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Asian Pacific Dinner 5/25/00 [1]
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Asian Pacific Dinner 5/25/00 [1]
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Joshua Gottheimer's Files
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jor Asia pacchi lushnite 1752500 OU
PHOTOCOPY
PREMISMATION
Draft 05/24/00 8:45pm
Gottheimer
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS TO ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN INSTITUTE
FOR CONGRESSIONAL STUDIES
WASHINGTON, DC
May 25, 2000
Ack: Norm Mineta (Chair, Asian American Pacific Institute); Bob Matsui (thank you for your
work on China PNTR); Asst. Attorney General Bill Lann Lee; Dolly Gee.
First, I want to thank the entire leadership and membership of the Asian American Pacific
Institute for all your support you have shown to me and to Vice President Gore over the years.
It's hard to believe that it's been five years since I first joined you in launching the Asian
American Pacific Institute. It's remarkable to see how far you've come since then. But as the
Chinese Proverb says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
In your short journey, you have played an invaluable role in getting more Asian Pacific
Americans involved, informed and interested in the political process, and in the issues that are so
vital to your community. You have helped forge unity among the great diversity that is Asian
Pacific America.
As I said to you back in 1995, "If we [only] understand what an incredible resource our
people are we [can] have more opportunities than any other country." That's something your
organization and Asian-Pacific Americans have understood so well, for so many years. That we
are a nation of immigrants, that was built on using the talents of all our people. It's that spirit
which drew the first Japanese immigrants to our country in May 1843. It's the spirit that helped
build - and complete the Transcontinental Railroad more than 130 years ago this month. It's
that spirit which helped elect the first Asian American member of Congress in 1957. And it's
that spirit that we're celebrating here tonight, and all of May, during Asian Pacific American
Heritage Month.
[More than 9 million Americans can trace their roots to Asia and the islands of the
Pacific: to at least 25 different nationalities, more than 75 different languages, and literally
hundreds of different ethnic groups. But whether your roots are in Japan, Vietnam, or Hawaii,
you all share one thing in common - a long, rich legacy of working hard and overcoming
obstacles to pursue the American Dream. And in doing so, you have greatly enriched the quality
and character of our nation. You have shown that for all the differences of ethnicity and national
origin, Asian Pacific Americans are united by common values of faith, family, and hard work -
and by a common vision of a better future. For that, all Americans should be grateful.]
When I became President seven and a half years ago, it was clear to me that we had to go
beyond the divide-and-conquer politics that had dominated our country for many years. I knew
that if we could make a virtue of our diversity - not just tolerate it, but celebrate it - we would
have no trouble seizing the potential of our increasingly interconnected world.
businesses have the same incentives to invest in them that we give them to invest in new markets
overseas.
[Yesterday, the House voted to open new markets abroad, when it decided to grant
permanent normal trading status to China. Our Administration has negotiated an agreement that
will open China's market wide to American goods made on American soil - everything from
corn to cars to computers, If the Senate votes as the House did, it will open new doors of trade
for America, and new hopes for change in China.]
Second we also need to continue to work together to ensure that our federal courts reflect
America's growing racial and ethnic diversity. I'm proud to have nominated Bill Lann Lee as
our nation's top civil rights enforcer. He's the first Asian Pacific American in that post, and he's
doing a tremendous job at the Justice Department. The Senate should do the right thing and
confirm him.
We also need to move forward in confirming our judges. I have appointed the most
diverse group of federal judges in history. Before I took office, it had been 14 years since the
last Asian Pacific American had been appointed to the federal bench. I've appointed 5 so far.
Yesterday, the Senate made progress by confirming 16 judges, but we have more to do.
Too many nominees have had to wait too long. People like Dolly Gee who I met with
yesterday-and who I nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
California. But her nomination has languished before the Senate for almost a year. I call on the
Senate to put aside partisan differences and give Dolly Gee an up-or-down vote in the full
Senate.
Third, we must all keep working to build the One America of our dreams. That means
doing all we can to make America's growing diversity our greatest strength. It also means
standing up to violent hatred by supporting the passage of a strong hate crimes bill. Hate crimes
target people simply because of who they are-and so they strike at the heart of who we are. All
Americans should be able to live their lives in dignity--without fear of being abused or attacked.
Once again, I want to thank the entire Asian Pacific American community for all you are
doing to build stronger communities - and One America. A celebration like this is a reminder
that America is not just about where we are from, it's about where we are going. For all we have
achieved as a nation - - and for all that the Asian American Pacific Institute has achieved as an
organization - we have only scratched the surface of what we can do because of our increasing
diversity. Thank you and God bless you.
Lowell A. Weiss
05/16/2000 11:14:48 AM
Record Type:
Record
To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
CC:
Terry Edmonds/WHO/EOP@EOP, Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP@EOF
Subject: maldef draft -- need comments by 3pm.
Draft 5/16/00 11:00am
Lowell Weiss
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
TALKING POINTS FOR MALDEF AWARDS RECEPTION
WASHINGTON, DC
May 16, 2000
Acknowledge: MALDEF Pres. Antonia Hernandez and other members of the
MALDEF Board; Ambassador Luis Lauredo; award winners: Sec. Richardson, Dr. Ruth
Sanchez Way, John Trasviña; White House advisers: Maria Echaveste, Mickey Ibarra, Ray
Martinez, Brian Barreto.
Two years ago, in the East Room of the White House, I had the great honor of
giving MALDEF's co-founder Mario Obledo the highest civilian honor our nation can
bestow, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I'm just sorry he couldn't be here tonight. I
still remember telling the story of how, in MALDEF's early years, Mr. Obledo received a
complaint that a public swimming pool in Texas was barring young Mexican-Americans at the
gate. And what did Mr. Obledo do? Well, he decided to drive 200 miles to take a swim.
Mr. Obledo was not allowed to enter the pool, and he filed suit. He prevailed in
court - and opened up public facilities to young Latinos all over the country. That case was
just one of hundreds of landmark civil rights victories MALDEF has won over the past 32
years - giving voice to the voiceless, widening the circle of opportunity, helping America to
rise ever higher toward the more-perfect union of our founders' dreams.
When I became President seven and a half years ago, it was clear to me that we
had to go beyond the kind of divide-and-conquer politics that had dominated our country
for many years. I knew that if we could make a virtue of our diversity - not just tolerate it
but celebrate it - we would have no trouble seizing the potential of our increasingly
interconnected world.
And so we have worked for seven and a half years for a society in which there is
opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all Americans. And it is
working. We have the strongest economy we have ever had, with the lowest Hispanic
unemployment rate in history, the highest Hispanic home-ownership on record, the largest
drop in Hispanic poverty in a generation. We are moving forward.
Economic Accomplishments: EITC. New Markets. Small Business Loans (last year
alone, SBA granted nearly 3 times as many loans to Hispanic entrepreneurs as it did in 1992).
Equal Opportunity Accomplishments: An Administration that looks like America
(more Hispanic appointees than any other Administration; e.g., Bill Richardson, Maria
Echaveste, Mickey Ibarra, Aida Alvarez, Ida Castro, Louis Caldera). Worked with you to
ensure a fair, accurate, and complete Census (early reports indicate that your extraordinary
efforts are paying off, with significant increase in response rate in minority communities).
Expanding Civil Rights enforcement (last year, 19% increase for Civil Rights Division).
Education Accomplishments: Enacted Hispanic Education Action Plan - to reach out
to Hispanic youth, encourage them to stay in school, and go on to college. Nearly doubled
funding for HeadStart. More than doubled funding for after-school programs. Strengthened
bilingual and immigrant education. Opened doors of college to all Americans.
Health Accomplishments: Extended health care to millions of children; now working
to extend same coverage to their parents. Raised immunization rates to all-time high.
But now is not the time to rest. Today, I want to focus on a few of the areas where
we have much more to do.
First and foremost, we must continue to work together to ensure that our federal
courts reflect America's growing racial and ethnic diversity. I'm proud that I have
appointed the most diverse group of federal judges in history - even prouder that my
appointments have garnered the highest percentages of top ratings from the American Bar
Association in 40 years. We have shattered the myth that diversity somehow diminishes
quality. I am especially proud that we have succeeded in appointing more Hispanic Americans
to the federal bench than any Administration in history. To date, 24 of my judicial appointees
have been Hispanic Americans, more than in the previous two Republican Administrations
combined.
Unfortunately, several eminently qualified minority nominees have become
casualties of a highly politicized confirmation process. Last year, an African American
state supreme court judge named Ronnie White was rejected solely on the basis of party
politics. Now, the same appears to be happening with Enrique Moreno, of Texas. Earlier this
month, Texas Senators Gramm and Hutchison announced that they would oppose Enrique
Moreno's nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Their claim
that Moreno lacks the necessary experience to serve on the Fifth Circuit is shamefully
inaccurate. The ABA unanimously gave Moreno their highest rating. And state judges rated
Moreno as one of the top three trial attorneys in El Paso.
By suggesting that Moreno needs judicial experience before he could be appointed
to the appellate bench, the Texas Senators appear to be applying a double standard. Six
of the nine judges on the Fifth Circuit appointed by Republican Presidents had no judicial
experience. And almost half of the Fifth Circuit judges appointed by Republican Presidents
had fewer years of overall legal experience than Moreno.
[More on Moreno's impressive personal and family history TK.]
I am also greatly disturbed by the Senate's failure to act on my nomination of
Dolly Gee for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Ms.
Gee, an Asian-American attorney in Los Angeles who has served with great distinction on the
Federal Service Impasse Panel, has broad bipartisan support. Nevertheless, her nomination
has languished before the Senate for more than 11 months.
The quality of American justice suffers when, for partisan political reasons, highly
qualified minority candidates such as Enrique Moreno and Dolly Gee are put on hold or
denied an opportunity to serve on this nation's courts. I call on the Senate to put aside
partisan differences and give Mr. Moreno and Ms. Gee an up-or-down vote in the full Senate.
That is the very least they deserve.
The second area where we still need more progress is in creating more educational
opportunities for young Latinos. Last August, the First Lady hosted the first White House
Conference on Latino Youth. To build on that effort, next month we are going to hold a
strategy session on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. We will bring together
public, private, philanthropic, and other leaders to focus on five key areas: expanding access
to early-childhood education, closing the state achievement gap, raising Hispanic graduation
rates, enhancing language proficiency, and guiding Hispanic students into higher education.
We need Hispanic students to excel in school if we want America to excel in the world.
Third, we must continue to encourage Congress to correct long-standing injustices
currently affecting many immigrants. We want to change the registry date to offer
long-term migrants with longstanding ties to this country a fair chance to become full
participants in American society. And we must amend the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central
American Relief Act (NACARA) to provide equitable treatment for other Central American
and Haitian immigrants.
Finally, we must continue to build that elusive One America. If the good Lord
came to me tonight when I walked out of this room and said, "Bill, now I'm not going to let
you serve the end of your term; I'm taking you home tonight. But I'm going to give one wish.
What do you want? I would wish for our country to be truly one America. For all that we
have achieved as a nation - and for all that MALDEF has achieved as an organization - we
have only scratched the surface of what we can do because of our increasing diversity.
###
Message Sent To:
Maria Echaveste/WHO/EOP@EOP
Marjorie Tarmey/WHO/EOP@EOP
Leslie Bernstein/WHO/EOP@EOP
James E. Kennedy/WHO/EOP@EOP
Irene Bueno/OPD/EOP@EOP
Eric S. Angel/WHO/EOP@EOP
Sarah Wilson/WHO/EOP@EOP
Andy Rotherham/OPD/EOP@EOP
Mickey Ibarra/WHO/EOP@EOP
Bob J. Nash/WHO/EOP@EOP
Brian A. Barreto/WHO/EOP@EOP
Draft 05/24/00 9pm
Gottheimer
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS TO ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN INSTITUTE
FOR CONGRESSIONAL STUDIES
WASHINGTON, DC
May 25, 2000
Ack: Norm Mineta (Chair, Asian American Pacific Institute); Bob Matsui (thank you for your
work on China PNTR); Asst. Attorney General Bill Lann Lee; Dolly Gee.
First, I want to thank the entire leadership and membership of the Asian American Pacific
Institute for all your the support you have shown
me and
Vice President Gore over the years.
It's hard to believe that it's been five years since I first joined you in launching the Asian
American Pacific Institute. It's remarkable to see how far you've come since then. But as the
Chinese Proverb says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
In your short journey, you have played an invaluable role in getting more Asian Pacific
Americans involved, informed and interested in the political process, and in the issues that are so
vital to your community. You have helped forge unity among the great diversity that is Asian
Pacific America.
As I said to you back in 1995, "If we [only] understand what an incredible resource our
people are
we [can] have more opportunities than any other country." That's something your
organization and Asian- Pacific- Americans have understood so well, for so many years. That we
you
are a nation of immigrants -- built on the talents of all our people. It's that spirit which drew the
first Japanese immigrants to our country in May 1843. It's the spirit that helped build - and
complete -- the Transcontinental Railroad more than 130 years ago this month. It's that spirit
which helped elect the first Asian American member of Congress in 1957. And it's that spirit
that we're celebrating here tonight, and all of May, during Asian Pacific American Heritage
Month.
More than 9 million Americans can trace their roots to Asia and the islands of the Pacific:
to at least 25 different nationalities, more than 75 different languages, and literally hundreds of
different ethnic groups. But you all share one thing in common - a long, rich legacy of working
hard and overcoming obstacles to pursue the American Dream. And in doing so, you have
greatly enriched the quality and character of our nation. You have shown that for all the
differences of ethnicity and national origin, Asian Pacific Americans are united by common
values of faith, family, and hard work - and by a common vision of a better future. For that, all
Americans should be grateful.
When I became President seven and a half years ago, it was clear to me that we had to go
beyond the divide-and-conquer politics that had dominated our country for many years. I knew
that if we could make a virtue of our diversity - not just tolerate it, but celebrate it - we would
have no trouble seizing the potential of our increasingly interconnected world.
And so we have worked for seven and a half years for a society in which there is
opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all Americans. And it's working.
Thanks to you and the hard work of citizens across our nation, America is stronger and more
united than ever before.
We are in the midst of the longest economic expansion in our nation's history. We have
created 21 million new jobs. Unemployment is at a 30-year low. The poverty rate of Asian
Pacific Americans has declined by more than ten percent since I took office. Last year, the
Small Business Administration approved loans to Asian Pacific American entrepreneurs totaling
over $2.1 billion - that's more than three-and-a-half times the number of loans granted in 1992.
We have increased our commitment to the enforcement of our civil rights laws.
Our social fabric is also on the mend. Crime is down by 20 percent to its lowest level in
25 years. Teen births are down seven years in a row. Adoptions are up 30 percent. Welfare
rolls have been cut in half to their lowest level in 30 years. We have expanded Head Start to help
more of our children start school ready to learn.
Asian Pacific Americans have strengthened our economy, our national security, and our
national character. This past spring, I was the first President in a generation to visit South Asia.
Just yesterday, we took an historic step toward normalizing trade with China, and continuing our
prosperity here at home.
But amidst all of this progress, we still face challenges in building One America.
First, in spite of our growing prosperity, we all know there are people and places
untouched by our economic recovery. Almost half of all Cambodian Americans and 2 out of 3
Hmong Americans still live in poverty. Over half of South Asian Americans have earned a
bachelor's degree, but less than 6 percent of Cambodian and Laotian Americans have completed
college.
We cannot rest until every community, every neighborhood, every block and every
family has the chance to reap the benefits of our booming economy, including access to a first
class education, and to better health and social services.
That's why I signed an Executive Order last year establishing the White House Initiative
on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and an Advisory Commission headed by Norm
Mineta. The Commission is working on ways to improve data collection and lower the cultural
and linguistic barriers to health and social services,
to
same
becausing
incentives
to
That's also why, over the past two years, I have traveled to some of our nation's hardest
pressed communities - from the Mississippi Delta to Watts
from
the
barrios
of
Phoenix
to
the
Pine Ridge Reservation. Some people may see these as pockets of poverty. But I see them as
pools of potential and new markets to keep our economy growing. Just this week, Speaker
Hastert completed an historic agreement to make investments in these untapped markets - so that
invest
businesses have the same Incentives to invest in them that we give them to invest in new markets
overseas.
These are Americ's the markets America
Overseas
needs to keep our economy growing.
Second, we also need to continue working to work together to ensure that our federal courts reflect
America's growing racial and ethnic diversity. I'm proud to have nominated Bill Lann Lee as
our nation's top civil rights enforcer. He's the first Asian Pacific American in that post, and he's
doing a tremendous job at the Justice Department. The Senate should do the right thing and
confirm him.
We also need to move forward in confirming our judges. I have appointed the most
diverse group of federal judges in history. Before I took office, it had been 14 years since the
last Asian Pacific American had been appointed to the federal bench. I've appointed 5 so far.
Yesterday, the Senate made progress by confirming 16 judges, but we have more to do.
Too many nominees have had to wait too long. People like Dolly Gee who I met with
yesterday-and who I nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
California. But her nomination has languished before the Senate for almost a year. I call on the
Senate to put aside partisan differences and give Dolly Gee an up-or-down vote in the full
Senate.
must doullare
Third, we must all keep working to build the One America of our dreams, That means
doing all we can to make America's growing diversity our greatest strength. Lealso means
standing up to violent hatred by supporting the passage of a strong hate crimes bill. Hate crimes
target people simply because of who they are-and so they strike at the heart of who we are. All
Americans should be able to live their lives in dignity--without fear of being abused or attacked.
Once again, I want to thank the entire Asian Pacific American community for all you are
doing to build stronger communities - and One America. A celebration like this is a reminder
that America is not just about where we are from, it's about where we are going. For all we have
achieved as a nation - and for all that the Asian American Pacific Institute has achieved as an
organization - we have only scratched the surface of what we can do because
of
diversity. Thank you and God bless you.
forommation America.
And so we have worked for seven and a half years for a society which there is
opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all Americans. And it's working.
Thanks to you and the hard work of citizens across our nation, America is stronger and more
united than ever before.
We are in the midst of the longest economic expansion in our nation's history. We have
created 21 million new jobs. Unemployment is at a 30-year low. The poverty rate of Asian
Pacific Americans has declined by more than ten percent since I took office. Last year, the
Small Business Administration approved loans to Asian Pacific American entrepreneurs totaling
over $2.1 billion - that's more than three-and-a-half times the number of loans granted in 1992.
We have increased our commitment to the enforcement of our civil rights laws.
Our social fabric is also on the mend. Crime is down by 20 percent to its lowest level in
25 years. Teen births are down seven years in a row. Adoptions are up 30 percent. Welfare
rolls have been cut in half to their lowest level in 30 years. We have expanded Head Start to help
more of our children start school ready to learn. And we have increased our support for
mentoring for higher education to help more of them graduate ready to succeed.
Asian Pacific Americans have strengthened our economy, our national security, and our
national character. [This past spring, I was the first President in a generation to visit South Asia.
Just yesterday, we took an historic step toward normalizing trade with China, and continuing our
prosperity here at home.]
But amidst all of this progress, we still face challenges in building One America.
First, in spite of our growing prosperity, we all know there are people and places
untouched by our economic recovery. Almost half of all Cambodian Americans and 2 out of 3
Hmong Americans still live in poverty. Over half of South Asian Americans have earned a
bachelor's degree, but less than 6 percent of Cambodian and Laotian Americans have completed
college.
We cannot rest until every community, every neighborhood, every block and every
family has the chance to reap the benefits of our booming economy, including access to a first
class education, and to better health and social services.
That's why I signed an Executive Order last year establishing the White House Initiative
on Asian Americans and Pacific) Islanders and an Advisory Commission headed by Norm
Mineta. The Commission is working on ways to improve data collection and lower the cultural
and linguistic barriers to health and social services.
That's also why, over the past two years, I have traveled to some of our nation's hardest
pressed communities - from the Mississippi Delta to Watts from the barrios of Phoenix to the
Pine Ridge Reservation. Some people may see these as pockets of poverty. But I see them as
pools of potential and new markets to keep our economy growing. Just this week, Speaker
Hastert completed an historic agreement to make investments in these untapped markets - so that
Karen Tramontano
05/24/2000
01:23:55 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: Presidential Email to Enumerators
josh --
would you review this proposed e-mail and see if you think its an okay thing to do from the president -- the
press office is fine w/ it --
Forwarded by Karen Tramontano/WHO/EOP on 05/24/2000 01:23 PM
[email protected]
05/23/2000 10:56:08 AM
Record Type:
Record
To:
karen tramontano
CC:
carolyn wu, [email protected]
Subject: Presidential Email to Enumerators
Note: Some recipients have been dropped due to syntax errors.
Please refer to the "$AdditionalHeaders" item for the complete headers.
Today or tomorrow, the Census Bureau will have completed work on more than 90%
of the housing units in the entire country. (Los Angeles region and Denver
region have already passed this milestone).
We will be working on the last ten percent for the next 6 weeks. This is the
hardest, most dangerous, most abusive, and most elusive part of the job.
Enumerators around the country have been the victims of dozens of violent
crimes. One was shot at five times. Two have been raped. Several mugged,
including a retiree who also had her van stolen by a teenage gang. Many, many
more are the victims of physical or verbal abuse.
To help build morale, and to provide a press peg for the 90% threshhold, I
thought the President and Vice-President could send an email to the Director for
him to foward electronically or on paper to every one of our 500,000 employees.
A suggest draft is below:
DRAFT
WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF SPEECHWRITING
SPEECH ASSIGNMENTS
June 6 - June 19, 2000
Tues 6/06
Agenda/ Supplemental
Paul
Statement
Wed 6/07
Departure Statement,
Heather
Clinical Trials
Wed 6/07 - Thur 6/8
TOKYO
Fri 6/9
Tape Radio Address - Paid
Josh
Leave
Fri 6/9
T: Statement
TBD
Sat 6/10
Carlton Commencement
Lowell/Jeff
Sat 6/10
DNC Events
Josh
Mon 6/12
Millennium Event
Sam
Mon 6/12
Dodd Dinner
Josh
Tues 6/13
Rural Rx Drug Event
TBD PG/HH
Tues 6/13
Fundraisers
Josh
Wed 6/14
T: Meeting with Arafat
NSC
Wed 6/14
T: Event
TBD
Thur 6/15
National Hispanic
TBD plats JS/LW
Education Meeting
P6
Thur 6/15
US Dream Academy Visit
TBD JS/LW/16
Thur 6/15
Williams Dinner
TBD
Fri 6/16
VH1 Save Music Event
TBD
Fri 6/16
T: Message Event
TBD
Fri 6/16
Tape Radio Address
TBD
Fri 6/16
Fundraisers
Josh
Mon 6/19
Fundraisers
Josh
Mon 6/19
T: Message Event
TBD
Tues 6/19
T: DC College Access
TBD
Event
(1)scloduls
E
2 have
Nancy Hernreich is the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Oval Office
Operations, a position she has held since the beginning of the Clinton Administration in 1993.
In managing the President's Office in the White House, Ms. Hernreich oversees communications
at all levels with the President, directs access to the President, maintains his priorities and
schedule; and advises him on a range of issues and Presidential matters as his longest serving
senior aide
ns
establishing the Immediate Office of the President in 1993, Ms. Hernreich designed inj and
H
ed
#
implemented the systems that enable the White House staff, Cabinet Secretaries and other parties
to interact with the President. While overseeing/the President's contact with Congressional
leaders and other elected officials, corporate chief executives and foreign officials, Ms.
