Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/311502
S en. Susan Collins began her political career as a staff assistant to then-Sen. Cohen and was elected to succeed him in 1997. Collins noted that Secretary Cohen's distinguished service made him a worthy recipient of the Freedom Award, remarking that "during his many years of public service, as Secretary of Defense, as a United States Senator, as a Member of the House of Representatives, Bill Cohen has strengthened our nation's core values through his intelligence, integrity, and imagination." Collins also shared several stories that illustrated how much Cohen inspired her in the beginning of her career. "As a young woman who had just finished my first year in college, I remember being so inspired when I heard Bill Cohen speak that I volunteered for his first campaign. e incredible effort, as he put it, to find out what was on people's minds by walking through the communities of the entire Second District was the very essence of democracy…. "In the summer of 1974, before my senior year in college, I had the opportunity to serve in Bill's Washington office. I had a front-row seat into history as then-Congressman Bill Cohen served on the House Judiciary Committee during those historic impeachment hearings against President Nixon. His thoughtful, deliberative, and fair approach in evaluating the evidence won him respect nationwide. His vote as the freshman Republican to impeach a president of his own party was an act of great political courage." R ep. Mike Honda introduced Secretary Mineta and reflected on Mineta's early political career and the inspiration that he was to others. Recalling Mineta's decision to run for Congress, Honda said "In '74, he decided to run for Congress. I was glad, because I got to be involved in the first congressional race with an Asian American running for office, and I was proud." Honda also spoke of Mineta's experience as a Japanese American who was placed in an internment camp during W W II and his work to right that injustice, saying "He took that responsibility seriously, because in 1988, President Reagan signed H.R. 442. It was the apology of the U.S. Congress for something they did in 1942. It took a few years, but determina- tion, education, and a sense of doing the right thing urged him on." Honda concluded that Mineta continues to inspire others, even though his career in public service has ended. "Norm has been first in many things being a Japanese American, but his character says to him, 'I shall not be the last.' So he always makes sure other people can go on, keeping that door open behind him, so other people can pass through and take advantage of many opportunities in this country, including in the halls of Congress." S ecretary Norman Mineta spoke about his experi- ence as a Japanese American during WW II and how it shaped his understanding of freedom and citizenship. He explained, "By February of 1942, President Roosevelt had signed Executive Order 9066 to [delegate] to the Commanding General of the Western Civil Defense Command [the] ability to evacuate and intern persons. It didn't say Japanese or Italian. It just said 'persons.' And he used that to then evacu- ate from…the states of Washington, Oregon, and California those of Japanese ancestry, and comman- deered fair grounds and racetracks…—namely horse fields—and started putting up these forts around where people of Japanese ancestry were living… ese big placards…said 'Attention: All ose of Japanese ancestry, alien and non-alien.' Well, as a 10-year-old kid, I read that, and I was wondering, 'What's a non- alien? I know what an alien is. at's my dad, but what's a non-alien?' So they weren't even treating us as citizens, and yet when was the last time that any of you stood up, beat your chest and said, 'I'm a proud non-alien of the United States of America?' I don't think you have, and that's why to this day, I cherish the word 'citizen,' because my own government wasn't looking to call me a 'citizen'." 41 THE CAPITOL DOME SPRING 2014