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah has sponsored a similar bill in  the House.


6/11/02, Roll call vote 147: S. 625.   the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA) would have given federal prosecutors more authority to assist state and local authorities with hate crimes, and the Act would have covered hate crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability.  Currently, federal hate crime law covers crimes based on race, national origin, and religion.  60 votes were required to close debate.  In a 54 to 43 vote, the Senate declined to close debate, blocking consideration of the bill.   

YEAs --- 54
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Breaux (D-LA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carnahan (D-MO)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Cleland (D-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Edwards (D-NC)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (D-FL)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hollings (D-SC)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Miller (D-GA)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Torricelli (D-NJ)
Wellstone (D-MN)
Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs --- 43
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Bennett (R-UT)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Campbell (R-CO)
Cochran (R-MS)
Craig (R-ID)
Daschle (D-SD)*
DeWine (R-OH)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Fitzgerald (R-IL)
Frist (R-TN)
Gramm (R-TX)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchinson (R-AR)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nickles (R-OK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-NH)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thompson (R-TN)
Thurmond (R-SC)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

Not Voting --- 3
Bond (R-MO)
Crapo (R-ID)
Helms (R-NC)

* Senator Daschle (D-SD) changed his vote to NO as they were closing the count as procedural vote to ensure he could at a later time ask for a motion for further consideration.

4/24/02 Dallas Morning News: Non-binding resolution instructs House conferees to accept a Senate passed food stamp restoration that would help an estimated 400,000 legal immigrants.  
    The Senate proposal would cost $2.5 billion over 10 years, would help immigrants who can prove they have worked for 4 years, refugees and asylum seekers, legal immigrant children and the disabled.  
    The Bush Administration proposal would cost $2.1 billion and assist 363,000 immigrants who have lived here at least 5 years.  
    All eight House Republican conferees had voted for Rep. Robert Goodlatte's (R-VA) plan to require immigrants to prove they have worked at least 5 years to gain 2 years of food stamp eligibility.  The Food Research and Action Center, a group that fights hunger, estimates that plan would cost $450 million, helping far fewer people than either the Senate or White House plans.
Final Vote Results for Roll Call 106, April 23, 2002
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)
H R 2646 YEA-AND-NAY 23-APR-2002 7:16 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Instruct Conferees
BILL TITLE: Farm Security Act

 

YEAS

NAYS

PRES

NV

REPUBLICAN

47

165

 

9

DEMOCRATIC

196

5

 

10

INDEPENDENT

1

1

 

 

TOTALS

244

171

 

19

--- YEAS 244 ---


Abercrombie

Harman

Oberstar

Ackerman

Hastings (FL)

Obey

Allen

Hill

Olver

Andrews

Hilliard

Ortiz

Baca

Hinchey

Osborne

Baird

Hinojosa

Ose

Baldacci

Hoeffel

Owens

Baldwin

Holden

Pallone

Barcia

Holt

Pascrell

Barrett

Honda

Pastor

Becerra

Hooley

Payne

Bentsen

Horn

Pelosi

Berkley

Hoyer

Peterson (MN)

Berman

Hulshof

Phelps

Berry

Inslee

Pomeroy

Biggert

Israel

Price (NC)

Bishop

Jackson (IL)

Quinn

Blumenauer

Jackson-Lee (TX)

Rahall

Boehlert

Jefferson

Ramstad

Bono

John

Rangel

Borski

Johnson (CT)

Reyes

Boswell

Johnson (IL)

Rivers

Boucher

Johnson, E. B.

Roemer

Boyd

Jones (OH)

Ros-Lehtinen

Brady (PA)

Kanjorski

Ross

Brown (FL)

Kaptur

Rothman

Brown (OH)

Kelly

Roybal-Allard

Capps

Kennedy (RI)

Rush

Capuano

Kildee

Sabo

Cardin

Kind (WI)

Sanchez

Carson (IN)

King (NY)

Sanders

Carson (OK)

Kirk

Sandlin

Castle

Kleczka

Sawyer

Clay

Kolbe

Schakowsky

Clayton

Kucinich

Schiff

Clement

LaFalce

Scott

Clyburn

Lampson

Serrano

Conyers

Langevin

Shaw

Costello

Lantos

Shays

Coyne

Larsen (WA)

Sherman

Crowley

Larson (CT)

Sherwood

Cummings

Latham

Simmons

Davis (CA)

Leach

Skeen

Davis (FL)

Lee

Skelton

Davis (IL)

Levin

Slaughter

Davis, Tom

Lewis (CA)

Smith (NJ)

DeFazio

Lewis (GA)

Snyder

Delahunt

Lipinski

Solis

DeLauro

LoBiondo

Souder

Deutsch

Lofgren

Stark

Diaz-Balart

Lowey

Stenholm

Dicks

Luther

Strickland

Dingell

Lynch

Stupak

Doggett

Maloney (CT)

Sweeney

Dooley

Maloney (NY)

Tanner

Doyle

Markey

Tauscher

Dreier

Mascara

Thompson (CA)

Edwards

Matheson

Thompson (MS)

Ehlers

Matsui

Thune

Engel

McCarthy (MO)

Thurman

Eshoo

McCarthy (NY)

Tiahrt

Etheridge

McCollum

Tierney

Evans

McDermott

Towns

Farr

McGovern

Turner

Fattah

McHugh

Udall (CO)

Ferguson

McKinney

Udall (NM)

Filner

McNulty

Velazquez

Foley

Meehan

Visclosky

Ford

Meek (FL)

Walsh

Frank

Menendez

Waters

Frost

Millender-McDonald

Watson (CA)

Gekas

Miller, George

Watt (NC)

Gephardt

Mink

Waxman

Gillmor

Mollohan

Weiner

Gilman

Moore

Weller

Gonzalez

Moran (KS)

Wexler

Gordon

Moran (VA)

Wilson (NM)

Green (TX)

Morella

Woolsey

Grucci

Murtha

Wu

Gutierrez

Nadler

Wynn

Hall (OH)

Napolitano

 

Hall (TX)

Neal

 

--- NAYS 171 ---


Aderholt

Goode

Peterson (PA)

Akin

Goodlatte

Petri

Armey

Goss

Pickering

Bachus

Graham

Pitts

Baker

Granger

Platts

Ballenger

Graves

Pombo

Barr

Green (WI)

Portman

Bartlett

Greenwood

Putnam

Barton

Gutknecht

Regula

Bass

Hansen

Rehberg

Bereuter

Hart

Reynolds

Bilirakis

Hastings (WA)

Rogers (KY)

Blunt

Hayes

Rogers (MI)

Boehner

Hayworth

Rohrabacher

Bonilla

Hefley

Roukema

Boozman

Herger

Royce

Brady (TX)

Hilleary

Ryan (WI)

Brown (SC)

Hobson

Ryun (KS)

Bryant

Hoekstra

Saxton

Burr

Hostettler

Schaffer

Burton

Hunter

Schrock

Buyer

Hyde

Sensenbrenner

Callahan

Isakson

Sessions

Calvert

Issa

Shadegg

Camp

Istook

Shimkus

Cannon

Jenkins

Shows

Cantor

Johnson, Sam

Shuster

Capito

Jones (NC)

