CONGRESSMAN ED CASE’S RESPONSE TO INQUIRIES REGARDING STATEMENT MADE AT APIA VOTE CELEBRATION

(Honolulu, HI) – U.S. Representative Ed Case made the following comments in response to inquiries made regarding his statement at the Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) Vote Celebration.

“I am fiercely proud of representing the state with the highest percentage of many ethnic groups in our country including Asian and Pacific Islanders (API), a state where no ethnic group has been in the majority for generations. Like so many others from Hawai‘i who treasure our multicultural heritage, I have absorbed and live the values of our many cultures.

They and not my specific ethnicity are who I am, and I believe that this makes me an effective advocate on national issues affecting our API community.  I regret if my specific remarks to the national API community on my full absorption of their concerns caused any offense.”

Case’s remarks, in which he commented on what his Japanese-American wife sometimes says about him, came as part of his overall comments in DC at an event sponsored by APIA Vote congratulating the API community on significant advances in congressional representation this year.  He is a returning Executive Committee member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

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