Hernreich has frequent direct contact with parties at the highest levels. She has traveled
extensively with the President to many foreign countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America as
an official member of the U.S. delegation. Within the White House, she coordinates daily with
the White House Chief of Staff, the National Security Advisor and Cabinet Secretaries and is
expected by the President to represent his interests with these parties in the planning and
execution of his priorities. One of her key roles is to manage the competing demands for the
President's attention and to make decisions that will have positive policy and public relations
ramifications. She manages an extensive staff in the White House and she is responsible for the
budget for her office.
In her capacity as advisor to the President, Ms. Hernreich is required to be well versed in
domestic and foreign issues, exercise impeccable judgement and maintain absolute discretion
and utmost diplomacy. Her management, judgement, decisions and advice on issues and
priorities of the President and his Administration have had significant impact on the successes of
the Administration for the last seven years. She has earned a reputation in the Administration
and in national and corporate circles as being loyal, organized, a problem solver, and a quick
study who gets things done.
Nancy Hernreich is listed in Who's Who, Who's Who in American Women, and Who's Who in
Politics. She has been active in politics and civic affairs for 30 years, running campaigns and
serving (among others) on the Arkansas State Democratic Executive Committee, the County
Election Commission and the Social Work Licensing Board. Prior to joining the White House,
she taught at Head Start and also ran education programs and skills building seminars for low-
income parents. Her longtime commitment to service and social progress led her naturally to the
world of politics, where she was employed by the Governor of Arkansas. (as Director of
Scheduling from 1985 to 1993.) (She graduated from Webster College in St. Louis, Missouri
where she was on the Dean's List and was President of the Resident Council. She has one
daughter, Ashley, who is 23 and is recent (Magna Cum Laude) graduate of Duke University.)
Maya Edmonds, Terry's daughter
Graduating June 10th, Summa Cum Laude, from Auburn University
Degree in Nutrition/ Health Science
Joshua S. Gottheimer
06/06/2000 01:54:06 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Terry Edmonds/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: draft of schedule
WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF SPEECHWRITING
SPEECH ASSIGNMENTS
June 6 - June 19, 2000
Tues 6/06
Agenda/ Supplemental
Paul
Statement
Wed 6/07
Departure Statement, Clinical
Heather
Trials
Wed 6/07 - Thur 6/8
TOKYO
Fri 6/9
Tape Radio Address - Paid
Josh
Leave
Fri 6/9
T: Statement
TBD
Sat 6/10
Carlton Commencement
Lowell/Jeff
Sat 6/10
DNC Events
Josh
Mon 6/12
Millennium Event
Sam
Mon 6/12
Dodd Dinner
Josh
Tues 6/13
Rural Rx Drug Event
Heather
Tues 6/13
Fundraisers
Josh
Wed 6/14
T: Meeting with Arafat
NSC
Wed 6/14
T: Event
TBD
Thur 6/15
National Hispanic Education
Paul
Meeting
Thur 6/15
US Dream Academy Visit
Terry
Thur 6/15
Williams Dinner
Josh
Fri 6/16
VH1 Save Music Event
Jeff/Lowell
Fri 6/16
T: Message Event
Jeff/ Lowell
Fri 6/16
Tape Radio Address
Josh
Fri 6/16
Fundraisers
Josh
Mon 6/19
Fundraisers
Josh
Mon 6/19
T: Message Event
TBD
Tues 6/19
T: DC College Access Event
TBD
Joe
SW
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Josh
Page 1
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Josh
Page 1
Draft 05/24/00 8:35pm
Gottheimer
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS TO ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN INSTITUTE
FOR CONGRESSIONAL STUDIES
WASHINGTON, DC
May 25, 2000
Ack: Norm Mineta (Chair, Asian American Pacific Institute); Bob Matsui (thank you for your
work on China PNTR); Asst. Attorney General Bill Lann Lee; Dolly Gee.
,the
First, I want to thank the entire leadership and membership of the Asian American Pacific
Institute for all your support you have shown to me and to Vice President Gore over the years.
It's hard to believe that it's been five years since I first joined you in launching the Asian
American Pacific Institute. It's remarkable to see how far you've come since then. But as the
Chinese Proverb says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." In your short
journey, you have played an invaluable role in getting more Asian Pacific Americans involved,
informed and interested in the political process, and in the issues that are so vital to your
community. You have helped forge unity among the great diversity that is Asian Pacific
America.
As I said to you back in 1995, "If we [only] understand what an incredible resource our
people are we [can] have more opportunities than any other country." That's something your
organization and Asian-Pacific Americans have understood so well, for so many years. That we
are a nation of immigrants, that was built on upon using the talents of all our people. It's that spirit
which drew the first Japanese immigrants to our country in May 1843. It's the spirit that helped
build - and complete the Transcontinental Railroad more than 130 years ago this month. It's
that spirit which has helped elected And it's that spirit that stilled we're stilled celebrating here tonight and
all of May, during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
too limiting a det ?
More than 9 million Americans can trace their roots to Asia and the islands of the Pacific:
to at least 25 different nationalities, more than 75 different languages, and literally hundreds of
different ethnic groups. But whether your roots are in Japan, Vietnam, or Hawaii, you all share
one thing in common - a long, rich legacy of working hard and overcoming obstacles to pursue
the American Dream. And in doing so, you have greatly enriched the quality and character of
our nation. You have shown that for all the differences of ethnicity and national origin, Asian
Pacific Americans are united by common values of faith, family, and hard work - and by a
common vision of a better future. For that, all Americans should be grateful.
When I became President seven and a half years ago, it was clear to me that we had to go
beyond the divide-and-conquer politics that had dominated our country for many years. I knew
that if we could make a virtue of our diversity - not just tolerate it, but celebrate it - we would
have no trouble seizing the potential of our increasingly interconnected world.
toward? in
And so we have worked for seven and a half years a society which there is
opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all Americans. And it's working.
Thanks to you and the hard work of citizens across our nation, America is stronger and more
united than ever before.
We are in the midst of the longest economic expansion in our nation's history. We have
created 21 million new jobs. Unemployment is at a 30-year low. The poverty rate of Asian
Pacific Americans has declined by more than ten percent since I took office. Last year, the
Small Business Administration approved loans to Asian Pacific American entrepreneurs totaling
over $2.1 billion - that's more than three-and-a-half times the number of loans granted in 1992.
We have increased our commitment to the enforcement of our civil rights laws.
Our social fabric is also on the mend. Crime is down by 20 percent to its lowest level in
25 years. Teen births are down seven years in a row. Adoptions are up 30 percent. Welfare
rolls have been cut in half to their lowest level in 30 years. We have expanded Head Start to help
more of our children start school ready to learn. And we have increased our support for
mentoring for higher education to help more of them graduate ready to succeed. Asian Pacific
Americans have strengthened our economy, our national security, and our national character.
But amidst all of this progress, we still face challenges in building One America.
First, in spite of our growing prosperity, we all know there are people and places
untouched by our economic recovery. Almost half of all Cambodian Americans and 2 out of 3
Hmong Americans still live in poverty. Over half of South Asian Americans have earned a
bachelor's degree, but less than 6 percent of Cambodian and Laotian Americans have completed
college.
We cannot rest until every community, every neighborhood, every block and every
family has the chance to reap the benefits of our booming economy, including access to a first
class education, and to better health and social services.
That's why I signed an Executive Order last year establishing the White House Initiative
on Asian Americans and Pacific islanders and an Advisory Commission headed by Norm
Mineta. The Commission is working on ways to improve data collection and lower the culutral
and linguistic barriers to health and social services.
That's also why, over the past two years, I have traveled to some of our nation's hardest
pressed communities - from the Mississippi Delta to Watts from the barrios of Phoenix to the
Pine Ridge Reservation. Some people may see these as pockets of poverty. But I see them as
pools of potential -- and new markets to keep our economy growing. Just this week, Speaker
Hastert completed an historic agreement to make investments in these untapped markets - so that
businesses have the same incentives to invest in them that we give them to invest in new markets
overseas.
Yesterday, the House voted to open new markets abroad, when it decided to grant
permanent normal trading status to China. Our Administration has negotiated an agreement that
will open China's market wide to American goods made on American soil - everything from
corn to cars to computers. If the Senate votes as the House did, it will open new doors of trade
for America, and new hopes for change in China.
Second, we also need to continue to work together to ensure that our federal courts reflect
America's growing racial and ethnic diversity. I'm proud to have nominated Bill Lann Lee as
our nation's top civil rights enforcer. He's the first Asian Pacific American in that post, and he's
doing a tremendous job at the Justice Department. The Senate should do the right thing and
confirm him.
We also need to move forward in confirming our judges. I have appointed the most
diverse group of federal judges in history - and my appointments have garnered the highest
percentages of top ratings from the American Bar Association in 40 years. We have shattered
the myth that diversity somehow diminishes quality. Before I took office, it had been 14 years
since the last Asian Pacific American had been appointed to the federal bench. I've appointed
5-so far.
Yesterday, I met with Dolly Gee. As many of you know, she is an outstanding attorney
in Los Angeles. She has served with great distinction on the Federal Service Impasse Board
helping to mediate labor disputes. I have nominated her for a seat on the U.S. District Court for
the Central District of California. Yet her nomination has languished before the Senate for
almost a year. The quality of American justice suffers when highly qualified minority candidates
like Dolly Gee are put on hold or denied an opportunity to serve. I call on the Senate to put aside
partisan differences and give Dolly Gee an up-or-down vote in the full Senate.
Third, we must all keep working to build the One America of our dreams. That means
doing all we can to make America's growing diversity our greatest strength. It also means
standing up to violent hatred by supporting the passage of a strong hate crimes bill. Hate crimes
target people simply because of who they are-and so they strike at the heart of who we are. All
Americans should be able to live their lives in dignity--without fear of being abused or attacked.
Once again, I want to thank the entire Asian Pacific American community for all you are
doing to build stronger communities - and One America. A celebration like this is a reminder
that America is not just about where we are from, it's about where we are going. For all we have
achieved as a nation - and for all that the Asian American Pacific Institute has achieved as an
organization - we have only scratched the surface of what we can do because of our increasing
diversity. Thank you and God bless you.
Asian American Quotations
Make your life count -- and the world will be a better place because you tried.
-- Ellison Onizuka, Astronaut, Message to Konawaena High School, 1980
I don't think there will ever be a time when people will stop wanting to bring about change.
Yuri Kochiyama
We have to realize that as America changes, all of us are going to be involved in [that] change
David Hwang
Let us embrace with deep love our loved ones for having stood with us and walked with us on
our journey.
Dan Inouye
Chinese Proverbs
If you have enough people, you can move the palace across the river.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Be not afraid of moving slowly, be only afraid of standing still.
Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a strong fire.
We are not so much concerned if you are slow as when you come to a halt.
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
The path of duty lies in what is near at hand, but men seek for it in what is remote.
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket (the organization will present him with a basket of
Asian American themed books as a gift).
Funny: Of all the strategems, to know when to quit is the best.
One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked.
When planning for a year, plant corn. When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning
for life, train and educate people.
Could be funny or serious: It is later than you think.
A jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
Samir Afridi
05/24/2000 03:40:50 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: where i am right now
Draft 5/24/00 3:30 pm
Sam Afridi
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
THE WHITE HOUSE
May 25, 2000
Acknowledge: Norm Mineta; Daphne Kwok; Jin Sook Lee; Karen Narasaki; Bill Lann
Lee and all of the members of my Administration, including my Deputy Director for Public
Liaison Laura Efurd. I'm proud to have appointed more Asian Pacific Americans than any
other President in history. They're making a difference every day--enforcing our nation's civil
rights laws, administering our Medicare program, representing America overseas, serving in
countless other ways.
When I came to office seven and a half years ago, it was clear to me that we had to go
beyond the kind of divide-and-conquer politics that had dominated our country for too long. I
knew that if we could make a virtue of our diversity-not just tolerate it, but celebrate and
draw strength from it-we would have no trouble seizing the potential of our increasingly
interconnected world. We could build one America.
