Zoe Lofgren: “Mike Honda will also be going home. I have had the honor of knowing Mike Honda for many decades. As a matter of fact, I…”

“Mike Honda will also be going home. I have had the honor of knowing Mike Honda for many decades. As a matter of fact, I think I first met Mike when he was serving on the planning commission of the city of San Jose, appointed by then-Mayor Norm Mineta, who later became a Member of Congress. He was later elected to the San Jose Unified School Board, and then to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. In fact, Mike and I served together on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Many of us know his history. During World War II, Mike Honda and his family spent 3 years imprisoned in an internment camp for Japanese Americans. That experience, I think, was the beginning of the fuel for his zeal in his fight for civil rights, for public service, and against discrimination. We will miss him because, although we have a very distinguished member in Doris Matsui, who was actually born in an internment camp, I believe that Mike Honda is the last of our Members who actually was old enough to remember being in that internment camp. We have discussions in our country today about locking up people based on their ethnicity or their religious beliefs. It is important that people like Mike Honda can stand up and say America made a mistake. America apologized for that mistake. Let's never make that mistake again.…”