Simpson

Chabot

Keller

Smith (MI)

Chambliss

Kennedy (MN)

Smith (TX)

Coble

Kerns

Stearns

Collins

Kingston

Stump

Combest

Knollenberg

Sullivan

Cooksey

LaHood

Sununu

Cox

Lewis (KY)

Tancredo

Cramer

Linder

Tauzin

Crenshaw

Lucas (KY)

Taylor (MS)

Cubin

Lucas (OK)

Taylor (NC)

Culberson

Manzullo

Terry

Cunningham

McCrery

Thomas

Davis, Jo Ann

McInnis

Thornberry

Deal

McIntyre

Tiberi

DeLay

McKeon

Toomey

DeMint

Mica

Upton

Doolittle

Miller, Dan

Vitter

Duncan

Miller, Gary

Walden

Dunn

Miller, Jeff

Wamp

Ehrlich

Myrick

Watkins (OK)

English

Nethercutt

Watts (OK)

Everett

Ney

Weldon (FL)

Flake

Northup

Weldon (PA)

Fletcher

Norwood

Whitfield

Forbes

Nussle

Wicker

Fossella

Otter

Wilson (SC)

Frelinghuysen

Oxley

Wolf

Gallegly

Paul

Young (AK)

Gibbons

Pence

Young (FL)

--- NOT VOTING 19 ---


Blagojevich

Gilchrest

Riley

Bonior

Houghton

Rodriguez

Condit

Kilpatrick

Smith (WA)

Crane

LaTourette

Spratt

DeGette

Meeks (NY)

Traficant

Emerson

Pryce (OH)

 

Ganske

Radanovich

 



4/11/02 Wall Street Journal: "Farm Bill Talks Meet Roadblock in House GOP Food-Stamp Vote," 
On an 8-6 party-line vote, House GOP members of the conference committee rejected President Bush's request to restore food-stamp benefits for hundreds of thousands of legal aliens cut from the rolls when welfare rules were altered in 1996.
Larry Combest (R-TX)
John Boehner (R-OH)
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA.)
Richard Pombo (R-CA)
Terry Everett (R-AL)
Frank Lucas (R-OK)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Jerry Moran (R-KS)

Charlie Stenholm (D-TX)
Gary Condit (D-CA)
Collin Peterson (D-MN)
Cal Dooley (D-CA)
Eva Clayton (D-NC)
Tim Holden (D-PA).

The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA), S.625, previously known as the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was introduced in the Senate on March 27, 2001.  Sponsors:
Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. BAYH, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BREAUX, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CARNAHAN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CLELAND, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. DODD, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. EDWARDS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KERRY, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LEVIN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. MILLER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. REED, Mr. REID, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TORRICELLI, and Mr. WELLSTONE)

The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA), H.R. 1343, previously known as the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was introduced in the House on April 3, 2001.  Sponsors:
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. FRANK, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. SHAYS, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. NADLER, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. WEINER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BACA, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. BENTSEN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CLAY, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COYNE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORD, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. FROST, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. HORN, Mr. HOYER, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KIND, Mr. KIRK, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LEACH, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LUTHER, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MATSUI, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. MOORE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. QUINN, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. REYES, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SABO, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. SAWYER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SIMMONS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SNYDER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. STARK, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Ms. VELAZQUEZ, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. WALSH, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, and Mr. WYNN) 


Congressman John Cooksey (R-LA)

On or about 9/21/01: "If I see someone (who) comes in that's got a diaper on his head and a fan belt wrapped around the diaper on his head, that guy needs to be pulled over," said Congressman John Cooksey, a Republican member from Louisiana who sits on the International Relations Subcommittee for the Middle East and South Asia. Link to full story:
http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?StoryID=24605
    In this time of national sorrow, we need national unity. Congress and the administration have demonstrated leadership by delivering a message of tolerance towards others, that scapegoating will not be permitted - but now we hear a voice from our political leadership who is tearing the fabric of our society.
   Do not let his ignorant message fuel others' bigotry!
    We continue to hear reports about Sikhs who are harassed and murdered. The DoJ has a growing list of hate crime cases from this past week. We've already had too much violence and hate.
    ACT NOW
CALL: Congressman John Cooksey's Office at 202-225-8490
FAX: 202-225-5639
WRITE: 113 Cannon House Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20515
WEB: http://www.house.gov/cooksey/
MESSAGE:
    His intolerant comments reflect not just ignorance but also religious bigotry. In this time when our nation -- a land of immigrants is suffering, he should be encouraging us to come together, not calling for the erosion of our civil rights and liberties and providing license for hate-motivated violence.
BACKGROUND:
    Louisiana Rep. John Cooksey advocates that racial profiling should be employed, and he is pushing for this in the upcoming counter terrorism legislation. Please take 5 minutes today and call his office to express outrage over his bigoted remarks. His staff is apologizing over the phone but he has not issued a public apology.


According to an August 13, 2001 e-mail from Gem P. Daus, Legislative and Governmental Affairs Coordinator of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, the following supported funding for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and co-signed a letter from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

David Wu (D- Oregon)
 Chairman, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Michael Honda (D-California) 
 Vice Chairman, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Daniel Inouye, U.S. Senator (D-Hawaii) 
Daniel Akaka, U.S. Senator (D-Hawaii) 
Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) 
Robert Underwood (D-Guam) 

California: 
Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA)
Bob Filner (D-CA)
Tom Lantos (D-CA)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Robert Matsui (D-CA)
Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA)
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Hilda Solis Fortney (D-CA)
Pete Stark (D-CA)

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) 
Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii) 
Constance Morella (R-Maryland) 
Shelley Berkley (D-Nevada) 
Rush D. Holt (D-New Jersey) 
Nydia M. Velazquez (D-New York) 
Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) 
Robert C. Scott (D-Virginia) 
Jim McDermott (D-Washington) 


7/23/01 Associated Press: "Senator Taps Own Money To Pay Asian Community Liaison Salary,"
    Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN) is using $28,000 from his personal funds to pay the salary of Seng Vang, a staffer who can't be paid with federal funds because she's not a U.S. citizen.  Vang, 21, a a Laotian citizen and member of the Hmong ethnic group, is the office's connection to Minnesota's Asian community. The state is home to an estimated 60,000 Hmong.
    ''Once she becomes a U.S. citizen, she will be added to the Senate payroll,'' said Dayton spokesman Marc Kimball, adding that Vang has applied for citizenship.
    ''Because she's a young, talented person and a tremendous asset to Minnesota's rapidly growing Asian community, we have made this temporary arrangement, because we didn't want to lose her and her talent,'' Kimball said. Vang declined to be interviewed for this story.
    Federal funds can't be used to pay non-citizens unless they fall into one of several exceptions, which Vang does not meet.

June 2001: U.S. senator Dianne Feinstein (D) delivers a Senate floor 
speech warning of "The Growing Web of Suspicion of Asian Americans," 
citing the affronts to Wu, Fong, and Chao and calling for top-down leadership 
in confronting Asian stereotyping: "How can we question the loyalty of any 
American because of his or her race or ethnic background? To put it simply, 
this is un-American and must be stopped...We must redouble our efforts to eliminate racial stereotypes that strike at the heart of American values and 
shame us all."

May 22, 2001 Gannett News Service: "2nd chance for immigrants? House OKs bill to extend time, "
    Thousands of illegal immigrants who missed the April 30 deadline to file for legal residency without having to leave the country likely will get a second chance to apply. But a new deadline remains a topic of debate in Congress.
    Late Monday, the House approved a bill to extend the deadline four months, with the new deadline dependent on when a final measure is signed into law.
    "This is a compassionate compromise to a contentious issue," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis, a co-sponsor of the bill introduced by Rep. George Gekas, R-Pa.    
    The measure now goes to the Senate where Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., has gathered 20 co-sponsors of his bill to extend the deadline a full year to April 30, 2002.  
    Hagel said he has met with White House officials who, he said, indicated they favor a minimum six-month extension.
    The bickering over a new deadline stems from a bill signed into law by then-President Clinton in December.  It temporarily allowed certain illegal immigrants to apply for permanent residency without having to leave the country. Clinton and Congress set an April 30 deadline to apply.
    Before passage of the law, immigrants had to return to their native country to await a decision by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which often took years.
    Just days after the deadline expired, President Bush asked Congress to extend it. Bush said the INS had given thousands of immigrants too little time to complete the process because it did not issue application rules until March 26.

Section 245(i) Extension Act of 2001, H.R. 1885 IH, May 21, 2001. Roll call vote no. 127: yeas 336, nays 43, not voting 53:
                                        YEAS: 336
    Ackerman, Akin, Allen, Andrews, Armey
    Baca, Baird, Baldacci, Baldwin, Barcia, Barrett, Barton, Bass, Becerra, Bentsen, Berman, Berry, Biggert, Bilirakis, Bishop, Blagojevich, Blunt, Boehlert, Boehner, Bonilla, Bonior, Bono, Borski, Boswell, Boucher, Boyd, Brady (PA), Brady (TX), Brown (FL), Brown (OH), Brown (SC), Bryant, Burr, Buyer
    Callahan, Calvert, Camp, Cannon, Cantor, Capito, Capps, Capuano, Cardin, Carson (IN), Carson (OK), Castle, Chabot, Clayton, Clement, Clyburn, Collins, Condit, Conyers, Cooksey, Costello, Cramer, Crane, Crenshaw, Crowley, Cummings, Cunningham
    Davis (CA), Davis (FL), Davis (IL), Davis, Jo Ann, Davis, Tom, DeFazio, DeGette, Delahunt, DeLauro, DeLay, DeMint, Deutsch, Diaz-Balart, Dicks, Dingell, Doggett, Dooley, Doolittle, Doyle, Dreier, Dunn
    Edwards, Ehlers, Ehrlich, Engel, English, Eshoo, Etheridge, Evans
    Farr, Fattah, Ferguson, Filner, Flake, Fletcher, Foley, Ford, Frank, Frelinghuysen, Frost
    Gallegly, Gekas, Gephardt, Gibbons, Gilchrest, Gillmor, Gilman, Gonzalez, Goss, Graham, Granger, Green (TX), Green (WI), Greenwood, Grucci, Gutierrez
    Hall (OH), Hall (TX), Harman, Hastings (FL), Hastings (WA), Hayworth, Hilliard, Hinojosa, Hoeffel, Hoekstra, Holden, Holt, Honda, Hooley, Horn, Houghton, Hoyer, Hutchinson, Hyde
    Inslee, Isakson, Israel, Issa, Istook
    Jackson (IL), Jackson-Lee (TX), Jefferson, Jenkins, John, Johnson (CT), Johnson (IL), Johnson, E. B., Jones (OH)
    Kanjorski, Kaptur, Keller, Kennedy (MN), Kennedy (RI), Kildee, Kilpatrick, Kind (WI), King, (NY), Kirk, Kleczka, Knollenberg, Kolbe, Kucinich
    LaFalce, LaHood, Lampson, Langevin, Larsen (WA), Larson (CT), Latham, LaTourette, Leach, Lee, Lewis (CA), Lewis (KY), Linder, Lipinski, Lofgren, Lowey, Lucas (KY), Lucas (OK), Luther
    Maloney (CT), Maloney (NY), Manzullo, Markey, Mascara, Matheson, Matsui, McCarthy (MO), McCarthy (NY), McCollum, McCrery, McDermott, McGovern, McHugh, McInnis, McIntyre, McKeon, McKinney, McNulty, Meehan, Meek (FL), Meeks (NY), Menendez, Millender-McDonald, Miller (FL), Miller, Gary, Miller, George, Mink, Moore, Moran (KS), Moran (VA), Morella, Murtha, Myrick
    Nadler, Napolitano, Northup, Nussle
    Oberstar, Obey, Olver, Ortiz, Osborne, Ose, Otter, Oxley
    Pallone, Pastor, Paul, Payne, Pelosi, Pence, Peterson (MN), Petri, Pickering, Pitts, Platts, Pombo, Pomeroy, Portman, Price (NC), Pryce (OH)
    Quinn
    Radanovich, Ramstad, Rangel, Regula, Rehberg, Reyes, Reynolds, Rivers, Rodriguez, Roemer, Rogers (MI), Ros-Lehtinen, Ross, Rothman, Roybal-Allard, Rush, Ryan (WI), Ryun (KS)
    Sabo, Sandlin, Sawyer, Schakowsky, Schiff, Schrock, Scott, Sensenbrenner, Serrano, Shadegg, Shaw, Shays, Sherman, Sherwood, Shimkus, Shows, Shuster, Simmons, Skeen, Skelton, Slaughter, Smith (MI), Smith (NJ), Smith (TX), Smith (WA), Snyder, Solis, Souder, Spratt, Stark, Stenholm, Stupak, Sununu
    Tanner, Tauscher, Tauzin, Terry, Thomas, Thompson (CA), Thompson (MS), Thornberry, Thurman, Tiahrt, Tierney, Traficant, Turner
    Udall (CO), Udall (NM), Upton
    Velazquez, Vitter
    Walden, Walsh, Watkins, Watt (NC), Weldon (PA), Weller, Wexler, Whitfield, Wicker, Wilson, Wolf , Woolsey, Wu, Wynn
    Young (AK), Young (FL)
                                        NAYS--43
Aderholt
Bachus, Baker, Ballenger, Bartlett, Bereuter, Burton
Chambliss, Coble, Combest, Culberson
Deal, Duncan
Everett
Goode, Goodlatte, Graves, Gutknecht
Hayes, Hefley, Herger, Hunter
Johnson, Sam, Jones (NC)
Kerns
LoBiondo
Mica
Nethercutt, Norwood
Putnam
Rohrabacher, Roukema, Royce
Saxton, Schaffer, Sessions, Spence, Stearns, Stump
Tancredo, Taylor (MS)
Visclosky
Weldon (FL)
                                        NOT VOTING--53
Abercrombie
Barr, Berkley, Blumenauer
Clay, Cox, Coyne, Cubin
Emerson
Fossella
Ganske, Gordon
Hansen, Hart, Hill, Hilleary, Hinchey, Hobson, Hostettler, Hulshof
Kelly, Kingston
Lantos, Largent, Levin, Lewis (GA)
Moakley, Mollohan
Neal, Ney
Owens
Pascrell, Peterson (PA), Phelps
Rahall, Riley, Rogers (KY)
Sanchez, Sanders, Scarborough, Simpson, Strickland, Sweeney
Taylor (NC), Thune, Tiberi, Toomey, Towns
Wamp, Waters, Watts (OK), Waxman, Weiner
Ms. Schakowky and Mrs. Jones of Ohio changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.


