Ted Poe: “Today I rise to offer my endorsement of a resolution that recognizes the enduring ties of the United States and the…”

“Today I rise to offer my endorsement of a resolution that recognizes the enduring ties of the United States and the Pacific Island nations. Our Nation's links with the Pacific Islands extend back to the earliest days of the American Republic, when New England whalers, symbolized by Captain Ahab, sailed in the South Pacific. In those early days, clipper ships also set sail from American ports across the Pacific in pursuit of the China trade. American missionaries soon followed, journeying to the Pacific Islands to deepen the cultural and religious ties between our two peoples. Our bonds to our Pacific neighbors have been further enhanced by their ethnic and historic links to our 50th State, Hawaii, America's gateway to the Pacific. When war came to the Pacific at Pearl Harbor on that day of infamy, December 7, 1941, the peoples of the Pacific joined the United States in turning back the threat of the invader.”