*UPDATED ACTION*
Help Move H. Res. 780
to Final Passage
 We're so close! Let's make it official!
Urge the House leadership to move this bill forward.
It's time to move this through to FINAL PASSAGE.
Numbers and template below.
Photo: Filipino farm workers, Pajaro Valley, near Watsonville, September 1939 Mary Oliver photograph, Pajaro Valley Historical Association.
ACTION: Call House Leadership to Support Fil-Am History Month!
|
|
 Contact House Leaders
Here are staff contacts:
Rep. Edolphus Towns, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Personal Staff
Lars Hydle
202-225-5936
Committee Staff
Bill Jusino
202-225-5051
Rep. Darrell Issa, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Former Co-Chair, U.S./ Philippine Friendship Caucus
Veronica Wong
202-225-3303
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Reva Price, Outreach staff for AAPIs
202-225-0100
|
TIPS for Contacting Your House Leader
|
|
 Identify Yourself: State your name and address in your correspondence. If you are a registered voter, say so upfront. If you represent an organization, figures on how many members are registered voters in the member's district are helpful.
- Do NOT send Postal Mail to Washington, DC: Faxed letters, e-mails and phone calls to Congressmembers' personal offices in Washington, DC are more likely to be received in a timely manner. Mailed letters continue to encounter higher security measures. In general, the more time it takes to send correspondence, the more weight it is given (calls are worth more than e-mails, faxes are worth more than calls).
- Clearly Identify the Bill Number: When writing to your Representatives, be sure to refer to H.Res. 780, Filipino American History Month Resolution.
 In your letter, ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor H.Res. 780, and explain why it is important to you.
- Personal Touch: Congressional offices tend to notice or pay more attention to a letter that is handwritten and or personalized in some way. Thus, to be most effective, try to personalize your letter when possible.
|
::: UPDATED SAMPLE Letter to House Leader :::
|
|
Dear <House Leader>:
I am writing to call on you to support H. Res. 780: Recognizing Filipino American History Month in October. Your support is greatly appreciated by the community. H. Res. 780 now has 52 cosponsors and we urge you and House Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) to move this forward for final passage.
H Res 780 will designate October as Filipino American History Month. It will allow the
contributions of the Filipino American community to history, politics, culture, and the arts to be appropriately recognized and celebrated.
Filipino Americans have contributed to every facet of life in the United States, from defending democracy and our way of life in World War II to the arts and sciences- going back to the arrival of the first Filipinos to Morro Bay, California in 1587 and the first settlement of Filipinos in Louisiana in 1763.
Unfortunately, our history books continue to lack information about our role in areas as diverse as the farm workers movement in the 1950s, to propping up the health care industry in the 1960s and 1970s, even to pop cultural role models such as Lou Diamond Philips and Tia Carrere.
Please feel free to let me know if there’s any further information or help I can provide to your office that would help secure your support. I can be reached at <<Your Number>> by phone or via e-mail at <<your email address>>.
Thank you for your support thus far. I look forward to hearing back from you on this matter.
Sincerely,
<Your name>
|
HRes. 780 Background
|
|
Rep. Filner, Co-Chairman of the U.S.-Philippine Friendship Caucus and Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has been a longstanding ally of the Filipino American community and most notably, champion of Filipino World War II veterans legislation.
"I was surprised to learn that the House of Representatives has never recognized this month, which is long overdue!" Chairman Filner said. "We are pleased to honor the Filipino American community and pay tribute to the extraordinary contributions that Filipinos make to this nation. Filipino Americans have been part of the American experience, confronting many difficult challenges while being resolute and steadfast in their cultural heritage."
The Senate passed its own version of this bill as Senate Resolution (S. Res) 298 by unanimous consent on October 1 to kick off Filipino American History Month. It is now time for the House of Representatives to do the same and pass its own version of this Resolution.
It is only proper that the House of Representatives recognize the contributions our community has made to the American narrative since first coming here in 1587. |
|
