On the recordJune 25, 2024
As you may know, last year I was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP. It is basically Parkinson's on steroids, and I don't recommend it. It has affected my ability to speak, so I am using a text-to-speech app to make it easier for you and our colleagues to hear and understand me. I rise today in support of my bipartisan Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act, which will help Korean Americans reconnect with the families they left behind in North Korea decades ago in the wake of the Korean war. For more than seven decades, Korean-American families have not been able to see or speak with their relatives left behind in North Korea, and second- and third-generation Korean Americans know nothing but stories and heartbreak about their separated family members. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, I participated in a bipartisan congressional delegation to the Republic of Korea and saw firsthand some of the lasting consequences that families have faced as a result of the war and displacement. I have heard the stories of Korean-American families in Virginia and across the country who have sought for most of their lives for a chance to reconnect with their loved ones but have faced too great of a challenge in accessing any official channels to do so. My bipartisan legislation being taken up by the House today helps to fix that problem.…