    See "A New China Crisis": Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) chaired a hearing before the House International Relations Committee about Communist China's imprisonment of Americans.  Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) introduced a bill in the House calling on the president to send a special envoy to Beijing immediately to "reiterate deep concern." 


4/19/01 Sacramento Bee: "Racial Policy at UC targeted: Cruz Bustamante says he'll ask regents to overturn the racial preferences ban,"
    Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante said he will push for University of California regents to vote on a repeal of the system's controversial ban on using racial preferences in admissions at its May meeting.  If the regents were to eliminate the policy, the UC still would be bound by Proposition 209, the state's prohibition of affirmative action.  But without the policy, known as SP 1, campuses would no longer be required to comply with rules that require 50% to 75% of students to be admitted solely based on grades and SAT scores.  Since the regents passed SP 1, the number of African American, Latino and American Indian students enrolled at a UC have declined. At UC Berkeley they have declined 45%.

3/27/01 Reuters: "Lawmakers Renew Push for Hate-Crimes Measure," Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced hate crime legislation which would give the U.S. Justice Department jurisdiction over crimes of violence motivated by sexual orientation, gender or disability. Current law only covers hate crimes based on race, religion and national origin. In addition to strengthening federal hate crime laws, the legislation would provide financial assistance and federal expertise to state and local authorities investigating hate crime cases and provide training assistance to local authorities. More than 50,000 hate crimes have been reported over the last five years. In the House, supporters said they should be able to garner the votes for passage, but conceded it would prove difficult overcoming opposition from Republican congressional leaders, who blocked a similar measure last year. During the presidential campaign, President Bush backed a narrower version of the legislation sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that critics say would not protect gays and lesbians. Republican opponents questioned whether the legislation was needed, asserting that current law was adequate in most cases and that an expansion would tread on state prerogatives.

On March 8, 2001, Rep. Bob Stump (R-AZ) introduced H.R. 969, which seeks to "provide that Executive Order 13166 shall have no force or effect, and to prohibit the use of funds for certain purposes."  It includes a provision that prohibits Federal funds from being used to "promulgate or enforce any executive order that creates an entitlement to services provided in any language other than English."  

Dan Lundgren, Republican candidate for governor of California in 1998, opposed giving reparations to Japanese-Americans interned during World War II.  "Vietnamese Jumping GOP's Ship.  Politics: Party registration now almost even in Orange County's formerly conservative immigrant community," 12/24/00 Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com) 
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/natpol/20001224/t000122637.html  

Dec. 25, 2000: In their native Laos, Hmong guerrillas fought a losing war against communism, battling North Vietnamese troops along the Ho Chi
Minh Trail while rescuing downed American pilots. After their defeat in 1975, more than 100,000 Hmong tribesmen became refugees in the United States. About 2,000 live in Orange County. 
    "Their service during the Vietnam War probably saved thousands
of American lives," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, who co-sponsored a new law that allows Hmong war veterans to become U.S. citizens without taking a required English language exam. "They provided such extraordinary service at such a high cost that they should be extended a special privilege."
"Justice moves a little closer for the Hmong.  Immigration: U.S. citizenship is now within reach, and police are on the trail of a woman
accused of scamming them," 12/25/00 Orange County Register (www.ocregister.com) http://www.ocregister.com/community/crimecourts/hmong01224cci.shtml 

June 23, 2000: Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-Ca) introduced the Wartime Parity and Justice Act of 2000 to provide redress to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were abducted by the U.S. from Latin American countries and interned in the U.S. during World War II.  The U.S. abducted over 2,200 individuals of Japanese ancestry living in Latin American countries and imprisoned them in internment camps during the war. When the war ended, many were denied re-entry to their Latin home countries. The U.S. declared them "illegal aliens" and deported many of them against their will to Japan.  A few hundred eventually were allowed to remain in the U.S.

June 20, 2000.  The Senate voted  57 to 42 to strengthen federal hate-crime law by extending protections to include violence based on gender, sexual orientation and disabilities.  The proposal was sponsored by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore.).  The current hate crimes law covers only crimes involving race, color, religion or national origin.  The Kennedy-Smith proposal would drop a current restriction limiting federal intervention to cases where victims are engaged in federally protected activities, such as voting, serving on a jury or attending school.  Advocates of the new measure argued that these restrictions make it difficult to prosecute under the existing law and exclude many serious hate crimes.  In addition, the proposal would provide federal assistance for state and local authorities in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes, along with training grants to help local authorities deal with hate crimes.  The Senate approved similar legislation as part of an appropriations bill last year, only to see it die in conference with the House. 
    Rollcall Vote No. 136 Leg.  Amendment No. 3473 to the  National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001; Congressional Record, June 20, 2000, Page S5410-S5435. 
    YEAS--57
Akaka, Daniel (D - HI) 
Baucus, Max (D - MT), Bayh, Evan (D - IN), Biden Jr, Joseph (D - DE),
Bingaman, Jeff (D - NM), Boxer, Barbara (D - CA), Breaux, John (D - LA), Bryan, Richard (D - NV), Burns, Conrad (R - MT) 
Chafee, Lincoln (R - RI), Cleland, Max (D - GA), Collins, Susan (R - ME) 
Conrad, Kent (D - ND) 
Daschle, Thomas (D - SD), DeWine, Mike (R - OH), Dodd, Christopher (D - CT), Dorgan, Byron (D - ND), Durbin, Richard (D - IL) 
Edwards, John (D - NC) 
Feingold, Russell (D - WI), Feinstein, Dianne (D - CA) 
Graham, Bob (D - FL) 
Harkin, Tom (D - IA), Hollings, Ernest (D - SC) 
Inouye, Daniel (D - HI) 
Jeffords, James (R - VT), Johnson, Tim (D - SD) 
Kennedy, Edward (D - MA), Kerrey, Robert (D - NE), Kerry, John (D - MA), Kohl, Herb (D - WI) 
Landrieu, Mary (D - LA), Lautenberg, Frank (D - NJ), Leahy, Patrick (D - VT), Levin, Carl (D - MI), Lieberman, Joseph (D - CT), Lincoln, Blanche (D - AR), Lugar, Richard (R - IN) 
Mack, Connie (R - FL), Mikulski, Barbara (D - MD), Moynihan, Daniel (D - NY), Murray, Patty (D - WA) 
Reed, Jack (D - RI), Reid, Harry (D - NV), Robb, Charles (D - VA), 
Rockefeller IV, John (D - WV), Roth Jr, William (R - DE) 
Sarbanes, Paul (D - MD), Schumer, Charles (D - NY), Smith, Gordon (R - OR), Snowe, Olympia (R - ME), Specter, Arlen (R - PA), Stevens, Ted (R - AK) 
Torricelli, Robert (D - NJ) 
Voinovich, George (R - OH) 
Wellstone, Paul (D - MN), Wyden, Ron (D - OR) 
    NAYS--42
Abraham, Spencer (R - MI), Allard, Wayne (R - CO), Ashcroft, John (R - MO) 
Bennett, Robert (R - UT), Bond, Christopher (R - MO), Brownback, Sam (R - KS), Bunning, Jim (R - KY), Byrd, Robert (D - WV) 
Campbell, Ben Nighthorse (R - CO), Cochran, Thad (R - MS), Coverdell, Paul (R - GA), Craig, Larry (R - ID), Crapo, Mike (R - ID) 
Domenici, Pete (R - NM) 
Enzi, Mike (R - WY) 
Fitzgerald, Peter (R - IL), Frist, William (R - TN) 
Gorton, Slade (R - WA), Gramm, Phil (R - TX), Grams, Rod (R - MN), Grassley, Chuck (R - IA), Gregg, Judd (R - NH) 
Hagel, Charles (R - NE), Hatch, Orrin (R - UT), Helms, Jesse (R - NC),
Hutchinson, Tim (R - AR), Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R - TX) 
Kyl, Jon (R - AZ) 
Lott, Trent (R - MS) 
McCain, John (R - AZ), McConnell, Mitch (R - KY), Murkowski, Frank (R - AK) 
Nickles, Don (R - OK) 
Roberts, Pat (R - KS) 
Santorum, Rick (R - PA), Sessions, Jeff (R - AL), Shelby, Richard (R - AL), Smith, Bob (R - NH) 
Thomas, Craig (R - WY), Thompson, Fred (R - TN), Thurmond, Strom (R - SC) 
Warner, John (R - VA) 
    NOT VOTING -  Inhofe, James (R - OK) 

Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act, H.R. 371 and S. 890.  Eases U.S. citizenship requirements for up to 45,000 Hmong veterans, their widows and spouses.  Recompensed the Hmong who allied themselves with U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.  50,000 Hmong live in the Central Valley of California and 60,000 in Minnesota.
House passed on voice vote? on 5/2/00
Senate passed with voice vote on 5/18/00
Representative Bruce Vento
Senator Wellstone (D-MN) co-sponsor
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Grams (MN)
Herb Kohl (WI)
Grassley
Hagel
McCain (R-AZ)
House co-sponsors: 
Mr. ABERCROMBIE, 
Mr. BACHUS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. BONIOR, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BORSKI, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. BURTON of Indiana
Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, 
Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. DOOLEY of California 
Mr. ENGLISH, 
Mr. FORBES, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FROST, 
Mr. GEKAS, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GUTIERREZ
Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HORN, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. HYDE, 
Mr. INSLEE, Mr. ISAKSON, 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, 
Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KIND of Wisconsin, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. Kuykendall, 
Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEACH, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, Mr. LUTHER, 
Mr. MATSUI, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNULTY, 
Mr. MEEHAN, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MINGE, Mrs. MINK of Hawai, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. MYRICK, 
Mr. NADLER, 
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OBEY, Mr. OLVER
Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. PETRI, Mr. PITTS, Mr. POMBO, 
Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. ROGAN, Mr. ROHRABACHER
Mr. SABO, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. SHAYS, 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOUDER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SWEENEY, 
Mr. TALENT, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. TIAHRT, 
Mr. UNDERWOOD, 
Ms. WATERS, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WEYGAND, Mr. WOLF, Ms. WOOLSEY, 

January 25, 2000: Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) threatened to derail the confirmation of all pending Federal judicial nominees if President Clinton, during a Congressional recess, re-appointed Bill Lann Lee as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

S.622.IS, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999, passed unanimously by the Senate, but House Republicans killed it in committee.  Current law covers crimes motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, or national origin, and the federal government can prosecute if the victim was on federal property or engaged in a federally protected activity such as going to school.  The proposed law included people victimized because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability, and covered any incident related to interstate commerce, such as use of a gun made in another state.  7/23/99 Dallas Morning News, p. 14A, 8/10/99 DMN, p. 15A, 1/16/00 DMN, p. 8A.
    Co-Sponsors of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999  Sponsor: Sen Kennedy, Edward M. (introduced 03/16/99)
Co-Sponsors (37):
Sen Akaka, Daniel K.
Sen Biden, Joseph R., Jr., Sen Bingaman, Jeff, Sen Boxer, Barbara, 
Sen Bryan, Richard
Sen Chafee, John H., Sen Cleland, Max
Sen Daschle, Thomas, Sen Dodd, Christopher J., Sen Durbin, Richard
Sen Feinstein, Dianne
Sen Graham, Bob
Sen Harkin, Tom
Sen Inouye, Daniel K.
Sen Jeffords, James, Sen Johnson, Tim, 
Sen Kerrey, J. Robert, Sen Kerry, John F.
Sen Landrieu, Mary, Sen Lautenberg, Frank R., Sen Leahy, Patrick J, Sen Levin, Carl, Sen Lieberman, Joseph I.
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A., Sen Murray, Patty
Sen Reed, Jack, Sen Reid, Harry M., Sen Robb, Charles, Sen Rockefeller, John D., IV
Sen Sarbanes, Paul, Sen Schumer, Charles, Sen Smith, Gordon, Sen Snowe, Olympia, Sen Specter, Arlen
Sen Torricelli, Robert
Sen Wellstone, Paul, Sen Wyden, Ron

A bill to combat hate crimes.  S.1406.  Does not include homosexuals.  Sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R- Utah).  Also passed by voice vote.

