{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dennyheck.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/its-about-time-editorial", "It's about time (Editorial)", "2018-12-27", "2018", "2018-12", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Denny Heck", "H001064", "dennyheck.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "With the Chinese American WWII Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act now being signed into law, let freedom ring for all.\nThis is a wonderful holiday gift to the Chinese American community. The president's signature on this bill on Dec. 20 reaffirms this administration's recognition of the contributions that people of color make in protecting our nation. They put their lives on the line, pledging loyalty to our country, and proving that we are all patriots. The passing and signing into law of this act honorably recognizes the Chinese Americans who bravely served our country.\nFew people know that more than 18,000 Chinese and Chinese Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII. They served in every capacity within the armed forces, even though the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was still in force for much of the war. Many earned citations for their heroism and honorable duty to our nation.\nUp until now, they were the only U.S. minority group that had not been recognized for their service.\nWe have lost many of these patriots in the years since the end of WWII. With precious few still alive, it's about time that those still with us are getting honored and recognized for their selflessness and sacrifice.\nTed Lieu (D-CA) introduced the bill, along with Ed Royce (R-CA) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Thad Cochran (R-MS) introduced it in the Senate.\nHere are the Washington senators and congressmen who cosponsored the bill:  \n\tSen. Maria Cantwell  \n\tSen. Patty Murray  \n\tRep. Suzan DelBene  Rep. Denny Heck  \n\tRep. Jaime Herrera Beutler  \n\tRep. Pramila Jayapal  \n\tRep. Derek Kilmer  \n\tRep. Rick Larsen  \n\tRep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers  \n\tRep. Dan Newhouse  \n\tRep. Dave Reichert  \n\tRep. Adam Smith", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://dennyheck.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/its-about-time-editorial"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2215701173990965, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}