U.S.A.
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
November 21, 2016
New congress: Minorities gain but still overwhelmingly white
By Matthew Daly
The Associated Press
ASHINGTON — Just like col-
lege freshmen, newly elected
members of the House of
Representatives descended on Washing-
ton for orientation, a class photo, and a
lottery to determine their offices for the
next two years.
The new congress includes the first
Latina senator, three house members
moving across the capitol to the senate,
and a few former lawmakers who seized
their old jobs back.
While the 115th Congress will include a
record number of minority women,
congress will remain overwhelmingly
white, male, and middle-aged.
At the first day of orientation, Republi-
cans expressed excitement about winning
the White House while Democrats struck a
conciliatory tone.
Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat who will
represent a South Texas district, said
freshmen members of his party will start
the new session in January “having a clear
view of the reality we’re dealing with and
trying to reach across the aisle and finding
common ground.”
A look at the new congress:
Minority women
In the senate, Democrats Catherine
Cortez Masto of Nevada, Kamala Harris of
California, and Tammy Duckworth of
Illinois are among a record 21 women, up
from 20, out of 100 senators.
Cortez Masto will be the first Latina
senator, while Harris and Duckworth will
join Hawai‘i Democratic senator Mazie
Hirono to form the senate’s largest ever
Asian-American contingent.
Harris, the daughter of immigrants
from India and Jamaica, is just the second
black woman elected to the senate and the
first with South Asian roots.
The house will welcome its first
Vietnamese-American
and
Indian-
American women: Democrats Stephanie
Murphy of Florida and Pramila Jayapal of
Washington state.
Overall, the number of minority women
in congress will increase to 33 in the
house from 27 and stand at four in the
New senators
Six new senators join the ranks — a
seventh will be chosen next month in
Louisiana’s runoff.
Harris, 52, a former prosecutor,
currently serves as California’s attorney
general.
Duckworth, a two-term house member,
is a veteran of the Iraq War, where as an
Army pilot, she lost both legs when her
helicopter was hit by a grenade. Duck-
worth, 48, was born in Thailand, to an
American father and Thai-Chinese
mother.
A former two-term Nevada attorney
general, Cortez Masto, 52, also has worked
as a prosecutor and chief of staff to former
Nevada governor Bob Miller. Her father is
of Mexican descent and her mother is of
Italian descent.
Republican representative Todd Young
of Indiana is a three-term congressman
and former Capitol Hill aide. Democratic
representative Chris Van Hollen of
Maryland will replace Barbara Mikulski,
who is retiring after 30 years in the senate.
A key lieutenant to House Democratic
Leader Nancy Pelosi, Van Hollen, 57, has
focused on budget issues and foreign
policy.
New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan, a
two-term governor, defeated freshman
Republican senator Kelly Ayotte in the
nation’s closest senate race.
By Sandy Cohen
CONGRESSWOMEN OF COLOR. While the 115th Congress will include a record number of minority
women, congress remains overwhelmingly white, male, and middle-aged. In the senate, Democrats Kamala
Harris of California (right), Tammy Duckworth (middle) of Illinois, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada (not
pictured) are among a record 21 women, up from 20, out of 100 senators. Harris and Duckworth join Hawai‘i
Democratic senator Mazie Hirono (left) to form the senate’s largest ever Asian-American contingent.
Women ascend in senate,
decline in house
A total of 104 women will serve in the
next congress, the same as in the current
congress and 19.4 percent of the total
number of lawmakers. Twenty-one women
will serve in the senate while 83 women
will serve in the house, a drop of one from
the current 84.
In addition to Hillary Clinton’s defeat in
the presidential race, women saw setbacks
in congress. Maryland’s 10-member con-
gressional delegation reverted to all-male,
while Pennsylvania voters rejected Demo-
crat Katie McGinty’s bid to become the
first woman in the state elected to the
senate.
Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester will be
Delaware’s first woman and first African
American in congress. Only Mississippi
and Vermont have never sent a woman to
either chamber of congress.
African Americans gain
A record 48 African Americans will serve
in congress, including 46 in the house, an
overall increase of two. Eighteen black
women serve in congress, including
Republican representative Mia Love of
L
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. Hon-
oree Jackie Chan poses onstage at the 2016 Gover-
nors Awards at the Dolby Ballroom on November 12,
2016, in Los Angeles. As an action star, Chan never
expected to receive an Oscar, so he considers receiv-
ing an honorary Academy Award from the film acad-
emy’s Board of Governors his proudest professional
achievement. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
action choreography, fighting sequences,
and dangerous stunts. In Operation Con-
dor I filmed in extreme temperatures of
over 40 degrees Celsius in the desert. I had
a near death accident while doing a stunt
in Armor of God. In Rush Hour, I found the
English dialogue most challenging.
