Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated in May to commemorate the contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States. Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate the Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May.

Today members of Congress and a coalition of Asian American Organizations celebrated the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at Capitol Hill’s Dirksen Senate Building.

Senator Barbara Mikulski

Senator Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Mike Honda were among the attendees at the reception. Senator Mikulski said “America is a wonderful place, we welcome people of different nationalities and that is why I say America

Commissioner Anis Ahmed

is really a mosaic and that you don’t have to give up your heritage and part of your family identity.”

Anis Ahmed is a Bangladeshi American and was appointed by Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley as a Commissioner for the Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American. He spoke about the significance of the occasion and the pride he felt to see Bengali dancers perform at the reception.