That's what today is about. This month, we honor the contributions of more than ten
million Asian Pacific Americans to every aspect of our national life-from engineering to
education, science to sports, public service to the performing arts. Whether they are fifth
generation Americans or our newest citizens, the sons and daughters of China, Japan, the
Philippines, and the Indian Subcontinent came here seeking the promise of freedom and
opportunity and carrying a proud history and heritage. That's something we celebrate not just
today or this month, but every day.
Thanks to the inventiveness of people like Vinod Dahm, we celebrate it whenever we
use a computer with a Pentium chip. We celebrate it when we read the words of writers like
Amy Tan-when we visit the haunting Vietnam Memorial of Maya Lin-when we watch the
artful dive of Greg Louganis-when we benefit from the pathbreaking medical research of
Lowell A. Weiss
05/23/2000 09:49:39 AM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Loretta M. Ucelli/WHO/EOP@EOP, Mara A. Silver/WHO/EOP@EOP, Terry Edmonds/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP@EOP, Joel Johnson/WHO/EOP@EOP
Subject: 9:30am draft
Draft 5/22/00 9:30am
Lowell Weiss
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON NEW MARKETS AGREEMENT AND CHINA PNTR
THE WHITE HOUSE
May 23, 2000
Acknowledge: Speaker Hastert; Rep. Rangel, for his steadfast commitment to
Empowerment Zones and to finding new ways to lift up communities; Reps. Clyburn, Roybal-
Allard, Kennedy, Kildee, and all the members of the Congressional Black, Hispanic, and
Indian Caucuses who have played such a critical role; Chairman Archer; Reps. Talent, Watts;
Gene Sperling.
Hastert and I have vehic the Spk honor Man11 of
This morning, Speaker great announcing a remarkable
bipartisan achievement: We have completed an agreement to make historic investments in the
untapped markets of America's inner cities, rural areas, and Indian reservations.
Today, America's economy is the strongest it has ever been - with more than 21
million new jobs, a 3.9 percent unemployment rate, the lowest minority unemployment ever
recorded. We have the smallest welfare rolls in 30 years, the lowest crime rates in 25 years,
and the lowest poverty rates in 20 years.
But there are places that still have not been touched by this prosperity. This
Administration has worked hard to change that. We created and expanded Empowerment
Zones, strengthened the Community Reinvestment Act, and fostered Community Development
Banks, which make loans to people who couldn't get them otherwise. And all of these
initiatives have made a real difference. But we knew we had to do more to challenge private
sector firms to step up to their responsibility. And we knew we had to give them the right
incentives to do so.
That's why I launched my New Markets Initiative last year and have spent so much
time traveling from hard-pressed rural areas like Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, to
inner cities like East Palo Alto and Newark, to the tribal lands of the Navajo and Lakota
Sioux. Each place I have gone, I have met talented people eager for opportunity, and able to
work. I have seen the untapped markets we must develop if we are to keep the American
going economy strong.
Last November, on the second of my New Markets tours, Speaker Hastert joined me in
Englewood, on the south side of Chicago. There we pledged to bring together all of our ideas
for renewing communities and opening new markets and merge them into one unified,
bipartisan effort. As I said at the time, giving people a chance to live their dreams is not a
Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It is an American issue. And it is something we have
to do together.
Today, we are joined by Members of both political parties to say: We're honoring that
Englewood commitment. We've achieved an agreement that will allow us to give every family
in every community a stake in the prosperity we've worked so hard to build. I'd like to give
you some of the details of this agreement - and then I will ask Speaker Hastert to outline the
rest.
First, under this agreement, people who invest in a high unemployment, high poverty
area anywhere in America will qualify for a New Markets Tax Credit equal to 30% of the
amount they invest. Of course, no one is going to going to put up money for new markets if
they think they're going to lose it. But this tax credit will give people a much greater
incentive to look for good opportunities in places they've never looked before.
Second, the House of Representatives will authorize the other major pillars of our New
Markets Initiative: Our New Markets Venture Capital Firms, geared toward helping small and
first-time entrepreneurs; and America's Private Investment Companies, modeled on the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which will help large-scale businesses expand or
relocate to distressed inner cities or rural areas. With these Venture Capital Firms and APICs,
we will provide $2 of government guaranteed loans for every $1 of equity capital that
investors put into New Markets. Combined with our New Markets Tax Credit, we will now
be able to spur more than $20 billion in new private investment. That will make an enormous
difference for communities struggling to join the economic mainstream.
Third, this agreement will give a major boost to America's Empowerment Zones,
which Vice President Gore helped to launch in 1993 and which have proven that investment in
inner cities and rural areas is both the right thing and the smart thing to do. Our new
agreement will create a third round of Empowerment Zones, bringing the total number up to
40. It will make both wage credits and tax-exempt bonds available across all of our
Empowerment Zones. And it will extend the life of all of our Empowerment Zones to 2009.
As Speaker Hastert will explain in a moment, in addition to these 40 Empowerment
Zones, we will also create 40 Renewal Communities. These Renewal Communities, which
were designed by J.C. Watts, James Talent, and Danny Davis, will operate much like our
EZs, although with slightly different tax incentives. When I first started this process, I
pledged to find the best ideas from both parties. And that is exactly what we've done.
Last year, the leaders you see here today could have said, "We've got an idea; they've
got an idea; let's have a fight." But instead, they took a different course. They said, "Let's
seek common ground, because it's the right ground for building the kind of future we want for
all our children." Once again, I thank Speaker Hastert and all of the Members here today for
their personal commitment to taking this second course - the braver course - to renewing
American communities and opening new markets here at home.
Tomorrow, the House will vote on the issue of opening new markets abroad when it
decides whether to grant permanent normal trading status to China. I hope it will take this
same bipartisan approach we are seeing today - because the stakes are every bit as high for
our nation. China, with more than a billion people, is the largest potential market in the
world. China wants to join the World Trade Organization, the body that sets the rules of
international trade. To enter the WTO, China has agreed to open its markets to everything
from American wheat to cars to computers. For America, it is an economic slam dunk.
But even more important than the economic implications of this vote are the moral and
national security implications. Yes, China is still a one-party state, restricting rights of free
speech and religious expression. But by forcing China to slash subsidies and tariffs that the
Communist Party has long used to exercise day-to-day control, by letting our high-tech
companies bring the information revolution to China, we will be unleashing powerful forces of
liberty that, ultimately, no one-party state can suppress.
I hope the Congress will consider these stakes. America may be at peace. Our
economy may be strong. But our decisions have consequences - for good or for ill. I believe
that if we want prosperity for our people, if we want to stand for freedom, if we want peace
and security for our nation and the world, then Congress must seize this historic opportunity -
and vote yes for normal trade with China. This may seem like a difficult vote in the heat of
the moment, but in the light of history it will be absolutely clear that a yes vote was the right
thing to do for America.
And now, I would like to invite Speaker Hastert to further describe the details of the
unprecedented agreement we have reached.
[After Speaker Hastert finishes his remarks, you will offer a few closing words.]
###
David Ho.
Asian Pacific Americans have strengthened our economy, our national security, and
our national character. And I'm proud of the progress we have made together over these last
seven and a half years to better the lives of our people and move our country forward.
We are in the midst of the longest economic expansion in our nation's history.
Unemployment is at a 30-year low. The poverty rate of Asian Pacific Americans has declined
by more than ten percent since I took office. Last year, the Small Business Administration
approved loans to Asian Pacific American entrepreneurs totaling over $2.1 billion--that's more
than three and a half times the number of loans granted in 1992. We have beefed up our
commitment to the enforcement of our civil rights laws.
But amidst all of this progress, we face challenges in building one America. I want to
touch on a few today.
First, we face the challenge of making sure that every American is a part of our
prosperity. The Asian Pacific American community is the fastest growing racial group in our
country. It is also among the most diverse-representing more than 30 different ethnic groups
with roots that stretch from Pakistan to Polynesia, Thailand to Tonga, Hong Kong to Hawaii.
Some have referred to the Asian Pacific American community as a so-called "model
minority", but that label-like any label-masks the rich diversity of this population, and
minimizes the disparities that some face. For example, cervical cancer rates among
Vietnamese women are nearly five times higher than those for white women. Over half of
South Asian Americans have earned a bachelors degree, but less than six percent of
Cambodian and Laotian Americans have completed college. Despite the strong economy,
almost half of all Cambodian Americans and 2 out of 3 Hmong Americans live in poverty.
1Am
We need to take a deeper look at this diverse population-to lower the cultural and
linguistic barriers to health and social services-and help make sure the needs of underserved
communities are addressed. That's why/ signed an Executive Order last year establishing the
White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and an Advisory Commission
headed by Norm Mineta. One particular focus will be on how we can improve our data
collection to better identify the specific needs of subpopulations
In a larger sense, the work of the Commission is really an extension of our New
Markets approach to make sure that every family in every community can be a part of our
prosperity, and to recognize that we all do better when we help each other. That's what the
Commission and our White House Initiative is all about-and I thank you Norm, the
Commissioners, and all those throughout our government for your work.
Second, we need to continue progress in making sure our government reflects our
growing diversity. I'm proud to have nominated Bill Lann Lee as our nation's top civil rights
enforcer. He's the first Asian Pacific American in that post and he's doing a tremendous job
at the Justice Department. The Senate should do the right thing and confirm him.
We also need to move forward in confirming our judges. I have appointed the most
diverse group of federal judges in history - and my appointments have garnered the highest
pércentages of top ratings from the American Bar Association in 40 years. We have shattered
the myth that diversity somehow diminishes quality. Before I took office, it had been 14 years
since the last Asian Pacific American had been appointed to the federal bench. I've appointed
5-so far.
Yesterday, I met with Dolly Gee. As many of you know, she is an outstanding
attorney in Los Angeles. She has served with great distinction on the Federal Service Impasse
Board helping to mediate labor disputes. I have nominated her for a seat on the U.S. District
Court for the Central District of California. Yet her nomination has languished before the
Senate for almost a year.
The quality of American justice suffers when highly qualified minority candidates like
Dolly Gee are put on hold or denied an opportunity to serve. I call on the Senate to put aside
partisan differences and give Dolly Gee an up-or-down vote in the full Senate.
Third, part of building one America means rooting out discrimination in all its forms.
Part of that means healing from the wounds of past wrongs. My budget includes almost $5
million to preserve a number of World War II internment camps. We must never forget that
sad chapter in our history. I'm also looking forward to awarding the Medal of Honor next
month to 21 Asian Pacific American veterans of World War II-including Senator Daniel
Inouye. It's long overdue. They went to war to defend our freedom even though many of
their families were behind barbed wire in our own country just because they were Japanese
American.
It will be another opportunity to reaffirm that America is diminished when any
American is targeted unfairly because of their heritage. Racism, stereotyping and
discrimination have no place in America.
That's also why we simply must do more to combat hate crimes in our society. We
have seen case after case across our land--a man dragged to his death in Texas because he was
black; a young man beaten and left to die in Wyoming because he was gay; children shot in
Los Angeles because of their faith; a postal worker named Joseph Ileto gunned down because
of his Filipino heritage. Hate crimes are unlike any other crime. These crimes target people
simply because of who they are-and so they strike at the heart of who we are.
This isn't a partisan issue. This is a simple statement of American principle. This is
about people who work hard, obey the law and are good citizens and good neighbors. They
ought to be able to live their lives in dignity--without fear of being abused or attacked.
Once again, I want to thank the Asian Pacific American community for all you are
doing to build stronger communities-and One America.
A celebration like this is a reminder that America is not just about where we are from,
it's about where we are going. America is a set of ideas and values and convictions that make
us strong. That's what we celebrate today. I thank you for being a part of it.
Now it's my honor to introduce my friend and a great leader, Norm Mineta. A World
War II internment survivor, the first Asian American to chair a Committee in Congress,
founder of the Asisan Pacific Institute for Congressional studies
###
http://www.apaics.org/frequent.htm
ASTAMPACIFIC AMERICAN
About Us
Frequently Asked Questions
Home
What's New
What is the difference between the Congressional Asian Pacific
Caucus (Caucus) and the Asian Pacific American Institute for
Features
Congressional Studies (Institute)?
