House expected to vote Monday on bill expressing regret for Chinese Exclusion Act

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said she expects a Monday House vote on her resolution that would formally express the U.S. government's regret for passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.

The Chinese Exclusion Act excluded Chinese emigrants from the United States for 10 years, and included penalties against attempted emigration from China to the United States.

"I am proud to announce that just last week, Lamar Smith [R-Texas], Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and I reached a bipartisan agreement to move this resolution to the House floor for a vote on Monday," Chu said late Thursday. "It is finally time that both houses of Congress officially and formally acknowledge these ugly laws that targeted Chinese immigrants, and express the sincere regret that Chinese Americans deserve."

Language similar to her resolution passed the Senate last October, S. Res. 201. That bill and her own, H.Res. 683, would be the first time the government has officially acknowledged regret for the 1882 law, which was repealed after World War II.

"With this resolution, the House will finally acknowledge the Chinese Exclusion Laws' injustice, and express regret for the lives it destroyed, and together we will make sure that the prejudice that stained our nation is never repeated," she said.

---