; Whereas Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, such as Daniel K. Inouye, a Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient who, as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, was the highest-ranking Asian American government official in the history of the United States, Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian American elected to serve in Congress, Patsy T. Mink, the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman to be elected to Congress, Hiram L. Fong, the first Asian American Senator, Daniel K. Akaka, the first Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry, Norman Y. Mineta, the first Asian American member of a presidential cabinet, Elaine L. Chao, the first Asian American woman member of a presidential cabinet, Mee Moua, the first Hmong American elected to a State legislature, and others, have made significant contributions in both the Government and Armed Forces of the United States; Whereas 2017 marks several important milestones for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, including— (1) the 155th anniversary of the date of enactment of the Act of July 1, 1862 (12 Stat. 489, chapter 120), which promoted the construction of the transcontinental railroad; (2) the 135th anniversary of the date of enactment of the Act entitled An Act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese , approved May 6, 1882 (22 Stat. 58, chapter 126); (3) the 105th anniversary of the first planting of a cherry tree from Japan in Washington, DC; (4) the 75th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 (7 Fed. Reg. 1407; relating to authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe military areas), which authorized the internment of Japanese-Americans; and (5) the 25th anniversary of the formal establishment of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month; Whereas, in 2017, the Polynesian Voyaging Society will complete the final leg of its Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage after 4 years of sailing the world and teaching traditional wayfinding practices, along with the importance of caring for the land and sea