In September of 1999, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 417, the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1999.   On Sept. 14, 1999, Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-NE) offered Amendment 453 (H.Amdt.453) that would have prohibited legal permanent residents from making campaign contributions to federal elections.  In Roll Call 414, the House voted 242-181 (10 not voting) in favor of the amendment.  A similar amendment was not added to the Senate bill, which was defeated. 
Ayes (Democrats in italics)
Aderholt Archer Armey
Bachus Baker Baldacci Ballenger Barcia Barr Barrett (NE) Bartlett Barton Bass Bateman Bentsen Bereuter Berkley Biggert Bilbray Bilirakis Bliley Blunt Boehner Bonilla Bono Boswell Boucher Brady (TX) Bryant Burr Buyer
Callahan Calvert Camp Campbell Canady Cannon Chabot Chambliss Chenoweth Clement Coble Coburn Collins Combest Condit Cook Cooksey Costello Cox Cramer Crane Cubin Cunningham
Danner DeLay DeMint Dickey Duncan Dunn
Edwards Emerson English Evans Everett Ewing
Fletcher Fossella Fowler Franks (NJ)
Gallegly Ganske Gekas Gibbons Gillmor Gilman Goode Goodlatte Goodling Gordon Goss Graham Granger Green (TX) Green (WI) Greenwood Gutknecht
Hall (TX) Hansen Hastings (WA) Hayes Hayworth Hefley Herger Hill (MT) Hilleary Hobson Hoekstra Holden Hostettler Hulshof Hunter Hyde
Inslee Isakson Istook
Jenkins John Johnson, Sam Jones (NC)
Kaptur Kasich Kelly Kildee Knollenberg Kolbe Kucinich Kuykendall
LaFalce LaHood Largent Latham LaTourette Leach Lewis (CA) Lewis (KY) Linder Lipinski LoBiondo Lucas (KY) Lucas OK) Luther
Maloney (CT) Manzullo Markey Mascara McCarthy (MO) McCollum McCrery McHugh McInnis McIntosh McIntyre McKeon Metcalf Mica Miller (FL) Miller, Gary Moran (KS) Myrick
Nethercutt Ney Northup Norwood Nussle
Obey Oxley
Packard Paul Pease Peterson (MN) Peterson (PA) Petri Phelps Pickering Pickett Pitts Pomeroy Portman
Radanovich Ramstad Regula Reynolds Riley Roemer Rogan Rogers Rohrabacher Rothman Roukema Royce Ryan (WI) Ryun (KS)
Salmon Sandlin Sanford Saxton Scarborough Schaffer Sensenbrenner Sessions Shadegg Sherman Sherwood Shimkus Shows Shuster Simpson Sisisky Skeen Smith (MI) Smith (NJ) Smith (TX) Smith (WA) Souder Spence Stabenow Stearns Stenholm Strickland Stump Stupak Sununu Sweeney
Tancredo Tauzin Taylor (MS) Taylor (NC) Terry Thomas Thornberry Thune Thurman Tiahrt Toomey Traficant Turner
Upton
Visclosky Vitter
Walden Wamp Watkins Watts (OK) Weldon (FL) Weldon (PA) Weller Whitfield Wicker Wise Wolf
Young (AK)
    Nays
Abercrombie Ackerman Allen Andrews
Baird Baldwin Barrett (WI) Becerra Berman Berry Bishop Blagojevich Blumenauer Boehlert Bonior Borski Boyd Brady (PA) Brown (FL) Brown (OH) Burton
Capps Capuano Cardin Carson Castle Clay Clayton Clyburn Conyers Coyne Crowley Cummings
Davis (FL) Davis (IL) Davis (VA) Deal DeFazio DeGette Delahunt DeLauro Deutsch Diaz-Balart Dicks Dingell Dixon Doggett Dooley Doolittle Doyle Dreier
Ehlers Ehrlich Engel Eshoo Etheridge
Farr Fattah Filner Foley Frank (MA) Frelinghuysen Frost
Gejdenson Gephardt Gilchrest Gonzalez Gutierrez
Hall (OH) Hill (IN) Hilliard Hinchey Hinojosa Hoeffel Holt Hooley Horn Houghton Hoyer Hutchinson
Jackson (IL) Jackson-Lee (TX) Jefferson Johnson (CT) Johnson, E. B., Jones (OH)
Kanjorski Kennedy Kilpatrick Kind (WI) King (NY) Kleczka Klink
Lampson Lantos Larson Lee Levin Lewis (GA) Lofgren Lowey
Maloney (NY) Martinez Matsui McCarthy (NY) McDermott McGovern McKinney McNulty Meehan Meek (FL) Meeks (NY) Menendez Millender-McDonald Miller, George Minge Mink Moakley Mollohan Moore Moran (VA) Morella Murtha
Nadler Napolitano Neal
Oberstar Olver Ortiz Ose Owens
Pallone Pascrell Pastor Payne Pelosi Pombo Price (NC)
Quinn
Rahall Rangel Reyes Rivers Rodriguez Roybal-Allard Rush
Sabo Sanchez Sanders Sawyer Schakowsky Scott Serrano Shays Skelton Slaughter Snyder Spratt Stark
Talent Tanner Tauscher Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Tierney Towns
Udall (CO) Udall (NM)
Velazquez Vento
Walsh Waters Watt (NC) Waxman Weiner Wexler Weygand Wilson Woolsey Wu Wynn
    Not Voting 10
Forbes Ford Hastings (FL) Kingston Lazio Porter Pryce (OH) Shaw Young (FL) Ros-Lehtinen

House Concurrent Resolution 124.  5/27/99.  Spying scandal at Los Alamos should not be used to discriminate against Asian- Americans.  Introduced by David Wu (D-OR) and Tom Campbell (R-CA).  Supported by:
Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)
Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
David Bonior (D-MI)
Christopher Cox (R-CA)
Patsy Mink (D-HI)
Curt Weldon (R-PA)

INS Reorganization and Reform Act of 1999.  Split INS into two agencies, one for law enforcement, one for providing services for legal residents.  Sponsored by
Silvestre Reyes (D-El Paso, TX)
Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio, TX)
Hal Rogers (R -KY)

Senate Judiciary Committee blocks Senate vote on  confirmation of Bill Lann Lee as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.  All Republicans, except Arlen Spector (R-PA), vote against sending Lee's nomination to the full Senate for a vote:
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Chair
Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Mike DeWine (R-OH)
John Ashcroft (R-MO)
Spencer Abraham (R-MI)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Bob Smith (R-NH)
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Ranking Member
Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Russell Feingold (D-WI)
Robert Torricelli (D-NJ)
Charles Schumer (D-NY)

On June 23, 1998, the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Act of 1998 was enacted, including $818 million in food stamps for legal immigrants. The new law restored food stamps to 250,000 of the over 900,000 legal immigrants cut off food stamps in the 1996 welfare reform law.
    Specifically, the bill restored benefits as of November 1, 1998 to refugees and asylees (for their first seven years in the country), Hmong, and cross border Native Americans. It also covered several categories of people who were in the United States on the day the new welfare reform law was passed, August 22, 1996: children under 18, elderly who were over 65, and people who were disabled then or have since become disabled.
    The Clinton Administration had proposed restoration of benefits to 730,000 of the legal immigrants but had to settle for benefits for 250,000 of them due to opposition from conservatives.
    The Senate approved the conference report for bill S.1150 by 92-8 (vote 129, May 12, 1998).  The eight Senators who voted against it:
Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Jesse Helms (R-NC)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Don Nickles (R-OK)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Bob Smith (R-NH)

    The Ayes:

Abraham (MI)

Akaka (HI)

Allard (CO)

Ashcroft (MO)

Baucus (MT)

Bennett (UT)

Biden (DE)

Bingaman (NM)

Bond (MO)

Boxer (CA)

Breaux (LA)

Brownback (KS)

Bryan (NV)

Bumpers (AR)

Burns (MT)

Byrd (WV)

Campbell (CO)

Chafee (RI)

Cleland (GA)

Coats (IN)

Cochran (MS)

Collins (ME)

Conrad (ND)

Coverdell (GA)

Craig (ID)

D'Amato (NY)

Daschle (SD)

DeWine (OH)

Dodd (CT)

Domenici (NM)

Dorgan (ND)

Durbin (IL)

Enzi (WY)

Faircloth (NC)

Feingold (WI)

Feinstein (CA)

Ford (KY)

Frist (TN)

Glenn (OH)

Gorton (WA)

Graham (FL)

Grams (MN)

Grassley (IA)

Hagel (NE)

Harkin (IA)

Hatch (UT)

Hollings (SC)

Hutchinson (AR)

Hutchison (TX)

Inouye (HI)

Jeffords (VT)

Johnson (SD)

Kempthorne (ID)

