The Congressional Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is branching out to welcome House Republicans into a new bipartisan group, a change that reflects the historic diversity of the newly elected Republican class.
Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-Calif., Chairs the group of Asian American members of the House, which currently consists exclusively of Democrats. But the November election of California Republicans Michelle Steel and Young Kim led Chu to find a new way to work at the altar.
“We are going to start a bipartisan API caucus (Asia Pacific Islands),” Chu said on Friday.
ARCHIVE: Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-Calif., Speaks at a press conference at Capitol Hill, Washington. At a House Armed Services hearing on military suicides on Friday, September 9, 2011, Chu testified and, in a dramatic moment, described the death of his nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, 21, who aimed a gun at his head and killed himself while in a trench in Afghanistan after fellow Marines allegedly tricked him one night.
(AP)
Steel and Kim, along with Democrat Marilyn Strickland of Washington, are the first Korean-American women to serve in Congress.
NYPD Arrests Suspicious Who Attacked A Woman In Another Kind Of Violence Against Asian Americans
Chu said he gave new Republicans the choice to join Democrats in the existing CAPAC or form a new bipartisan caucus where they can work on issues of common interest, including increasing violence and prejudice against Americans of Asian origin during the pandemic coronavirus.
“It seems that the API bipartisan caucus can serve our purposes more because there are certain specific things we want to work on together and can lead to more productive conclusions and more productive types of relationships, where we can support each other in these issues and do something” said Chu.
Steel and Kim won in undecided districts in California and are among the most diverse group of freshman Republicans in history. It includes women, veterans, black Americans, Hispanic Americans and first generation immigrants.
OLIVIA MUNN TOLD THE ASIAN MOTHER OF A FRIEND ATTACKED IN NEW YORK CITY
The new additions to Congress forced traditionally Democratic caucus to examine its members, including Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Chu previously said that Republicans would be allowed to enter the Asian-Pacific-American Congress of Congress, but his announcement on Friday means that they have taken a different path with a new bipartisan group.
BUENA PARK, CA – DECEMBER 18: Young Kim, left, and Michelle Steel were elected to the US House of Representatives in November 2020. Kim represents the 39th congressional district and Steel represents the 48th congressional district in California. They were photographed in Buena Park, CA on Friday, December 18, 2020. (Photo by Paul Bersebach / MediaNews Group / Orange County Register via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Chu’s comments were made during a CAPAC press conference on Friday about increasing violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic. House Democrats placed various levels of blame on former President Trump for stirring up anti-Asian sentiment, using terms like “Kung flu” and “China virus”.
“He gave people permission to be openly racist and fanatical, and this is manifested in violence,” Strickland said on Friday of Trump’s words and actions.
AMERICAN ASIANS INFORMED HUNDREDS OF RACIST ACTS IN THE LAST WEEK, DATA SHOWS
Stop AAPI Hate, a group that has been monitoring the rise in incidents against Asian Americans, released a report this month that documented 2,808 first-hand reports of anti-Asian hatred between March 19, 2020 and December 31, 2020. At least 126 of them reports involved the elderly.
CAPAC representatives joined Mayor Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And members of Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus to report hate incidents and appeal to the new Biden Administration Justice Department to meet with the Asian-American community to combat hate crimes.
“For more than a year, our community has been battling two viruses, not just the COVID-19 pandemic, but anti-Asian hate and discrimination,” said Rep. Grace Meng, DN.Y., author of a resolution who approved Casa in September to denounce anti-Asian sentiment.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
“We demand that this xenophobia and violence end immediately,” added Meng.
Steel, R-Calif., This week has circulated its own resolution condemning hate crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. In a letter to her colleagues seeking support for her effort, she cites the recent fatal attack on an 84-year-old Thai immigrant, Vicha Ratanapakdee, in San Francisco.
VIDEO SHOWS SHOCKING ASSAULT THAT LEFT THE MAN OF SAN FRANCISCO 84 YEARS DEAD
“Stories like this are horrible and meaningless,” Steel wrote to his colleagues this week. “Unfortunately, this is one of many cases where Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been targeted. Congress must meet and speak out.”
So far, no Democrats have signed his resolution, Steel’s office said.