Press Releases

Senators Mazie K. Hirono and John Cornyn (R-TX), and Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA) and Ed Royce (R-CA) introduced the Minority-Serving Institution Fairness Act in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives today, legislation that would make Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) eligible to compete for, and receive, multiple federal grants for the purpose of serving a wider range of minority students.

Today, the House of Representatives voted 289-137 for H.R. 4038, the so-called “American SAFE Act of 2015.” This bill adds new certification requirements and requires that the FBI Director, the Homeland Security Secretary, and the National Intelligence Director concur on each refugee from Iraq and Syria. Organizations like the ACLU, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Oxfam, the AFL-CIO, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and dozens of religious groups argue that these new requirements are unnecessary and would effectively stop the flow of any and all refugees from Iraq and Syria.

Today, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) and CAPAC Members Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), and Rep. Michael Honda (CA-17) held a press conference to call on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the recent cases against Chinese American scientists who were wrongfully suspected of economic espionage. They were joined by Sherry Chen, a U.S. citizen and employee of the National Weather Service in Ohio, as well as Dr. Xiaoxing Xi, a U.S. citizen and Interim Chair of the Physics Department at Temple University. Both Ms. Chen and Dr. Xi were arrested and indicted for various charges and suspected of economic espionage, only to have all charges against them later dropped. The press conference comes one day before a CAPAC meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

On Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear the Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole case, which challenges two provisions of a Texas state law that effectively shut down women’s health clinics.

Today, Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27) hosted a press conference where she was joined by California based acupuncture advocacy groups to support H.R. 3849, the Acupuncture for Heroes and Seniors Act. The bill, introduced on October 28, permits members of the uniformed services access to qualified acupuncturist services without the requirement of a referral and requires that acupuncture services be offered to all veterans. The bill also ensures that qualified acupuncturist services are covered by Medicare so that seniors have another effective treatment option available to them. In addition to increasing access, the bill recognizes the important contributions of this medical field and makes acupuncturists eligible for appointments as Commissioned Officers in the Armed Forces and in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

On Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled 2-1 to uphold a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs.

Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) released the following statement in honor of Diwali, the “Festival of Lights,” celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists across the world: