Hawaii U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono has introduced a resolution in the Senate that would designate the month of October as Filipino-American History Month to recognize their contributions to the U.S.

About 200,000 Filipino-Americans, “including Filipino World War II veterans who fought for the United States, enrich communities across Hawaii every day,” Hirono said in a statement.

To honor their legacy, Hirono said Congress must award Filipino-American veterans of World War II, most of whom are in their 90s, the Congressional Gold Medal and ensure they are reunited in the U.S. with family members from the Philippines.

A similar resolution has been introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif.

Filipino WWII veterans were granted citizenship for their service during the war, but their children were not. Under a new program, eligible veterans and their spouses may apply for a grant of parole that allows family members to come to the U.S. as they wait for immigrant visas to be approved.

In July, the U.S. Senate passed a bill authored by Hirono to award Filipinos and Filipino-American WWII veterans the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award by Congress. The measure must still pass the House before it can be sent to President Barack Obama for consideration.

In a statement, Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who introduced a similar measure, said she is pushing to get the bill passed by the end of the year. “With just 18,000 Filipino WWII veterans alive today, time is truly of the essence to honor these courageous men with the long overdue recognition they deserve,” she said.

The month of October marks the earliest documented presence of Filipinos in the continental U.S. On Oct. 18, 1587, a deck crew of Filipinos described as “Luzones Indos” arrived in Morro Bay, Calif., aboard a Manila-built galleon, Nuestra Senora de Esperanza, according to the resolution.

Congress first recognized October as Filipino-American History Month in 2009. Since then, lawmakers have introduced similar resolutions in subsequent years.

There are currently 3.9 million Filipino-Americans in the U.S., the second-largest Asian-American and Pacific islander group.

Filipino-Americans make up the largest ethnic group in Hawaii, where Gov. Ben Cayetano, the first Filipino-American governor in the U.S., served two terms from 1994 to 2002.

Patricio Abinales, director of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said recognizing the many contributions by Filipino-Americans is necessary to preserve and perpetuate the culture. “These kinds of celebrations are necessary,” he said noting Filipinos have made contributions not only in the U.S. but worldwide.