I rise today with the great pleasure of recognizing the month of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and honoring the many contributions that Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have made to our great Nation and to my home State of Nevada. I am proud of the role this distinguished chamber played in the designation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. albeit many years too late. On June 19. 1978. some 135 years after the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the United States. Representatives Frank Horton and Norman Mineta introduced a joint resolution "authorizing and requesting the President to proclaim the 7day period beginning on May 4. 1979. as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week"-H.J. Res. 1007. Two months after being passed overwhelmingly by the House. the Senate unanimously approved the joint resolution and promptly sent it to President Jimmy Carter for his signature. In addition to recognizing the onset of Japanese immigration to America. the month of May was selected because May 10. 1869. also known as Golden Spike Day. marked the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. to whose construction Chinese pioneers contributed greatly. Hundreds of miles of this railroad passed through a newly admitted and mostly uninhabited western state that I have called home for my whole life. Without the tireless efforts and tremendous sacrifices of these Asian settlers. the state of Nevada would have remained largely disconnected from the rest of our country for an untold number of years.
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