The Caucus was formed in May 1994 by members of Congress
Programs &
Services
dedicated to advancing issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans. The
Caucus helps ensure that federal legislation reflects the needs of the
?
About Us
Asian Pacific American community, issues policy statements on
legislation pertaining to Asian and Pacific Americans, educates other
Contac
members and caucuses about the Asian Pacific American community
and works with them to protect and advance the civil and
constitutional rights of all Americans.
The Institute was created by the Caucus and other community leaders
in 1995 as a non-partisan, nonprofit, educational corporation with the
goal of increasing the participation of Asian Pacific Americans in
public policy on a national level. The Institute does not take positions
on legislation but provides forums where different perspectives on
issues affecting Asian Pacific Americans can be debated and serves as
a clearinghouse of information for Congress and the Asian Pacific
American community.
Who sits on APAICS' Board of Directors?
The Institute's Board of Directors consists of members of Congress,
prominent members of the corporate community, policymakers and
community leaders. Former Congressman Norman Y. Mineta is the
Chairman of the Institute, M.E. Chang, R. Adm. U.S.N. (Ret.) serves
as the Vice-Chair.
How is APAICS funded?
The Institute's programs and operations are funded by corporations,
foundations and individuals. Since its creation, although permitted by
law, the Institute has not accepted contributions from foreign
governments or foreign corporations as a matter of policy.
Is APAICS a membership organization?
No. Interested individuals should contact the APAICS office and
request to be included in the Institute's mailing list for
announcements, events and publications.
Who are the APAICS staff and how may I contact them?
APAICS' Executive Director is Francey Lim Youngberg, a graduate
of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School and past president of
the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Washington, D.C.
1 of 2
5/24/2000 1:04 PM
http://www.apaics.org/frequent.htm
Leigh-Ann Miyasato, formerly the Acting Washington Representative
for the Japanese American Citizens League, is APAICS' Program
Director.
APAICS is located at 209 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 100,
Washington, DC 20003. Our email address is [email protected]. You
may call us at 202-547-9100 or send us a fax at 202-547-9109.
When and where does the APAICS Annual Gala Dinner and
Legislative Conference take place?
The Annual Gala Dinner and Legislative Conference which is held in
Washington, DC is one of the highlights of Asian Pacific Heritage
Month in May. In 1995 and 1996 President Bill Clinton was the
keynote speaker at the APAICS Annual Gala Dinner which is the
organization's major fundraising event. The event attracts over 1200
distinguished guests nationwide and financial support from major
corporate sponsors. The Gala Dinner is held in conjunction with the
Legislative Conference which includes forums for different
viewpoints on important issues affecting the Asian American
community, briefings by the Democratic National Committee, the
Republican National Committee and the White House.
Are my contributions to APAICS tax deductible?
The Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational corporation
which has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a
501(c)(3) organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the
top of page
extent permitted by law.
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
July 21, 1999
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
I strongly support the efforts of the National Council of Asian
Pacific Americans to call attention to the failure of the Senate to
confirm Bill Lann Lee as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
I resubmitted Mr. Lee's nomination to the Senate more than four
months ago, yet the Senate Judiciary Committee has not considered his
nomination. Bill Lee has an excellent record as Acting Assistant
Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. Under his leadership,
the Justice Department has enforced our civil rights laws justly and
fairly. The Department is combating hate crimes, ensuring fair housing,
fighting illegal discrimination against persons with disabilities,
protecting workers from exploitation, and taking other strong actions to
protect people's rights.
Some of Mr. Lee's opponents have decided to use his nomination as
a means of expressing their disagreement with the civil rights laws
themselves. This is wrong. He deserves to be considered based on his
record and abilities, not blocked because some Senators disagree with
the law of the land. To refuse to allow the Senate to vote on his
nomination does a disservice to the confirmation process, to this
outstanding nominee, and to the American people.
30-30-30
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 18, 1995
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC CAUCUS DINNER
The Hyatt Regency
Washington, D.C.
7:37 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Admiral, for that introduction;
and thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for that rousing welcome. Can we
do this again tomorrow night? (Applause.)
Thank you, Admiral; thank you, Gloria Caoile. To all the
members of Congress who are here, I thought I had a list of all of them,
but I can look outside there and see I don't. I have seen Congressman
Mineta, Congressman Matsui, Congressman Underwood, Congressman Kim,
Congressman Faleomavaega. I see Congressman McDermott out there your
Medicare hearing was great. (Laughter.) I watched you on CSPAN - - all
the members of Congress, I want you to know I'm watching you all the
time on CSPAN. (Laughter and applause.) I see Senator Inouye and
Senator Robb, and there may be others here, and if I have not mentioned
you I am sorry, I apologize.
I'm delighted to see your co-emcees here. First, Ming Na
Wen, whom I first saw in the wonderful movie, "Joy Luck Club, when Amy
Tan came to the White House and showed it. And then, my daughter makes
me watch "ER" whenever I can. (Laughter.) I was tired when I got here,
and then I shook hands with her and my blood started pumping, so I feel
so good. (Laughter.) I'm especially glad to see George Takei, because
I came here to talk about how we're going to take America into the 21st
century, and he's already been there. (Laughter and applause.) This
may be largely an academic exercise to him.
I'm glad to be joined by Secretary of Transportation,
Federico Pena; and by Phil Lader, the SBA Administrator, and many others
whom I will mention in a moment who are here tonight. And I also I
met the board members, or at least several of them, on the way in
tonight. I want to thank all of you for serving and for constituting
this organization.
Hillary and our daughter, Chelsea, just got back from a
remarkable trip to Southern Asia. They went to India, to Pakistan, to
Bangladesh, to Nepal and to Sri Lanka. I got a few shirts and a lot of
pictures out of it (laughter) and a world of education, because I
watched several hours of rough film footage of their trip, and I must
tell you that it was an immensely rewarding thing for them and for us,
and I hope and believe it was good for the United States. (Applause.)
We are at an extraordinary moment in our nation's history,
not only for the Asian Pacific American community, but for all of our
people who understand that we're going through profound changes,
economic and social changes, that we have great problems and great
challenges, but, frankly, more opportunities than any other country if
we understand what an incredible resource our people are, and how
fortunate we are, on the verge of a totally globalized economy, to have,
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perhaps, the most diversified citizenry anywhere in the world.
If we understand that we don't have a person to waste, and
that we have to face our challenges together, there is no stopping the
United States. I have been particularly gratified to have the services
of so many people from the Asian Pacific American community in our
administration. Many of you out here, I see, have accepted various
appointments to boards and commissions, and many of you work full-time
for the White House or the administration, including Doris Matsui in
Public Liaison - - (applause) -- listen, she gets a hand when I'm in the
non-Asian crowds. I think she must be the best politician in the White
House - - certainly the best politician in the Matsui family.
(Applause.)
I see Congressman Pastor out there, an Hispanic Asian
American Congressman. (Applause.) Maria Haley, with the Export Import
Bank; Ginger Lew at the Commerce Department, Denny Hiyashi of HHS.
(Applause.) Debra Shon with the Trade Representative's Office. Paul
Igasaki of the EEOC and Edward Chow of Veterans Affairs. (Applause.)
And, tomorrow, I will get a list of everyone in my administration I have
omitted to mention tonight, and I will eat a lot of crow.
We are a nation of immigrants. Not very many of us can
trace our lineage back originally to this continent. It is a good thing
to recognize and celebrate that fact. That was the purpose behind
Congressman Horton's tireless efforts to have the month of May
designated as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
I want to add my sincere congratulations to the well-
deserved recognition Congressman Horton is receiving tonight. He did
America a great service with this action. (Applause.)
Thank you, sir. Stand up. Thank you. (Applause.)
The month of May has great significance in Asian Pacific
American history. The first week of May in 1843, the first Japanese
arrived in America. On May the 10th, 1869, Golden Spike Day, the
Transcontinental Railroad, built in large measure with Chinese labor,
was completed. Today, more than 150 years later, nearly 8 million Asian
Pacific Americans can trace their roots to Asia and the islands of the
Pacific.
As we face the challenges of the global economy in the
Information Age, we turn to you for hope an inspiration. You know well
about overcoming barriers and embracing change. You know well about the
importance of preserving the traditional values of family and hard work,
and sacrifice today for a better future tomorrow. And, yet you have
shown the most remarkable ability to adapt to changing circumstances of
perhaps any group of your fellow Americans.
Some of you are fifth generation citizens; others are the
first in your families to call yourselves Americans. But all of you
have a legacy of being willing to work hard to overcome obstacles to
pursue the American Dream. As immigrants and the descendants of legal
immigrants, you understand, perhaps more than most, what it means to
take on the responsibility of facing up to building a new life in a
difficult and new circumstance.
As we debate immigration policy in this country -- and we
should and we all know that we have a problem of illegal immigration
which undermines the support that has traditionally existed in America
for legal immigration, at least in modern times, we should all remember
something that President Kennedy once said in describing the value of
immigration, and I'd like to quote: "Immigration gave every old
American a standard by which to judge how far he had come, and every new
American, a realization of how far he might go." It reminded every
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American, old and new, that change is the essence of life and that
American society is a process, not a conclusion. Let us remember that
today in this time. We welcome your creativity, your contributions and
your criticisms as we struggle to prepare all Americans for the coming
century.
For the past two years I have been focused some would
say obsessed with getting our people to do the things that I believe
we must do to move into the next century. I think that what we have to
do does not fall easily into the categories of established political
debate, or even into the established agendas of the political parties.
The future should not belong to Republicans or Democrats, it should
belong to all Americans who are willing to do what has to be done to
keep the American Dream alive.
In the next century, we have to face the fact that we will
have more opportunities than ever before, but that there will be
challenges that are different than we have faced before. We will have
to face the fact that wealth and success will not only depend upon hard
work, it will require more smart work. We will have to face some new
and different challenges to our security; for the Information Age
requires us to be more open, more flexible, more mobile, to be able to
get more information more quickly, to democratize access to all kinds of
facts that previously were the province of the privileged few.
But we know that as we do that, we give rise to new
security challenges, for the open and flexible and fast-moving society
is very vulnerable to the forces of organized destruction. We saw that
most heartbreakingly recently in Oklahoma City. We live with the bitter
aftertaste of the World Trade Center. And our hearts ache with the
Japanese people when they endured the ability of one fanatic to go into
the subway and break open a vial of poison gas and kill several people
and hospitalize hundreds of others. All this is a reminder that, in the
21st Century, we may be beyond the Cold War, we may succeed and
that's what my recent trip to Russia was partly about, in completely
removing the burden of the nuclear terror from our children and our
grandchildren.
But we cannot avoid organized, destructive, evil forces
that will come at us in different ways, with the proliferation of
biological and chemical and perhaps even small-scale nuclear weapons
that is what we must fight against. We must fight to protect the
benefits of the open society with genuine security for all of our
people.
I think you could argue that the last two years have been a
good down-payment on the future we are trying to build. Our economy has
produced 6.3 million new jobs; finally, after years of stagnation, we're
beginning to produce high-wage jobs in the economy again. Our deficit
is down by over $600 billion over a five-year period. Today, our
government's budget would be balanced today but for the interest
payments we are required to make this year on the debt run up between
1981 and the end of 1992. So we are moving in the right direction.
We are shrinking the size of the federal government. It's
over 100,000 people smaller than it was when I came here, and we're
going to shrink it by much, much more. But I would say to you again, in
the wake of what we have seen in terms of expressed animosity toward our
government, the people that are working for our government, therefore,
are doing more work with fewer people. They, too, are being more and
more productive, and they are entitled to our respect, not our
condemnation; they are Americans too. (Applause.)
