Senate Approves Bill To Remove Term 'Oriental' From U.S. Law
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The U.S. Senate passed a bill Monday night that would remove the term "Oriental" from federal law due to its offensive and derogatory history.
The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, of New York, will remove all instances of the term "Oriental" and replace them with "Asian Americans" in the Title 42 section of the U.S. code, which deals with civil rights, welfare and public health.
"The word 'Oriental' is a derogatory and antiquated term and the passage of this legislation will soon force the United States government to finally stop using it," Meng said in a statement.
The bill will also replace the term 'Negro' with 'African American,' and replace 'Indian' with 'Native American,' The Hill reports. The terms 'Native Hawaiian' and 'Pacific Islander' will also be included as new additions to the bill's language, as well as the replacement of 'Spanish-speaking' with 'Hispanic.'
The bill was approved by the House of Representatives at the end of February with a unanimous vote of 376-0.
Meng successfully passed a bill in 2009 which banned and removed the use of the word 'Oriental' in legal documents across New York State.
The bill will now be sent to President Barack Obama, who is expected to approve the legislation and sign it into law.