Kennedy (MA)

Kerrey (NE)

Kerry (MA)

Kohl (WI)

Landrieu (LA)

Lautenberg (NJ)

Leahy (VT)

Levin (MI)

Lieberman (CT)

Lott (MS)

Lugar (IN)

Mack (FL)

McCain (AZ)

McConnell (KY)

Mikulski (MD)

Moseley-Braun (IL)

Moynihan (NY)

Murkowski (AK)

Murray (WA)

Reed (RI)

Reid (NV)

Robb (VA)

Roberts (KS)

Rockefeller (WV)

Roth (DE)

Santorum (PA)

Sarbanes (MD)

Shelby (AL)

Smith (OR)

Snowe (ME)

Specter (PA)

Stevens (AK)

Thomas (WY)

Thompson (TN)

Thurmond (SC)

Torricelli (NJ)

Warner (VA)

Wellstone (MN)

Wyden (OR)

The Senate rejected 77-23 an effort to send the conference report back to conference. (bill S.1150, vote 128, May 12, 1998).  The 23 Senators who voted against the conference report:
Spencer Abraham (R-MI)
Wayne Allard (R-CO)
John Ashcroft (R-MO)
Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Faircloth (NC) (no longer in Senate)
Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Jesse Helms (R-NC)
Ernest Hollings (D-SC)
Tim Hutchinson (R-AR)
Kay Hutchison (R-TX)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Don Nickles (R-OK)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Bob Smith (R-NH)
Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
Fred Thompson (R-TN)
Strom Thurmond (R-SC)

The House approved the Conference Report on S.1150 by 364 to 50 (Roll Call 204, June 4, 1998).  
    YEAS (Democrats in italics)

Abercrombie

Gillmor

Oberstar

Ackerman

Gilman

Obey

Aderholt

Goodling

Olver

Allen

Gordon

Ortiz

Andrews

Graham

Owens

Armey

Granger

Oxley

Bachus

Green

Packard

Baesler

Gutierrez

Pallone

Baker

Gutknecht

Parker

Baldacci

Hall (OH)

Pascrell

Ballenger

Hall (TX)

Pastor

Barcia

Hamilton

Paxon

Barrett (NE)

Hansen

Payne

Barrett (WI)

Hastert

Pease

Becerra

Hastings (FL)

Pelosi

Bentsen

Hastings (WA)

Peterson (MN)

Bereuter

Hayworth

Peterson (PA)

Berman

Hefner

Petri

Berry

Hill

Pickering

Bilbray

Hilleary

Pickett

Bilirakis

Hilliard

Pitts

Bishop

Hinchey

Pombo

Blagojevich

Hinojosa

Pomeroy

Blumenauer

Hobson

Porter

Boehlert

Hoekstra

Portman

Boehner

Holden

Poshard

Bonilla

Hooley

Price (NC)

Bonior

Horn

Quinn

Bono

Houghton

Radanovich

Borski

Hoyer

Rahall

Boswell

Hulshof

Ramstad

Boucher

Hutchinson

Rangel

Boyd

Hyde

Redmond

Brady (PA)

Inglis

Regula

Brown (CA)

Jackson (IL)

Riggs

Brown (FL)

Jackson-Lee (TX)

Riley

Brown (OH)

Jefferson

Rivers

Bryant

Jenkins

Rodriguez

Bunning

John

Roemer

Burton

Johnson (CT)

Rogan

Buyer

Johnson (WI)

Rogers

Callahan

Johnson, E. B.

Rothman

Calvert

Jones

Roybal-Allard

Camp

Kanjorski

Rush

Campbell

Kaptur

Ryun

Canady

Kasich

Sabo

Capps

Kelly

Sanchez

Cardin

Kennedy (MA)

Sanders

Carson

Kennedy (RI)

Sandlin

Castle

Kennelly

Sawyer

Chambliss

Kildee

Schaffer, Bob

Chenoweth

Kilpatrick

Schumer

Christensen

Kim

Scott

Clay

Kind (WI)

Serrano

Clayton

King (NY)

Sessions

Clement

Kleczka

Shaw

Clyburn

Klink

Shays

Coble

Klug

Sherman

Combest

Knollenberg

Shimkus

Condit

Kolbe

Shuster

Conyers

Kucinich

Sisisky

Cook

LaFalce

Skaggs

Cooksey

LaHood

Skeen

Costello

Lampson

Skelton

Cox

Lantos

Slaughter

Coyne

Latham

Smith (MI)

Cramer

LaTourette

Smith (NJ)

Crapo

Lazio

Smith (OR)

Cubin

Leach

Smith (TX)

Cummings

Lee

Smith, Adam

Cunningham

Levin

Smith, Linda

Danner

Lewis (CA)

Snowbarger

Davis (FL)

Lewis (KY)

Snyder

Davis (IL)

Linder

Souder

Davis (VA)

Lipinski

Spence

DeFazio

Livingston

Spratt

DeGette

LoBiondo

Stabenow

Delahunt

Lofgren

Stark

DeLauro

Lowey

Stenholm

Deutsch

Lucas

Stokes

Diaz-Balart

Luther

Strickland

Dickey

Maloney (CT)

Stupak

Dicks

Maloney (NY)

Tanner

Dingell

Manton

Tauscher

Dixon

Markey

Tauzin

Doggett

Mascara

Taylor (NC)

Dooley

Matsui

Thomas

Doyle

McCarthy (MO)

Thompson

Dreier

McCarthy (NY)

Thornberry

Duncan

McCollum

Thune

Dunn

McCrery

Thurman

Edwards

McDermott

Tierney

Ehlers

McGovern

Torres

Ehrlich

McHale

Towns

Emerson

McHugh

Traficant

English

McInnis

Turner

Eshoo

McIntosh

Upton

Etheridge

McIntyre

Velazquez

Evans

McKeon

Vento

Everett

McKinney

Visclosky

Ewing

McNulty

Walsh

Farr

Meehan

Wamp

Fattah

Meek (FL)

Waters

Fawell

Meeks (NY)

Watkins

Fazio

Menendez

Watt (NC)

Filner

Metcalf

Watts (OK)

Foley

Mica

Waxman

Forbes

Millender-McDonald

Weldon (PA)

Ford

Miller (CA)

Weller

Fossella

Minge

Wexler

Fowler

Mink

Weygand

Fox

Moakley

White

Franks (NJ)

Moran (KS)

Whitfield

Frelinghuysen

Morella

Wicker

Frost

Murtha

Wise

Gallegly

Nadler

Wolf

Ganske

Neal

Woolsey

Gejdenson

Nethercutt

Wynn

Gekas

Ney

Young (AK)

Gephardt

Northup

Young (FL)

