Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 98 Part 2.djvu/187

 PUBLIC LAW 98-383—AUG. 17, 1984

98 STAT. 1347

Public Law 98-383 98th Congress Joint Resolution Designating August 21, 1984, as "Hawaii Statehood Silver Jubilee Day".

Whereas, on March 12, 1959, Americans were thrilled to learn that the United States House of Representatives, by a vote of three hundred and twenty-three to eighty-nine, had approved statehood for Hawaii, following the favorable United States Senate vote of seventy-six to fifteen the day before; Whereas President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Statehood Bill on March 18, 1959; Whereas pursuant to the provisions of the Hawaii Statehood Act, a plebiscite was held in the territory of Hawaii and on June 27, 1959, the people of Hawaii voted one hundred and thirty-two thousand nine hundred to seven thousand eight hundred in favor of statehood; Whereas President Eisenhower proclaimed Hawaii the fiftieth State on August 21, 1959; Whereas the admission of Hawaii to the Union has proven to be of immense benefit both to the United States itself and the State of Hawaii; Whereas Hawaii is essential to our national security as the site of the headquarters of United States military and naval forces in the Pacific at Pearl Harbor, and is the location of the Army's Schofield Barracks, the Air Forces Hickam and Wheeler Air Force Bases, the Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station, and other defense facilities; Whereas Hawaii is our Nation's largest producer of sugarcane and pineapple and its only major domestic source of coffee, macadamia nuts, and certain species of decorative flowers, and is a leader in the development of commercial aquaculture; Whereas Hawaii is also outstanding as a leader in astronomy, in ocean science, and alternate energy research and development, and in the extent and quality of its tourism industry; Whereas the State of Hawaii contributes significantly to the national balance of trade, operating Hawaii Foreign-Trade Zone numbered 9 and Subzone numbered 9-A, welcoming hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists, and serving as a mid-Pacific base for United States and foreign commercial interchange; Whereas Hawaii is the site of the unique, congressionally-funded Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange between East and West; Whereas Hawaii is blessed with great natural beauty, clean waters, pure air, and extraordinary scenery; and Whereas Hawairs multiethnic people, in their personal lives and in the various social and civil institutions and policies they have formed, show a warm spirit of aloha, and have expressed this spirit in their Constitution's Preamble, "... with an understanding and compassionate heart toward all the peoples of the Earth ...": Now, therefore, be it

Aug. 17, 1984 [S.J. Res. 248]'

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