The Small Business Administration, for example, its
administrator is here, Mr. Lader -- is having a huge reduction in its
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budget, but they've increased their loan volume by 40 percent. That is
the kind of thing we see going on all over the government. We have done
what we could to support small business; it is really the engine of
opportunity, historically, for the Asian Pacific American community. In
the budget in 1993, we increased the expensing provisions for small
business by 70 percent, and adopted for the first time a capital gains
tax for people who really invest long-term in businesses, who hold the
investment for five years or longer.
Now, the SBA loan application has gone from an inch thick
to a page long, and you can get an answer in a week instead of two or
three months. We know that these are the kinds of things that we ought
to be doing throughout the government to create opportunity.
Perhaps more importantly because so many of you will make
the most of it, we saw in the last two years the biggest expansion of
trade opportunities in a generation in America, with the passage of
NAFTA and GATT, and with the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Group
really getting organized for opening trade and tearing down trade
barriers first in Seattle and then in Jakarta, where some of you were as
we committed ourselves to an open trading system by the year 2010 for
all the Asian Pacific countries, including the United States of America.
We have done what we could to make it easier for working
families to deal with this world of new challenges and changes, with
dramatic increases in education and training opportunities, with the
Family and Medical Leave Act, with tax reductions for working families
with incomes of under $28,000, so anybody that works full- time and has
children in the home should not live in poverty. If we want to reward
work and family in this country, we ought to reward work and family; we
shouldn't just talk about it, we ought to do it. And if you work
full-time, you ought not to be in poverty if you have to go home at
night to children who deserve a decent future. (Applause.)
As well as anyone else, you know that we must do more in
education to raise the quality as well as the quantity of education in
America, and SO we have tried to do that. We've expanded educational
opportunity everything from more people in Head Start to lower-cost
college loans for young people who go to college, better repayment
terms. But we also have begun to give funds to states for the first
time to really raise the standards of excellence in education.
Let people decide at the local level how to achieve these
new standards, but to finally, finally, fully measure our children by
global standards of excellence, so that we will know whether our schools
are doing the job, and if they aren't, we will know what we have to do
about it. This is an investment we must continue to make, even as we
downsize the government we have to continue to invest in the
education of our people; that is our future. (Applause)
Indeed, if you ask me what the greatest threat to the
preservation of the American Dream in the next century is, I would have
to say it is that the middle class is splitting apart instead of
swelling and coming together.
From the end of the Second World War until about 15, 16
years ago, American incomes grew together without regard to income
group, and we also were coming together that is, incomes were going
up, and the poorest people's incomes were going up a little faster than
middle class people and the wealthiest people's incomes were.
So, we were increasing equality and increasing growth at
the same time. For the last 15 years, that has all changed, partly as a
result of our going into a global economy, partly as a result of the
dramatic explosion in technology, putting higher and higher premiums on
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high skill levels, and the ability to learn for a lifetime. We see now,
today, that slightly more than half of our people are working harder for
the same or lower wages they were making 10 years ago.
So that, while in the last two years we've had more small
businesses formed than in any period in history. We've seen more new
millionaires in America than at any time in history -- a cause for
celebration. We see more and more and more people going home at night
after a hard day's work, sitting down with their families, wondering if
they be able to guarantee their children a better opportunity,
wondering if, as hard as they've worked, somehow they've done something
wrong and failed. They haven't failed. What we have done is failed to
keep up with the changes in the global economy which require every
advanced country to have a system of lifetime education and training
available to all people so they can move into higher-paying jobs.
(Applause.)
The dispute we are having today, which I hope will be very
short-lived, over the so-called rescission bill in the Congress, which I
have said I will have to veto if it comes to me in the present form
(applause) -- is not a partisan dispute. I say it is not a partisan
dispute. There were members of both parties in that conference
committee that produced this final bill.
It is a dispute about yesterday's politics and tomorrow's
politics, for I believe we whether we're Democrats or Republicans
have to keep bringing the deficit down, and we have to be prepared to
make tough, sometimes unpopular budget cuts to liberate the American
economy from the crushing burden of debt we have sustained in the last
12 years. We cannot continue this way. We've brought it down a lot; we
have to continue until this budget is brought into balance. We must all
do that.
But in a time when we are cutting spending, we have to be
more careful with the dollars of yours that we do spend than ever
before. If we are going to spend less and cut the deficit, what we have
to spend must be spent with even greater care. And my dispute with the
bill produced by the Conference Committee is not how much money was cut;
in fact, I have offered even greater cuts. We have to start now to cut
more spending.
My problem is when the bill moved from a public process to
a private process, over $1 billion in educational opportunities were
taken out of the bill, and $1 billion-plus of pork was put back into the
bill everything from a special federal grant to a city street, to
nine specific road projects in a single congressional district, to a
$100 million for one courthouse in return for cutting out over $200
million to make our schools safe and drug-free, cutting out funds to
give our children a chance to work in community service and earn college
education, cutting out funds to train our teachers to meet international
standards of excellence instead of just to continue what's being done in
schools when it's not good enough. And I could go on and on.
So the issue is not cutting spending; I am for that. And
it is not a partisan issue -- both parties were represented in the
Conference Committee. It is about the old politics against the new
politics. If we're going to have the courage to cut this deficit and to
make unpopular spending cut decisions, then every dollar we do spend
should be spent to take us into the 21st Century to raise incomes, to
create jobs, to give us a better future. That is what is at stake here,
and we must fix it. (Applause.)
And let me say one other thing that we must focus on and
that I hope you will all be thinking about and celebrating tonight. As
we define our security as a people and our strength as a people, we have
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to protect ourselves against destruction from within and without.
That's what the Crime Bill is all about - - putting more police on the
street, having more prisons, having more prevention programs. It's what
the anti-terrorism legislation I sent to the Congress is all about. But
let us never forget the real security we have as Americans comes from
the positive things about this country. The real security we have as
Americans comes from the fact that almost all of us are devoted to our
families, raise our children as best we can, put in a full day's work
every day, pay our taxes as best we can legally, and otherwise obey the
law - - and respect the differences in this country.
Now, we have free speech and free association. And we are
proud of our differences. I am proud of the fact that you live in a
country which encourages you to gather here because you share a common
ethnic and geographic heritage. I am proud of that.
I am proud of the fact that Hispanics and African Americans
and Polish Americans and other Americans have that same opportunity. I
am proud of the fact that people who have different religious
convictions that lead them to different political conclusions have the
freedom to organize and speak their mind even if they think I am wrong
on everything. I am proud of that. That's what America is all about.
I am proud of that. (Applause.)
But every group should remember one thing: There are very
few countries in the world where you have as much freedom to do as many
different things as you do in this country. There are very few places
in the world that are blessed with respecting diversity as we do in this
country. And so, there should be a limit on the extent to which we go
beyond celebrating our diversity to glorifying division. There should
be a limit to the extent to which we go beyond disagreeing with our
opponents to demonizing them.
You know, I'll just give you one example from my own
experience. There's not a politician in this audience -- I don't
believe, including me, so I will only criticize myself, I have done this
there is no telling how many times in my life, just since I've been
President, I have been SO proud of being able to the Congress to pass
budgets that reduce the size of the federal government by 270,000 while
we're taking on a higher work load. And I go around and brag about it,
and I don't know how many times I have used the term, "government
bureaucrat." And you will never find a politician using that term that
doesn't have some slightly pejorative connotation. That is, we know
taxpayers resent the money they have to pay to the government, and so we
try to get credit by saying we're being hard on bureaucrats or reducing
bureaucrats.
After what we have been through in this last month, after
what I have seen in the eyes of the children of those government
bureaucrats that were serving us on that fateful day in Oklahoma City,
or in their parents' eyes who were serving us when their children were
in that day care center I will never use that phrase again.
(Applause.)
I had to face the fact that I was out there trying to get
some political credit from my fellow citizens by implying that people
who are in a certain category were taking their money for no good
reason. Well, we have to downsize the government. We have to have
early retirement programs. We have to stop spending on some of the
things we're spending on. And the Democrats and Republicans both have
to get on that program, and we have to work together on it. But we
should never and everybody has got one story where some person
working for the federal government or a state or a local government has
been unreasonable in pursuit of a regulation or unreasonable in
enforcement of the law or just not polite to someone when they came in.
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But remember, most of those people are just like most of
you they love their children, they get up every day and go to work,
they do the very best they can, they try to do honor to this country.
And they take those jobs knowing they will never be rich, but drawing
some fulfillment from the fact that they are serving the public. And
that's just one example. All of us should now begin to think about this
again, about the way that this country works and that we can celebrate
our diversity and our differences, but. we have to be connected in a
seamless web of commitment to common values with a common vision of the
future.
Yes, we've got a lot of problems. But we've had worse
problems in the past. Yes, we have problems of getting along together.
But nothing compared to the shame of what happened to Japanese Americans
during the Second World War.
There is nothing wrong with this country that we can't fix,
if we have the right attitude and enough courage and vision and
willingness to think in new terms about a new future rooted in old
values. That is what Asian Pacific Americans are most famous for among
your fellow citizens. And so I ask you to help lead us into that
future.
Thank you and God bless you. (Applause.)
END8 : 08 P.M. EDT
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APAICS: About Us
http://www.apaics.org/about.html
ASTANPACIFIC AMERICAN
About Us
What is APAICS all about?
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The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies,
formerly the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Institute,
was established in 1995 as the only national, non-partisan, pan-Asian
American organization dedicated to increasing the participation of
Asian Pacific Americans in public policy and the political process. In
1995 and 1996, President Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker at the
APAICS Gala Dinner during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
in May. The annual dinner attracts over 1,200 distinguished guests
nationwide and financial support from major corporate sponsors. The
primary objectives of the APA Institute are:
to collect vital statistics and other information on Asian Pacific
Americans for use by the Asian Pacific American community
and Congress in formulating public policy;
to provide a national forum for increased cooperation among
the Asian Pacific American community, a diverse population
encompassing dozens of distinct ethnic groups throughout the
country having a number of common policy concerns;
to inform Asian Pacific Americans about the current legislative
agenda on Capitol Hill through the Institute newsletter, issues
forums, and briefings;
to provide summer internships in Washington, DC for college
and graduate students who have an interest in public policy and
a commitment to serving the Asian Pacific American
community; and
to provide fellowships for Asian Pacific American college
graduates who are interested in public policy careers.
The APA Institute is chaired by former Congressman Norman Y.
Mineta, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Transportation
Systems and Services, Lockheed Martin IMS. Like Congressman
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A PAICS: *About Us
http://www.apaics.org/about.htm
Mineta, the other members of the Institute's Board are nationally
known Asian Pacific American leaders in business, government and
community circles. A Council of Corporate Advisors provides
technical assistance, advice, and resources to the APA Institute.
The APA Institute is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational
organization by the Internal Revenue Service.
For further information about APAICS and its programs, please
contact Leigh-Ann Miyasato at 202-547-9100 (telephone)
202-547-9109 (fax), or e-mail: [email protected]. Also see the
top of page
APAICS web site at http://www.apaics.org.
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/APA/apa_appoints.hml
ASTANPACIFIC AMERICAN
Asian Pacific American Presidential Appointments in the Clinton Administration
President Clinton has appointed more Asian Pacific Americans than any other
President. Three percent of his appointments are Asian Pacific Americans.
