Bill Text: TX HR826 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing May 2021 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-05 - Reported enrolled [HR826 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR826-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 826 |
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WHEREAS, May 2021 has been set aside as Asian American and | ||
Pacific Islander Heritage Month to recognize the accomplishments | ||
and wide-ranging contributions of individuals who trace their | ||
ancestry to Asia and the Pacific Islands; and | ||
WHEREAS, Originally established by the United States | ||
Congress as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week, the observance | ||
celebrates the diverse culture, traditions, and history of people | ||
from the Asian continent and the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, | ||
and Polynesia in the Pacific; it was officially expanded into a | ||
monthlong celebration in 1992; and | ||
WHEREAS, The month of May was chosen for this commemorative | ||
period because of two key events in our nation's history; on May 7, | ||
1843, the first Japanese immigrants arrived, and on May 10, 1869, a | ||
workforce largely composed of Chinese laborers completed the | ||
Transcontinental Railroad; and | ||
WHEREAS, According to a 2017 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, | ||
Asian Americans represent approximately 5 percent of the country's | ||
population, while about 1.5 million Americans trace their origins | ||
to Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands; among U.S. | ||
states, Texas has the third-largest Asian American population and | ||
the fourth-largest Pacific Islander population; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 2017, the Pew Research Center released a factual | ||
analysis highlighting the growth and progress of the Asian American | ||
community; the study established Asian Americans as the | ||
fastest-growing of all the major racial or ethnic groups in the | ||
United States in recent years, with a population increase of 72 | ||
percent between 2000 and 2015; the Pew analysis further noted that | ||
the Asian American population as a whole had higher than average | ||
levels of economic well-being and that more than half of Asian | ||
Americans age 25 and older held at least a bachelor's degree; and | ||
WHEREAS, The Lone Star State is home to generations of | ||
Americans who take great pride in their family roots in Asia and the | ||
Pacific Islands, and this annual observance provides a welcome | ||
opportunity to celebrate their significant contributions to the | ||
prosperity and cultural vibrancy of our nation; now, therefore, be | ||
it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby recognize May 2021 as Asian American and Pacific | ||
Islander Heritage Month. | ||
Button | ||
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Wu | ||
Jetton | ||
Paul | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 826 was adopted by the House on April | ||
30, 2021, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||