congress Archives - Page 3 of 3

March 22, 2013

For Immediate Release

Asian Pacific American Women Leaders Hold Majority of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

“A Conversation with AAPI Women of the 113th Congress” Featuring

Representatives Tulsi Gabbard & Grace Meng

Sponsored by AARP

WASHINGTON— The 113th Congress is historic with 97 representatives from multicultural communities and 100 female members. In particular, for Asian American and Pacific Islander women, this is the first time the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is composed of a majority of women. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) an Iraq War veteran, is the first Hindu elected to Congress. Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) is the first Asian American to represent the state of New York.

Reps. Gabbard and Meng shared their experiences as new members of Congress on a panel discussion titled “A Conversation with AAPI Women of the 113th Congress” on Wednesday, March 13 at 6 p.m. Organized by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) and sponsored by AARP, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA.), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Board Member of APAICS opened the discussion and Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP’s State and National Group moderated the panel.

A lively and engaging conversation took place as Reps. Gabbard and Meng discussed their experiences of rising to leadership roles and spoke on broad range of issues affecting the 50+ from work-life balance to financial security.

“AARP is honored to join Congresswoman Chu and APAICS in hosting this conversation that recognizes the remarkable journey, accomplishments and contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander Women,” said Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, AARP’s Executive Vice President for Multicultural Markets & Engagement. “We congratulate Reps. Gabbard and Meng on their recent victories, which increases representation of women from multicultural and multilingual communities, and we look forward to working with them and their colleagues on issues affecting multicultural communities in the coming months.”

“As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s important to acknowledge the tremendous progress that women have made,” said Judy Chu. “The 113th Congress is the most diverse in history, with more women and people of color than ever before. I want to thank APAICS and AARP for hosting such a great event to hear from Congresswomen Grace Meng and Tulsi Gabbard, two pioneers in the Asian Pacific American community who serve as role models for young women everywhere.”

December 19, 2012

NAPABA Mourns the Death of Senator Daniel Inouye

Washington – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) mourns the death of Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the second-longest serving member of the United States Senate and the highest ranking Asian Pacific American in the nation. He was the first Japanese American to serve in Congress and a lifelong champion of civil liberties for all Americans.

Read the full press release here.

November 14, 2012

The Historic Election of Grace Meng as New York’s First Asian American Congresswoman

November 12, 2012 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”)
congratulates Grace Meng on her historic election as New York’s first Asian American Congresswoman.

Grace Meng made history Election Day Tuesday, defeating her Republican challenger Daniel Halloran and long voting lines to win the 6th Congressional District (Central Queens) election and become the first Asian-American to represent New York in Congress. Grace is also the first woman to represent Central Queens in the U.S. Congress since Geraldine Ferraro was elected in 1978. Grace was previously elected to the New York State Assembly to represent Assembly District 22 in November, 2008. Grace was honored by AABANY during its 20th Anniversary Annual Dinner in 2009 and has been a frequent supporter of AABANY events. AABANY President Jean Lee said “AABANY is proud to see the very first Asian American woman elected to Congress from NYS and one of the first two APA women to be elected to Congress on the east side of the Mississippi.”

Election Protection Program: Volunteers Needed

We received the following request for volunteers from the Grace Meng for Congress Campaign:

My name is Michael Fleischman; I am organizing the election protection program for Grace Meng’s campaign for Congress this upcoming Tuesday, June 26. Grace would be the first Asian American elected to Congress on the east coast. We expect to have an influx of first-time voters who may face difficulties at the polls. As you know, this is a civil rights issue.

We are recruiting volunteers to serve as poll watchers on Election Day. We have great needs generally, and the greatest needs during the times that you and other voters are likely not to be working – early morning and evening. The target locations are primarily near Bayside and Elmhurst, and we will providing more guidance to volunteers in the coming days. We want to make sure that everyone who wants to vote and is eligible to vote is indeed able to vote, and we need your help to make sure that happens. Please contact me at [email protected] or 201-993-3323 if you can be of assistance. Thank you very much in advance.

Please respond directly to Michael if you can help. Thank you!

June 19, 2012

LA Times: House Apologizes for Chinese Exclusion Acts

On June 18, the US House of Representatives approved a resolution sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), the first Chinese-American woman elected to Congress, expressing regret for passing discriminatory legislation targeting Chinese immigrants. The resolution expressly stated that nothing in it should be construed as a call for reparations.

“We must finally and formally acknowledge these ugly laws that were incompatible with America’s founding principles,” [stated Rep. Chu.] “By doing so, we will acknowledge that discrimination has no place in our society.”

March 19, 2012

Grace Meng to Run for Congress

Following the re-drawing of Congressional lines by a Federal court earlier this month, Congressman Gary Ackerman announced his retirement last week. Assemblywoman Grace Meng was then tapped by Queens Democratic leaders to run in the newly-created CD6. If elected, Meng will be the first Asian American member of the House of Representatives from New York. With primaries coming up in June, she would need to start campaigning immediately. Congratulations and best wishes to Grace Meng!

March 8, 2012

Times Union Editorial: Shame on you, legislators

As a member of ACCORD, AABANY has been following developments in redistricting. Earlier this week, Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann (EDNY) released Congressional maps in connection with a pending case in Federal court, a little more than a week after being assigned the task. The Times Union editorial has some harsh words to say about the New York state legislature’s inability to draw fair and reasonable lines after working on maps for a year. You can read the full text of the editorial by following the link above. Here’s an excerpt:

THE RIDDLE:

How many legislators does it take to draw fair, nonpartisan maps?

THE ANSWER:

Trick question. They can’t.

It took the state Legislature the better part of a year to come up with new congressional district maps, and then, only with a court breathing down its neck. It took U.S. Magistrate Roanne Mann just eight days to do the same thing — and to do it, by most accounts, much better.

What do you think? Share your comments and reactions here.