WASHINGTON -- Leaders of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance met May 14-17 with members of Congress and their staffs to advocate for issues of importance to the 112-year-old civil, immigration and citizens’ rights organization based in San Francisco.

 National President Dr. Munson A. Kwok of Los Angeles led the delegation. Others were Executive Vice President Carolyn H. Chan of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Vice President of Planning Virginia C. Gee and Herbert H. Gee, Treasurer, both of San Francisco; Edward Yue, National Marshal of Phoenix, Arizona and Executive Board Members Dr. Tony Q. Chan, of Albuquerque, David Leong of Silver Spring, Maryland; and William Mei, Houston, Texas.

The group advocated for bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform. Leaders also called for more staff of the Citizenship and Immigration Services to help eradicate the processing backlog and hasten due process for detained illegal immigrants

The Alliance’s agenda also included support for a number of important veterans’ issues, including support for the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, which would provide veterans benefits for those veterans who under the US flag in World War II and reunification with their family members without being included in the normal quotas.D-CA,15) on a bill which would recognize Edward Day Cohota and Joseph Pierce, Chinese veterans, and other Asian and Pacific Islanders, for their role in preserving the Union during the American Civil War.      

            Another veterans’ issue is support for the best health care possible at VA Centers for veterans returning from Iraq, Iran, and other areas of combat.  The Alliance proposed cultural and language support to help first generation families of Hmong, Vietnamese, and other Asian Americans to better communicate with health care providers in the rehabilitation of their wounded and disabled loved ones.

Dr. Kwok expressed support for restoring the proposed minimal $10 million budget of Save America’s Treasure funding to $30 million per year and asked for more opportunities for APIA projects, such as preservation of a priceless textiles collection of the Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles. Increased proposed funding from $35.7 million to $50 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO)’s which would assist with documenting historical properties and funding some projects that SAT cannot. Dr. Kwok further cited the interest of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance in specific historical preservation projects.

While here, the team also attended the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies and participated in the “2007 Democratic Leadership’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Town Hall: A New Direction.”