As Part of the President's commitment to make his Administration look like
America, a record number of Asian Pacific American appointees hold positions in
all appointment categories:
- 2% of the top positions requiring
- 3% of Presidential Appointments
Senate Confirmation (PA positions)
- 3% of the Schedule C positions
- 3% of the Non-career Senior Executive
Service Positions
Asian Pacific American appointees hold important non-traditional positions,
Examples include:
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/APA/apa_appoints.html
Paul Igasaki
Vice Chair
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
Donna Tanoue
Chair
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
Raj Reddy
Co-Chair
President's Information Technology
Advisory Committee
Nancy-Ann Min
Administrator
Health Care Finance Administration,
Deparle
Department of Health and Human
Services
Robert Wayne
Assistant Secretary for
Gee
Fossil Energy
Phyllis Fong
Inspector General
Small Business Administration
Delmond Won
Commissioner (Designee)
Federal Maritime Administration
Jeanette
Assistant Secretary for
Department of Health and Human
Takamura
Aging
Services
Bill Lann Lee
Acting Assistant Attorney
Department of Justice
General for Civil Rights
Susan Oki
Judge
District of Hawaii, U.S. District Court
Mollway
Chang-Lin Tien
Member
National Science Board
Osman
U.S. Ambassador
Fiji
Siddique
Ella
Co-Chair (Designee)
Appalachian Regional Commission
Wong-Rusinko
Harold Hongju
Assistant Secretary for
Department State
Koh
Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor
Proclamation
Accomplishments
Events
Vice President's Asian Pacific American Month Message
Asian Pacific Americans in the Clinton Administration
President's Trip to South Asia
Issues
Photo Gallery
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
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Chronology of Asian American History
http://web.mit.edu/21h.153j/www/chrono.html
Source: Sucheng Chan, Asian Americans, an Interpretive History, ©1991, Twayne Publishers, Boston.
WAS
00s
Chinese and Filipinos reach Mexico on ships of the Manila galleon.
1830s
Chinese "sugar masters" working in Hawaii. Chinese sailors and peddlers in New York.
1835
U.S. and China sign first treaty.
1848
Gold discovered in California. Chinese begin to arrive.
1850
California imposes Foreign Miner's Tax and enforces it mainly against Chinese miners, who often had to
pay more than once.
1852
First group of 195 Chinese contract laborers land in Hawaii. Over 20,000 Chinese enter California. Chinese
first appear in court in California. Missionary Willian Speer opens Presbyterian mission for Chinese in San
Francisco.
1854
linese in Hawaii establish a funeral society, their first community association in the islands. People V.
1all rules that Chinese can't give testimony in court. U.S. and Japan sign first treaty.
1857
San Francisco opens a school for Chinese children (changed to an evening school two years later).
Missionary Augustus Loomis arrives to serve the Chinese in San Francisco.
1858
California passes a law to bar entry of Chinese and "Mongolians."
1860
Japan sends a diplomatic mission to U.S.
1862
Six Chinese district associations in San Francisco form loose federation. California imposes a "police tax"
of $2.50 a month on every Chinese.
1865
Central Pacific Railroad Co. recruits Chinese workers for the transcontinental railroad.
1867
Two thousand Chinese railroad workers strike for a week.
368
U.S. and China sign Burlingame - Seward Treaty recognizing rights of their citizens to emigrate. Eugene
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Van Reed illegally ships 149 Japanese laborers to Hawaii. Sam Damon opens Sunday school for Chinese in
Hawaii.
j9
Completion of first trancontinental railroad. J.H. Schnell takes several dozen Japanese to California to
establish the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony. Chinese Christian evangelist S.P. Aheong starts preaching
in Hawaii.
1870
California passes a law against the importation of Chinese, Japanese, and "Mongolian" women for
prostitution. Chinese railroad workers in Texas sue company for failing to pay wages.
1872
California's Civil Procedure Code drops law barring Chinese court testimony.
1875
Page Law bars entry of Chinese, Japanese, and "Mongolian" prostitutes, felons, and contract laborers.
1877
Anti-Chinese violence in Chico, California. Japanese Christians set up the Gospel Soceity in San
Francisco, the first immigrant association formed by the Japanese.
1878
In re Ah Yup rules Chinese not eligible for naturalized citizenship.
79
California's second constitution prevents municipalities and corporations from employing Chinese.
California state legislature passes law requiring all incorporated towns and cities to remove Chinese
outside of city limits, but U.S. circuit court declares the law unconstitutional.
1880
U.S. and China sign treaty giving the U.S. the right to limit but "not absolutely prohibit" Chinese
immigration. Section 69 of California's Civil Code prohibits issuing of licenses for marriages between
whites and "Mongolians, Negroes, mulattoes and persons of mixed blood."
1881
Hawaiian King Kalakaua visits Japan during his world tour. Sit Moon becomes pastor of the first Chinese
Christian church in Hawaii.
1882
Chinese Exclusion Law suspends immigration of laborers for ten years. Chinese community leaders form
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA or Chinese Six Companies) in San Francisco. U.S.
and Korea sign first treaty.
1883
Chinese in New York establish CCBA.
84
oseph and Mary Tape sue San Francisco school board to enroll their daughter Mamie in a public school.
Chinese Six Companies sets up Chinese language school in San Francisco. United Chinese Society
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established in Honolulu. CCBA established in Vancouver. 1882 Chinese Exclusion Law amended to
require a certificate as the only permissible evidence for reentry.
385
San Francisco builds new segregated "Oriental School." Anti-Chinese violence at Rock Springs, Wyoming
Territory. First group of Japanese contract laborers arrvies in Hawaii under the Irwin Convention.
1886
Residents of Tacoma, Seattle, and many places in the American West forcibly expel the Chinese. End of
Chinese immigration to Hawaii. Chinese laundrymen win case in Yick Wo V. Hopkins, which declares that a
law with unequal impact on different groups is discriminatory.
1888
Scott Act renders 20,000 Chinese reentry certificates null and void.
1889
First Nishi Hongwanji priest from Japan arrives in Hawaii. Chae Chan Ping V. U.S. upholds
constitutionality of Chinese exclusion laws.
1892
Geary Law renews exclusion of Chinese laborerers for another ten years and requires all Cihnese to
register. Fong Yue Ting V. U.S. upholds constitutionality of Geary Law.
1893
'apanese in San Francisco form first trade association, the Japanese Shoemakers' League. Attempts are
ade to expel Chinese from towns in sourthern California.
1894
Sun Yat-sen founds the Xingzhonghui in Honolulu. U.S. circuit court in Massachusetts declares in In re
Saito that Japanese are ineligible for naturalization. Japanese immigration to Hawaii under Irwin
Convention ends and emigration companies take over.
1895
Lem Moon Sing v. U.S. rules that district courts can no longer review Chinese habeas corpus petitions for
landing in the U.S.
1896
Shinsei Kaneko, a Japanese Californian, is naturalized. Bubonic plague scare in Honolulu - Chinatown
burned.
1897
Nishi Hongwanji includes Hawaii as a mission field.
1898
Wong Kim Ark V. U.S. decides that Chinese born in the U.S. can't be stripped of their citizenship. Japanese
in San Francisco set up Young Men's Buddhist Association. U.S. annexes Hawaii and the Philippines.
899
Chinese reformers Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao tour North America to recruit members for the
Baohuanghui. First Nishi Hongwanji priests arrive in California and set up North American Buddhist
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Mission.
90
Japanese Hawaiian plantation workers begin going to the mainland after the Organic Act ended contract
labor. Bubonic plague scare in San Francisco - Chinatown cordoned and quarantined.
1902
Chinese exclusion extended for another ten years. Immigration officials and the police raid Boston's
Chinatown and, without search warrants, arrest almost 250 Chinese who allegedly had no registration
certificates on their persons.
1903
First group of Korean workers arrives in Hawaii. 1500 Japanese and Mexican sugar beet workers strike in
Oxnard, California. Koreans in Hawaii form Korean Evangelical Society. Filipino students (pensionados)
arrive in the U.S. for higher education.
1904
Chinese exclusion made indefinite and applicable to U.S. insular possessions. Japanese plantation workers
engage in first organized strike in Hawaii. Punjabi Sikhs begin to enter British Columbia.
1905
Chinese in the U.S. and Hawaii support boycott of American products in China. Koreans establish Korean
Episcopal Church in Hawaii and Korean Methodist Church in California. San Francisco School Board
tempts to segregate Japanese schoolchildren. Korean emigration ends. Koreans in San Francisco form
utual Assistance Society. Asiatic Exclusion League formed in San Francisco. Section 60 of California's
Civil Code amended to forbid marriage between whites and "Mongolians."
1906
Anti-Asian riot in Vancouver. Japanese nurserymen form California Flower Growers' Association. Koreans
establish Korean Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Japanese scientists studying the aftermath of the San
Francisco earthquake are stoned.
1907
Japan and the U.S. reach "Gentlemen's Agreement" whereby Japan stops issuing passports to laborers
desiring to emigrate to the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signs Executive Order 589 prohibiting
Japanese with passports for Hawaii, Mexico, or Canada to reemigrate to the U.S. Koreans form United
Korean Society in Hawaii. First group of Filipino laborers arrives in Hawaii. Asian Indians are driven out
of Bellingham, Washington.
1908
Japanese form Japanese Association of America. Canada curbs Asian Indian immigrants by denying entry
to immigrants who haven't come by "continuous journey" from their homelands (there is no direct shipping
between Indian and Canadian ports). Asian Indians are driven out of Live Oak, California.
1909
Koreans form Korean Nationalist Association. 7000 Japanese plantation workers strike major plantations
1 Oahu for four months.
1910
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Administrative measures used to restrict influx of Asian Indians into California.
`11
ablo Manlapit forms Filipino Higher Wages Association in Hawaii. Japanese form Japanese Association
of Oregon in Portland.
1912
Sikhs build gurdwara in Stockton and establish Khalsa Diwan. Japanese in California hold statewide
conference on Nisei education.
1913
California passes alien land law prohibiting "aliens ineligible to citizenship" from buying land or leasing it
for longer than three years. Sikhs in Washington and Oregon establish Hindustani Association. Asian
Indians in California found the revolutionary Ghadar Party and start publishing a newspaper. Pablo
Manlapit forms Filipino Unemployed Association in Hawaii. Japanese form Northwest Japanese
Association of America in Seattle. Korean farmworkers are driven out of Hemet, California.
1914
Aspiring Asian Indian immigrants who had chartered a ship to come to Canada by continuous journey are
denied landing in Vancouver.
1915
Japanese form Central Japanese Association of Southern California and the Japanese Chamber of
Commerce.
917
Arizona passes an Alien Land Law. 1917 Immigration Law defines a geographic "barred zone" (including
India) from which no immigrants can come. Syngman Rhee founds the Korean Christian Church in
Hawaii.
1918
Servicemen of Asian ancestry who had served in World War I receive right of naturalization. Asian Indians
form the Hindustani Welfare Reform Association in the Imperial and Coachella valleys in southern
California.
1919
Japanese form Federation of Japanese Labor in Hawaii.
1920
10,000 Japanese and Filipino plantation workers go on strike. Japan stops issuing passports to picture
brides due to anti-Japanese sentiments. Initiative in California ballot plugs up loopholes in the 1913 alien
land law.
1921
Japanese farm workers driven out of Turlock, California. Filipinos establish a branch of the Caballeros
Dimas Alang in San Francisco and a branch of the Legionarios del Trabajo in Honolulu. Washington and
Louisiana pass alien land laws.
,922
Takao Ozawa V. U.S. declares Japanese not eligible for naturalized citizenship. New Mexico passes an
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alien land law. Cable Act declares that any American female citizen who marries "an alien ineligible to
citizenship" would lose her citizenship.
/23
U.S. V. Bhagat Singh Thind declares Asian Indians not eligible for naturalized citizenship. Idaho, Montana,
and Oregon pass alien land laws. Terrace V. Thompson upholds constitutionality of Washington's alien land
law. Porterfield V. Webb upholds constitutionality of California's alien land law. Webb V. O'Brien rules that
sharecropping is illegal because it is a ruse that allows Japanese to possess and use land. Frick V. Webb
forbids aliens "ineligible to citizenship" from owning stocks in corporations formed for farming.
1924
Immigration Act denies entry to virtually all Asians. 1600 Filipino plantation workers strike for eight
months in Hawaii.
1925
Warring tongs in North America's Chinatowns declare truce. Hilario Moncado founds Filipino Federation
of America.
1928
Filipino farm workers are driven out of Yakima Valley, Washington. Filipinos in Los Angeles form
Filipino American Christian Fellowship.
1930
Anti-Filipino riot in Watsonville, California.
