Congressional Hearings/Resolutions

House passes resolution lauding Indian Americans

House Resolution #352
Passed on May 12, 2004

India Abroad, May 28, 2004
by Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC

For the first time ever, the US House of Representatives passed 415 to 2 a resolution lauding the contribution of Indian Americans.

Similar resolutions have been proposed earlier but have always failed to garner a sufficient number of votes. And though the resolution, also known as a Sense of the Congress Resolution, amounts only to a proclamation of Congress and so does not enjoy the power of law, it has much symbolic value.

Introduced by junior pro-India lawmaker Juanita Millender-McDonald, the proposal was expected to go nowhere. House Congressional Resolution 352 commended the contribution of Indian Americans and the benefits of working with India 'to promote peace, prosperity and freedom'.

Millender-McDonald, an African American democrat who represents California's 37th District, had good reason to make the proposal: she was supported by the Indian community, particularly the Indian American Friendship Council which even held fundraisers on her behalf though she was opposed by an Indian American.

With the IAFC's backing, she clobbered Peter Mathews, who was expected to sweep the Indian American vote. It was also the IAFC that convinced her to join the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

But her resolution may not have gained traction if it had not caught the attention of Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA), a ranking member of the International Relations Committee. Lantos himself had relied on support from the Indian American community to beat Ro Khanna in the primaries and he decided to put all his weight behind the proposal.

Lantos pushed close friends on the other side of the aisle, including Doug Bereuter (NV-R), also a ranking IRC member, and some of the majority GOP leadership in the House to suspend the rules and bring the resolution to the floor. There was a full-fledged debate, wherein much praise was lavished on the Indian American community and India.

Those who voted against the resolution were Sam Johnson and Ron Paul, Republican representatives from Texas. Two other representatives stated simply that they were 'present' while 14 others abstained.

Bereuter later said the resolution was non-controversial and easily approved.

"America is strengthened by ethnic diversity and a climate of achievement and progress," he said.

The resolution noted that 'people of Indian origin, who have for decades immigrated to the United States, have made extraordinary contributions to the United States, helping to make the United States a more efficient and prosperous country.' It praised the 'generations of doctors and nurses, scientists who have helped in defense, space, medical and computational research'. It highlighted their participation in the space shuttle program, 'at great personal sacrifice', a reference to Kalpana Chawla who died in the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003 along with six of her colleagues.

It also asserted that 'people of Indian origin have shared and integrated their rich culture into the fabric of American daily life.'

Lantos thanked Bereuter and other IRC members for helping to bring the resolution to the floor, and showered praise on Millender-McDonald 'for introducing this very important resolution,' describing her as a 'true leader on Indian American issues.'

He said, 'America is a nation of immigrants and is the world's preeminent power because of the diversity of its people and the strength each ethnic group has brought to our nation.'

Lantos, a Hungarian-born Jew and the only Holocaust survivor in Congress said it was hard to think of an ethnic group that made such an enormous contribution.

'Indian Americans have assumed leadership roles, and they have given to the communities in which they live,' he said, adding that his own district had gained from their contribution.

Following Lantos' remarks, the hierarchy of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans led by its founder and co-chair Frank Pallone (NJ-D), and current co-chairs Joseph Crowley (NY-D) and Joe Wilson (SC-R) and several others weighed in echoing Lantos' sentiments.

The only representative who openly expressed doubts about the resolution was Peter DeFazio (OR-D), a member of the India Caucus. DeFazio abstained, saying that while he agreed with the broad message of the resolution and fully endorsed the portion lauding the Indian American community, he felt it presented an unbalanced picture of India-US relations, particularly in view of concerns over outsourcing to India and consequent unemployment in the US.

'While the resolution mentions the export of US goods to India, it fails to acknowledge the rampant export of American jobs to India,' he complained.

'US trade policies including our policy toward India have failed American workers. Around 400,000 service jobs, including 27,000 technology jobs, were siphoned off to India, China and other low-wage havens last year.'