Korean American Lawmakers Falling Behind on Community-Focused Legislation

The Korean American Grassroots Conference (KAGC) found that Korean American lawmakers showed low legislative activity on bills and resolutions affecting the community and U.S.–Korea relations. Only one Korean American lawmaker ranked among the top five in either the House or Senate during the 118th Congress.

KAGC released its “Legislative Status Report on U.S.–Korea Relations and the Korean American Community” on the 30th of September. The report reviewed legislative activity between January 2023 and January 2025 across 15 policy areas, including immigration, adoptee citizenship, public safety, North Korea, national security, and trade.

Lawmakers introduced a total of 120 items—88 bills and 32 resolutions—affecting Korean Americans and U.S.–Korea relations. Of these, 48 (37 bills, 11 resolutions) were introduced in the Senate, while 72 (51 bills, 21 resolutions) were introduced in the House. Only 11 measures advanced: 4 bills were enacted and 7 resolutions were adopted, representing 9.17 percent of all introduced.

Legislation covered a wide range of issues: immigration (4 Senate bills, 6 House bills), North Korea monitoring (6 Senate bills, 5 House bills, 2 House resolutions), adoptee citizenship rights (1 bill each in the House and Senate), community safety (2 bills each in House and Senate, plus 2 House resolutions), divided families (1 bill each in House and Senate, plus 1 House resolution), and veterans’ benefits (1 Senate bill, 4 House bills).

Examples included the Partner with Korea Act, North Korean Human Rights Act, Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act, and the Korean Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act (H.R.366). Among those enacted were the National Defense Authorization Act, which included provisions for U.S. Forces Korea, and H.R.366 on Korean Vietnam veterans.

KAGC noted that the Korean American population in the United States is about 2 million, concentrated in 68 congressional districts, each with at least 5,000 Korean American voters. The group said the analysis was intended to assess whether legislative activity reflects this growing presence.

In the Senate, Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) ranked first with 25 related bills and resolutions, 13 of which she sponsored. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) also introduced 25, all as a co-sponsor. Alex Padilla (D-California) followed with 22, Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) with 21, and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) with 17.

In the House, Judy Chu (D-California) ranked first with 38 measures, including 10 she sponsored. She was followed by Barbara Lee (D-California) with 35, Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) with 32, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) with 32, and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) with 32. Among Korean American lawmakers, Andy Kim ranked the highest with 32, the only one in the top tier. Others included Marilyn Strickland (D-Washington) with 25, Young Kim (R-California) with 17, and Michelle Steel (R-California) with 15.

Democrats dominated overall activity. They sponsored 39 of 48 Senate measures and 55 of 72 in the House. All four members of the Democratic leadership co-sponsored at least one bill, while among Republicans, only John Thune co-sponsored a resolution.

Not all measures explicitly referenced Korea. Many had indirect relevance, such as the Adoptee Citizenship Act, the Hate Crimes Commission Act, and the resolution designating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Of the 36 measures co-sponsored in both chambers, only five explicitly referenced U.S.–Korea relations or Korean Americans.

Overall, Congress introduced 19,315 bills and resolutions during the 118th session.

BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]