Gibbons

Norwood

Gilchrest

Nussle

    NAYS:
Bill Archer (R-TX)
Bob Barr (R-GA), Joe Barton (R-TX), Charles Bass (R-NH), Tom Bliley (R-VA), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Kevin Brady (R-TX)
Chris Cannon (R-UT), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Mac Collins (R-GA), Philip Crane (R-IL)
Nathan Deal (R-GA), Tom DeLay (R-TX), John Doolittle (R-CA)
Ensign (out of office)
Virgil Goode, Jr. (D-VA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Porter Goss (R-FL), James Greenwood (R-PA)
Joel Hefley (R-CO), Wally Herger (R-CA), John Hostettler (R-IN), Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Ernest Istook, Jr. (R-OK)
Sam Johnson (R-TX)
Jack Kingston (R-GA)
Steve Largent (R-OK)
Donald Manzullo (R-IL), Dan Miller (R-FL)
Neumann (out of office)
Pappas (out of office), Ron Paul (R-TX)
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Marge Roukema (R-NJ), Edward Royce (R-CA)
Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Marshall Sanford (R-SC), Jim Saxton (R-NJ)
Joe Scarborough (R-FL), Schaefer (out of office), James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI), John Shadegg (R-AZ), Solomon (out of office)
Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Bob Stump (R-AZ), John Sununu (R-NH)
Gene Taylor (D-MS), Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)
Dave Weldon (R-FL)

Roll Call on Act to Cut Off Welfare Benefits for Legal Immigrants, 1996

Justice for Wards Cove Workers Act, H.R. 658, introduced 1/24/95 (104th Congress) by Rep. James McDermott (D-WA).  Referred to committees where it died. 
Co- sponsored by current officeholders:
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)
Rep. Thomas Barrett (D-WI), Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich), Rep. John Bryant (D-TX)
Rep. Dellums
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX)
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)
Rep. Matthew Martinez (D-CA), Rep. Robert Matsui (D-CA), Rep. James McDermott (D-WA), Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Rep. Norman Mineta (D-CA), Rep. Patsy Mink (D-CA), Rep. Constance Morella (R-MD)
Rep. John Olver (D-MA)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Rep. Torricelli (NJ)
Rep. Robert Underwood (Guam)
Rep. Bruce Vento (D- MN)
Rep. Melvin Watt (D-NC), Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) 

Vote to Fund Japanese-American Reparations
101st Congress, 1st Session, Sept 29, 1989, page S-12225 Temp. Record, Vote No. 219
    Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill for FY 1990 . . . H.R. 2991. Hollings motion to waive section 303(a) of the 1974 Budget Act with respect to an excepted committee amendment on page 41, lines 4-10, of the bill.  Motion Agreed to, 74 - 22.  Pertinent votes on this legislation include vote Nos. 218-221, 278, and 280.
    YEAs:
Adams (D)
Bentsen (D), Biden (D), Bingaman (D), Boren (D), Boschwitz (R), Bradley (D), Breaux (D), Bryan (D), Bumpers (D), Burdick (D), Byrd (D)
Chafee (R), Cochran (R), Cohen (R), Cranston (D)
D'Amato (R), Daschle (D), DeConcini (D), Dixon (D), Dodd (D), Dole (R)
Domenici (R), Durenberger (R)
Exon (D)
Ford (D), Fowler (D)
Glenn (D), Gore (D), Gorton (R), Graham (D)
Harkin (D), Hatch (R), Hatfield (R), Heinz (R), Hollings (D)
Inouye (D)
Johnston (D)
Kasten (R), Kennedy (D), Kerrey (D), Kerry (D), Kohl (D)
Lautenberg (D), Leahy (D), Levin (D), Lieberman (D), Lugar (R)
McClure (R), Metzenbaum (D), Mikulski (D), Mitchell (D), Moynihan (D)
Murkowski (R)
Nunn (D)
Packwood (R), Pell (D), Pryor (D)
Reid (D), Riegle (D), Robb (D), Rockefeller (D), Rudman (R)
Sanford (D), Sarbanes (D), Sasser (D), Simon (D), Simpson (R), Specter (R), Stevens (R)
Thurmond (R)
Warner (R), Wilson (R), Wirth (D)
    NAYS:
Baucus (D), Bond (R), Burns (R)
Coats (R), Conrad (D)
Danforth (R)
Garn (R), Grassley (R)
Heflin (D), Helms (R), Humphrey (R)
Kassebaum (R)
Lott (R)
Mack (R), McCain (R), McConnell (R)
Nickles (R)
Pressler (R)
Roth (R)
Shelby (D), Symms (R)
Wallop (R)
    NOT VOTING:
Armstrong (R)
Gramm (R)
Jeffords (R)
Matsunaga (D)
    Those favoring the waiver contended:
    There are times when the Senate must act in light of fiscal reality, but there are also times when the Senate must put fiscal reality aside to meet the imperative of correct action. This is one of those rare times when the Senate should set fiscal reality aside, and support what little our country can do to right a terrible wrong.
    In early 1942, over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent were given notice to settle their accounts and businesses and make provisions for their property, before being bused off to barracks and makeshift camps in distant parts of the United States. History has found no evidence of any activities by these people inimical to the United States. Their only "crime" was their Japanese ancestry. Detained for over three years while their sons and brothers fought valiantly for the United States, these people were crammed into substandard housing behind barbed wire, completely denied their civil rights. Returning home in 1945, they found their houses vandalized, and their land and businesses stolen. For over forty years, the United States preferred to forget the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Last year, though, Congress recognized the error this country made in 1942, and offered what little it could to set things right, in the Civil Liberties Act of 1988--tax free compensation of $20,000 to all surviving internees.
    By establishing a fund to compensate former internees, the Congress decided that compensation would be paid as the budget permitted. The budget deficit, however, gobbled up funds for the compensation program in FY 1989, and again in FY 1990. Given the probability of budget deficits for years to come, this compensation program might never be funded--and many elderly internees may never receive their just recompense. Altering the provisions of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act to make these payments part of an entitlement program will ensure their allocation to all deserving internees.
    The budget procedure is not one to be lightly waived. In this instance, however, given our responsibility for the wrong-headed internment of Japanese Americans in World War II, we urge our colleagues to support the motion to waive the Budget Act.
    Those opposing the waiver contended:
    With great reluctance, we oppose this motion to waive the Budget Act. When the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was considered in committee last year, an amendment was added specifically to make payments under the bill subject to the availability of appropriations. We do not believe that this bill would have been approved had the Senate believed it was creating a new entitlement program, and we do not believe that the Senate should waive the Budget Act and create an entitlement program that, it is estimated, will add $500 million to the FY 1991 deficit.    
    As well, the Congress has already done much to address the financial inconveniences of internment. In 1948, Congress passed the American-Japanese Claims Act, which authorized compensation to Japanese-Americans for losses incurred as a result of internment. Over $37 million was paid out for 26,568 claims. In 1972, Congress amended the Social Security Act so that Japanese-Americans over the age of 18 would be deemed to have earned and contributed to the Social Security system during their detention. Federal civil service retirement provisions were amended in 1978 to allow Japanese-Americans credit for the time they were interned after the age of 18.
    We have already done much to redress the wrongs of internment, and cannot afford an entitlement program to do more. The motion to waive the Budget Act should be defeated.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988, H.R. 442, enacted August 10, 1988, provided for reparations for Japanese-Americans interned during World War II.  Nov. 1989 appropriations bill provided the funds.  In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which offered a governmental apology and $20,000 in redress to more than 81,000 Japanese Americans who were incarcerated or otherwise deprived of civil liberties during the war. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 also included a public education fund to teach the lessons of the internment experience.