AP: How does making movies in Hong
Kong differ from Hollywood’s approach to
film?
Chan: I find Hollywood’s approach to
Continued on page 16
Utah. Love is one of three black Republi-
cans, along with South Carolina senator
Tim Scott and Texas representative Will
Hurd.
Hispanics, Asian Americans gain
A record 39 Hispanics will serve in
congress, including 35 in the house. Seven
Hispanic freshmen were elected to the
house, all Democrats. Ruben Kihuen will
be the first Latino to represent Nevada in
the house, while New York’s Adriano
Espaillat will be the first Dominican
American.
Fifteen Asian Americans will serve in
congress, including 12 in the house. That’s
up from 10 in the current congress.
Welcome back
Three former house Democrats won
their old seats back: Colleen Hanabusa of
Hawai‘i, Brad Schneider of Illinois, and
Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire.
Attending her first day of orientation,
Hanabusa said her experience will help
her as Democrats try to wield influence in
the minority.
“Like everything else, it’s whether we’re
going to be able to maintain relationships
more than anything,” she said.
FBI: Hate crimes against Muslims up by 67 percent in 2015
By Christina A. Cassidy
The Associated Press
TLANTA — Reported hate crimes
against Muslims rose in 2015 to
their highest number since the
aftermath of the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks, according to Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics.
Overall, the total number of hate crimes
against all groups reported by law
enforcement agencies to the FBI increased
from 5,479 in 2014 to 5,850 last year. That
remains far lower than the numbers seen
in the early 2000s, but the FBI release
comes amid numerous reports of attacks
nationwide based on race and religion
following the presidential election.
The most recent reporting covers
calendar year 2015, which included the
terror attacks in Paris and San
Bernardino, California, as well as
Republican Donald Trump’s call for a ban
on all Muslims entering the U.S. All of
those, however, did not occur until the
final two months of the year.
Critics say Trump’s pledge has
contributed to anti-Muslim sentiment.
“We’ve seen how words from public
figures like Donald Trump translate into
violence,” said Mark Potok with the
Southern Poverty Law Center, which
tracks hate groups in the U.S.
Last year, there were 257 reported
incidents of anti-Muslim bias compared to
154 the year before, an increase of 67
percent. The number of reported hate
A
AP Entertainment Writer
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
senate.
Jackie Chan reflects on 50-year
career and honorary Oscar
OS ANGELES — As an action star,
Jackie Chan never expected to
receive an Oscar.
So he considers receiving an honorary
Academy Award from the film academy’s
Board of Governors his proudest profes-
sional achievement.
Chan accepted his Oscar statuette at the
eighth annual Governors Awards. Film
editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn
Stalmaster, and documentarian Frederick
Wiseman also received honorary Academy
Awards, which recognize lifetime achieve-
ment and contributions to the film
industry.
“I never imagined that I’d receive such
an award,” Chan said. “I still remember
my very first proudest moment was when I
received an award for stunt choreography.
At that time, I didn’t know much about
directing, I just knew how to do action and
fighting sequences and stunts. Receiving
this honorary award has raised my
feelings to another level.”
The 62-year-old writer, director, pro-
ducer, and actor reflected on his career in
an e-mail interview with The Associated
Press from his home base in Hong Kong.
He accepted his award in person in Los
Angeles.
AP: What was your most challenging
film to make and why?
Chan: Rumble in the Bronx had a lot of
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Photo/Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, via AP Images
W
crimes against Muslims peaked at 481 in
2001.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations,
said he was not surprised to see the large
increase in 2015 and said he expects the
trend to continue.
“We saw a spike in anti-Muslim inci-
dents nationwide beginning toward the
end of 2015. That spike has continued until
today and even accelerated after the
election of President-elect Trump,” Hooper
said.
There have been reports of racist and
anti-religious incidents around the
country since the November 8 election.
Two students at a vocational school in
York County, Pennsylvania, held a Donald
Trump sign in a hallway as someone
shouted “white power,” an incident
captured on video and widely shared on
Facebook.
In Silver Spring, Maryland, a banner
advertising a Spanish-language service at
an Episcopal church was slashed and the
words “Trump nation. Whites only.” were
written on the back.
Authorities on two California State
University campuses, in San Diego and
San Jose, were investigating reports that
two women wearing headscarves were
attacked. At San Diego State University,
authorities said a Muslim woman had her
car keys and vehicle stolen by two men who
targeted her while she wore a hijab and
made comments about Donald Trump’s
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