Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years and 2020
Floor Speech
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Mr. CASE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Chair, not far from here, on the slopes of Capitol Hill, is a small, serene, and unassuming memorial. On its walls are names not now known to too many Americans but indelibly etched in a dark chapter of our national story.
Tule Lake, Poston, Manzanar--these are the internment camps where 120,000 ethnic Japanese, most of them American citizens, were locked up in the hysteria of the Second World War just because they were Japanese.
This amendment, proudly sponsored by many of my colleagues in our Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, including our chair, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu), asked us a question that must be asked: Are we repeating history or in danger of doing so?
In these recent years of justifiably heightened scrutiny on the intelligence activities of the People's Republic of China, a disproportionate number of Americans of Chinese descent have been investigated and prosecuted for espionage.
Those convicted have received disproportionately high sentences, and the too many exonerated have had their careers ruined nonetheless.
No doubt, China seeks to recruit Chinese Americans to its goals, and no doubt, our government should and must review specific cases of potential espionage by China on specific facts. But have we fallen into the same trap all over again of justifying investigations and other actions toward the ends of national security by means of general profiling and targeting based solely on ethnic identity?
The Committee of 100, a group of prominent Chinese Americans in diverse fields, reviewed the empirical evidence and concluded that ``Asian Americans, whether immigrant or native-born, may be facing unfair and increasing racial prejudice in this era of geopolitical competition.''
It stated, and I believe correctly: ``A definite line can be drawn between appropriate prosecution that is based on actual evidence and free of bias and overreaching persecution that is triggered by unfounded suspicions and tainted by racial prejudice. All Americans, regardless of ethnicity, depend on that line.''
This resolution is a flashing red light to our intelligence community: Stop, look, and listen. Take some time to think it through to be sure you are staying on the right side of that line, and then report back to us here in Congress that you have done so and have the procedures and mindset in place to ensure that we won't repeat history with Chinese Americans or any other broad ethnic or interest group.
Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), the committee chair.
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Mr. CASE. Madam Chair, I strongly urge adoption of this amendment. It is the right amendment. We certainly want our intelligence community to do its job, but we also want them to be very conscious of the decisions that they are making and are in line with our basic civil liberties.
Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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