Recognizing March 31 as "César Chávez Day" in honor of the accomplishments and legacy of César Estrada Chávez.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 266 Recognizing March 31 as ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’ in honor of the accomplishments and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 28, 2019 Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CORREA, Mr. COX of California, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LUJA´N, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL- ALLARD, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SIRES, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. STANTON, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VELA, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. HAS- TINGS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. NEAL, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. SOTO, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. HILL of California, and Mrs. TRAHAN) submitted the following reso- lution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform RESOLUTION Recognizing March 31 as ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’ in honor of the accomplishments and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez. Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was born on March 31, 1927, near Yuma, Arizona; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR266.IH HR266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 266 IH Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez spent his early years on a family farm; Whereas, at the age of 10, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez joined the thousands of migrant farm workers laboring in fields and vineyards throughout the Southwest after a bank fore- closure resulted in the loss of the family farm; Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, after attending more than 30 elementary and middle schools and achieving an eighth grade education, left school to work full-time as a farm worker to help support his family; Whereas, at the age of 17, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez entered the United States Navy and served the United States with distinction for 2 years; Whereas, in 1948, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez returned from mili- tary service to marry Helen Fabela, whom he had met while working in the vineyards of central California; Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez and Helen Fabela had 8 chil- dren; Whereas, as early as 1949, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was com- mitted to organizing farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions, reasonable wages, livable housing, and the outlawing of child labor; Whereas, in 1952, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez joined the Commu- nity Service Organization, a prominent Latino civil rights group, and worked with the organization to coordinate voter registration drives and conduct campaigns against discrimination in east Los Angeles; Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez served as the national direc- tor of the Community Service Organization; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR266.IH HR266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 266 IH Whereas, in 1962, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez left the Community Service Organization to found the National Farm Work- ers Association, which eventually became the United Farm Workers of America; Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was a strong believer in the principles of nonviolence practiced by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez effectively used peaceful tac- tics that included fasting for 25 days in 1968, 25 days in 1972, and 38 days in 1988, to call attention to the terrible working and living conditions of farm workers in the United States; Whereas, under the leadership of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, the United Farm Workers of America organized thousands of migrant farm workers to fight for fair wages, health care coverage, pension benefits, livable housing, and respect; Whereas his union’s efforts brought about the passage of the landmark 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which sought justice and guaranteed certain protec- tions for farm workers; Whereas, through his commitment to nonviolence, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez brought dignity and respect to the orga- nized farm workers and became an inspiration to and a resource for individuals engaged in human rights strug- gles throughout the world; Whereas the influence of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez extends far beyond agriculture and provides inspiration for those working to better human rights, empower workers, and advance the American Dream, which includes all inhab- itants of the United States; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR266.IH HR266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HRES 266 IH Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez died on April 23, 1993, at the age of 66 in San Luis, Arizona, only miles from his birthplace; Whereas more than 50,000 people attended the funeral serv- ices of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez in Delano, California; Whereas Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was laid to rest at the head- quarters of the United Farm Workers of America, known as Nuestra Sen˜ora de La Paz, located in the Tehachapi Mountains in Keene, California; Whereas, since the death of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, schools, parks, streets, libraries, and other public facilities, as well as awards and scholarships, have been named in his honor; Whereas 10 States and dozens of communities across the United States honor the life and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez on March 31st of each year; Whereas, during his lifetime, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was a re- cipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize; Whereas, on August 8, 1994, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Free- dom; Whereas President Barack Obama honored the life of service of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez by proclaiming March 31, 2012, to be ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’; Whereas, on October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama au- thorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez National Monument in Keene, Cali- fornia; and Whereas the United States should continue the efforts of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez to ensure equality, justice, and VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR266.IH HR266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HRES 266 IH dignity for all people of the United States: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the accomplishments and exam- 2 ple of a great hero of the United States, Ce´sar 3 Estrada Cha´vez; 4 (2) pledges to promote the legacy of Ce´sar 5 Estrada Cha´vez; and 6 (3) encourages the people of the United States 7 to commemorate the legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez 8 and to always remember his great rallying cry, ‘‘≠Sı´, 9 se puede!’’, which is Spanish for ‘‘Yes, we can!’’. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR266.IH HR266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS