III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 151 Recognizing March 31, 2023, as ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’ in honor of the accomplishments and legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. WARREN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. KELLY, Mr. BROWN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. BENNET, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. OSSOFF) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing March 31, 2023, 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 spent his early years on a family farm; Whereas, at the age of 10, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez joined the thousands of migrant farmworkers 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR151.IS SR151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 151 IS eighth grade education, left school to work full-time as a farmworker 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 farmworkers 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; Whereas, in 1962, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez left the Community Service Organization to establish the National Farm Workers 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR151.IS SR151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 151 IS in 1972, and 36 days in 1988 to call attention to the ter- rible working and living conditions of farmworkers in the United States; Whereas, under the leadership of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, the United Farm Workers of America organized thousands of migrant farmworkers to fight for fair wages, health care coverage, pension benefits, livable housing, and respect; Whereas the efforts of the United Farm Workers of America brought about the enactment of the landmark California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975, which sought justice and guaranteed certain protections for farm- workers; Whereas, through his commitment to nonviolence, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez brought dignity and respect to the orga- nized farmworkers 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 individ- uals working to better human rights, empower workers, and advance the American Dream, which includes all in- habitants of the United States; 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 individuals attended the funeral services 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR151.IS SR151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 151 IS 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 more than 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 March 31 is recognized as an official State holiday in California, Colorado, and Texas, and there is growing support to designate the birthday of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez as a national day of service to memorialize his heroism; Whereas, during his lifetime, Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez was a re- cipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolent 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 first proclaimed March 31, 2010, to be ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’ and asked all people of the United States to observe March 31 with service, com- munity, and education programs to honor the enduring legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez; Whereas, on May 5, 2012, the Navy christened and launched the dry cargo ship the USNS Cesar Chavez, in honor of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, who served in the Navy during World War II, and his role as a prominent civil rights ac- tivist; Whereas, on October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama au- thorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Ce´sar VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR151.IS SR151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 151 IS Estrada Cha´vez National Monument in Keene, Cali- fornia; Whereas President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., most recently hon- ored the life and service of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez by pro- claiming March 31, 2022, to be ‘‘Ce´sar Cha´vez Day’’ and by asking all people of the United States to observe March 31 with service, community, and education pro- grams to honor the enduring legacy of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez; and Whereas the United States should continue the efforts of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez to ensure equality, justice, and dignity for all people of the United States: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes the accomplishments and exam- 2 ple of Ce´sar Estrada Cha´vez, a great hero of the 3 United States; 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 04:06 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR151.IS SR151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS