Whereas the earliest documented Filipino presence in the continental United States was October 18, 1587, when the first Luzones Indios arrived in Morro Bay, California, on board the Nuestra Señora de Esperanza, a Manila-built galleon ship; Whereas the Filipino American National Historical Society recognizes 1763 as the year in which the first permanent Filipino settlement in the United States was established in St. Malo, Louisiana; Whereas the recognition of the first permanent Filipino settlement in the United States adds a new perspective to the history of the United States by bringing attention to the economic, cultural, social, and other notable contributions made by Filipino Americans to the development of our country; Whereas the Filipino American community is the third-largest Asian-American and Pacific Islander group in the United States, numbering approximately 4,000,000; Whereas from the Civil War to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, Filipinos and Filipino Americans have a longstanding history of serving in the United States Armed Forces; Whereas more than 250,000 Filipinos fought under the United States flag during World War II to protect and defend the United States and the Philippines in the Pacific theater; Whereas 20,000 Filipino World War II veterans were granted United States citizenship as a result of the Immigration Act of 1990, which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on November 29, 1990; Whereas, on December 14, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015, which awarded Filipino veterans who fought alongside troops of the United States in World War II the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress; Whereas, on October 25, 2017, the Congressional Gold Medal was presented to Filipino World War II veterans at Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Building, a recognition for which these veterans have waited more than 70 years