In June 1977, Representatives Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution calling upon the President to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian Pacific Heritage Week.Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both passed.
On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration on October 5, 1978.
In May 1990, President George H. W. Bush extended the mandate and designated the entire month of May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the mainly Chinese built transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. (Source: AsianWeek, May 18, 2007)