In 1977 Reps. Frank Horton of New York introduced House Joint Resolution 540 to proclaim the first ten days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week but the resolution did not past. In June 1978, Rep. Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007. This resolution proposed that the President should “proclaim a week, which is to include the seventh and tenth of the month, during the first ten days in May of 1979 as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.’” This was a joint resolution was passed by the House and then the Senate and signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978, to become Public Law 95-419 (PDF, 158kb). In 1990, Congress passed Public Law 101-283 (PDF, 166kb) which expanded the observance to a month.