31
Amendment to Cable Act declares that no American-born woman who loses her citizenship (by marrying
an alien ineligible to citizenship) can be denied the right of naturalization at a later date.
1934
Tydings - McDuffie Act spells out procedure for eventual Philippine independence and reduces Filipino
immigration to 50 persons a year. Filipino lettuce pickers in the Slinas Valley, California, go on strike.
1936
American Federation of Labor grants charter to a Filipino - Mexican union of fieldworkers.
1937
Last ethnic strike in Hawaii.
1938
150 Chinese women garmentworkers strike for three months against the National Dollar Stores (owned by
a Chinese).
1940
AFL charters the Filipino Federated Agricultural Laborers Association.
1941
fter declaring war on Japan, 2000 Japanese community leaders along Pacific Coast states and Hawaii are
sunded up and interned in Department of Justice camps.
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1942
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 authorizing the secretary of war to delegate a
litary commander to designate military areas "from which any and all persons may be excluded" -
.marily enforced against Japanese. Congress passes Public Law 503 to impose penal sanctions on anyone
disobeying orders to carry out Executive Order 9066. Protests at Poston and Manzanar relocation centers.
1943
Protest at Topaz Relocation Center. Registration crisis leads to Tule Lake Relocation Center's designation
as a segregation center. Hawaiian Nisei in the 100th Battalion sent to Africa. Congress repeals all Chinese
exclusion laws, grants right of naturalization and a small immigration quota to Chinese.
1944
Tule Lake placed under martial law. Draft reinstated for Nisei. Draft resistance at Heart Mountain
Relocation Center. 442nd Regimental Combat Team gains fame. Exclusion orders revoked.
1946
Luce - Celler bill grants right of naturalization and small immigration quotas to Asian Indians and
Filipinos. Wing F. Ong becomes first Asian American to be elected to state office in the Arizona House of
Representatives.
1947
Amendment to 1945 War Brides Act allows Chinese American veterans to bring brides into the U.S.
1949
-000 highly educated Chinese in the U.S. granted refugee status after China institutes a Communist
vernment.
1952
One clause of the McCarran - Walter Act grants the right of naturalization and a small immigration quota
to Japanese.
1956
California repeals its alien land laws. Dalip Singh from the Imperial Valley, California, is elected to
Congress.
1962
Daniel K. Inouye becomes U.S. senator and Spark Matsunaga becomes U.S. congressman from Hawaii.
1964
Patsy Takemoto Mink becomes first Asian American woman to serve in Congress as representative from
Hawaii.
1965
Immigration Law abolishes "national origins" as basis for allocating immigration quotas to various
countries - Asian countries now on equal footing.
1968
udents on strike at San Francisco State University to demand establishment of ethnic studies programs.
1969
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Students at the University of California, Berkeley, go on strike for establishment of ethnic studies
programs.
74
March Fong Eu elected California's secretary of state. Lau V. Nichols rules that school districts with
children who speak little English must provide them with bilingual education.
1975
More than 130,000 refugees enter the U.S. from Vietnam, Kampuchea, and Laos as Communist
governments are established there.
1976
President Gerald Ford rescinds Executive Order 9066.
1978
National convention of the Japanese American Citizens League adopts resolution calling for redress and
reparations for the internment of Japanese Americans. Massive exodus of "boat people" from Vietnam.
1979
Resumption of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of
America reunites members of long-separated Chinese American families.
1980
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees set up an
Orderly Departure Program to enable Vietnamese to emigrate legally.
1981
Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (set up by Congress) holds hearings
across the country and concludes the internment was a "grave injustice" and that Executive Order 9066
resulted from "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership."
1982
Vincent Chin, a Chinese American draftsman, is clubbed to death with a baseball bat by two
Euro-American men.
1983
Fred Korematsu, Min Yasui, and Gordon Hirabayashi file petitions to overturn their World War II
convictions for violating the curfew and evacuation orders.
1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act imposes civil and criminal penalties on employers who knowingly
hire undocumented aliens.
1987
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 243 to 141 to make an official apology to Japanese Americans
and to pay each surviving internee $20,000 in reparations.
088
.he U.S. Senate votes 69% to 27 to support redress for Japanese Americans. American Homecoming Act
allows children in Vietnam born of American fathers to emigrate to the U.S.
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1989
esident George Bush signs into law an entitlement program to pay each surviving Japanese American
ternee $20,000. U.S. reaches agreement with Vietnam to allow political prisoners to emigrate to the U.S.
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POTUS Remarks
Divider Title:
American Heritage Month
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/APA/proclamation.hml
ASTAN.PACIFIC
AMERICAN HERITAGEMONTH
Presidential Proclamation
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 1, 2000
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2000
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Over the last two centuries, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have contributed
immeasurably to the richness of our dynamic, multicultural society. Whether recent
immigrants or descendants of families who have been here for generations, Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders embody many of our Nation's core values, încluding
devotion to family, commitment to hard work, and pride in their heritage.
The people of this diverse and rapidly growing community have contributed to every
aspect of our national life -- from engineering and computer science to government, the
arts, and sports. For example, Vinod Dahm helped to revolutionize computer technology
through the invention of the pentium chip. Governors Benjamin Cayetano of Hawaii and
Gary Locke of Washington have devoted their lives to public service. The talents of
novelist Amy Tan have delighted readers across our Nation, while architect and sculptor
Maya Lin's stirring memorials to the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement have
uplifted and inspired all who have experienced them. And diver Greg Louganis and
football star Junior Seau have thrilled sports fans everywhere with their skill and
athleticism.
While many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders today are thriving, others are still
struggling to overcome obstacles. Because of oppression in their countries of origin,
some new immigrants have arrived without having completed their education; once
here, some have encountered language and cultural barriers and discrimina-tion.
Pacific Islanders, too, must overcome barriers to opportunity caused by their geographic
isolation and the consequences of Western influences on their unique culture. For these
and other reasons, too many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders face low-paying
jobs, inadequate health care, and lack of educational opportunity
To assist this community in meeting these challenges, last June I signed an Executive
order establishing the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
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5/18/2000 5:00 PM
Asian
Packic
American Heritage Month
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/APA/proclamation.html
The Initiative's goal is to improve the quality of life for Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders by increasing their participation in Federal programs -- including health,
human services, educa-tion, housing, labor, transportation, economic, and community
development programs -- which may not have served them in the past.
My Administration remains dedicated to building an America that celebrates and draws
strength from its diversity. Let us use this month to reflect on the many gifts Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders have brought to our nation and embrace the
contributions that Americans of all backgrounds make to our increasingly multicultural
society.
To honor the accomplishments of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and to
recognize their many contributions to our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 102-450,
has designated the month of May as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim May 2000 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. I call
upon the people of the United States to observe this occasion with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of April, in
the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
Proclamation
Accomplishments
Events
Vice President's Asian Pacific American Month Message
Asian Pacific Americans in the Clinton Administration
President's Trip to South Asia
Issues
Photo Gallery
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
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send feedback to the Web Development Team.
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Public Papers of the Presidents
February 2, 2000
CITE: 36 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 206
LENGTH: 199 words
HEADLINE: Message on the Observance of Lunar New Year, 2000
BODY:
Warm greetings to all those celebrating the Lunar New Year. I am delighted to join you in
welcoming 4698, the Year of the Dragon.
This ancient and joyous festival, marked by parades, dancing, music, and feasting, celebrates the
miracle of life, the promise of a new year, and the blessings of family, friends, and community. It
also reminds us of the many contributions that Asian Americans bring to our national life and of the
many ways in which their customs, history, and traditions have enriched our country's cultural
eritage.
Asian Americans play a key role in all segments of our society, from the scientists who have helped
to build our national defense and to power our unmatched technological progress to the artists whose
talents grace our literature, stage, and screen. America is strengthened by these contributions, and
we must work to ensure that Asian Americans are afforded every opportunity to be active and equal
participants in our national life.
As people across America and around the world mark the beginning of a new lunar cycle, Hillary joins
me in extending best wishes to all for health, happiness, prosperity, and peace in the new year.
Bill Clinton
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October 25, 1999
CITE: 35 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 2149
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HEADLINE: Statement Honoring Chinese-American Veterans of World War II
BODY:
I am honored to recognize the contributions of Chinese-Americans during World War II. This untold
story is one of great patriotism and heroism. Some 20,000 Chinese-Americans served our country
during this period as aviation specialists, paratroopers, military intelligence officers, medics, in the
Women Army Corps (WAC's) and Women Army Air Force Service (WASP's) and so on. From
Normandy to prisoner of war camps they served this Nation with great pride and courage.
Asian-Americans, as demonstrated by the veterans I met today, have proved over and over again
heir loyalty to this country. It is intolerable that the patriotism of Asian-Americans continues to be
questioned, in the light of the recent allegations of espionage at one of our national laboratories.
Asian-American scientists like those who have served proudly in our military have made significant
contributions to our national security and have made the U.S. the foremost leader in scientific
achievements. Yet instead of our thanks, many have received nothing by suspicion and prejudice.
Racism and stereotyping have no place in our Nation of diverse peoples who trace their ancestry to
every corner of the globe. The remarkable men and women that I met today are examples of why our
diversity is our greatest strength. Today I honor these Chinese-American veterans of World War II
and their service and steadfast loyalty to this country.
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
or Immediate Release
April 30, 1999
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1999
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Seeking America's bright promise of freedom and fairness, millions of
men and women of Asian and Pacific descent have immigrated to our Nation
through the past 2 centuries to participate in our great experiment in
democracy. Although they left behind their native lands and many of
their loved ones, they carried in their hearts a rich and ancient
history and a proud heritage.
Throughout the decades, the principles and cherished traditions of
Asian and Pacific Americans have infused our way of life, and their
diligence and determination have helped build and sustain our Nation.
Asian immigrants and indigenous U.S. Pacific Islanders have made
contributions to every facet of American life. Yet all too often, Asian
immigrants and Pacific Islanders had to endure discrimination as our
society struggled with its growing diversity. Overcoming prejudice and
other hardships, these determined men and women have strengthened our
society, our economy, and our national character in the process.
Asian and Pacific Americans today continue to make substantial
ontributions to our country and our culture, and this year's theme,
Celebrating Our Legacy,' calls on us to recognize our common human
spirit. Scientists and researchers like David Ho untangle the mysteries
of human biology; astronauts like Kalpana Chawla explore the heavens;
human rights activists like Dith Pran inspire us with their courage and
conviction; athletes like Michele Kwan dazzle us with their grace and
endurance; and inspiring leaders like Daniel Inouye and Bill Lann Lee
fight for justice and equality for all our people. These sons and
daughters of Vietnam, India, China, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Fiji, the
Philippines, Thailand, and many other nations, as well as the islands of
Guam, American Samoa, and Hawaii, have enriched every aspect of our
society with their A,4 talents, intellect, and determination.
punlin
While our Nation has made enormous strides on the path to full
equality and inclusion, our work is far from finished. My
Administration has strived to empower the Asian and Pacific American
community by working to strengthen our economy, enforce our civil rights
laws, invest in health and education, and promote racial reconciliation.
Thanks in part to our economic initiatives, the median household income
for Asian and Pacific Americans has significantly increased since 1993,
while the poverty rate has declined by more than 8 percent. We have
launched a new initiative to end racial and ethnic health disparities,
and we established the first-ever Office of Minority Health Research and
Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Working to
renew our commitment to excellence in education, my Administration also
has secured a 35 percent increase in funding for bilingual and immigrant
education.
To honor the accomplishments of Asian and Pacific Americans and to
recognize their many contributions to our Nation, the Congress, by
Public Law 102-450, has designated the month of May as "Asian/Pacific
5/18/2000 5:13 PM.
1 of 2
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American Heritage Month. "
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States
of America, do hereby proclaim May 1999 as Asian/Pacific American
(eritage Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe
his occasion with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of
April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-third.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
# # #
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 30, 1998
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1998
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Like millions of others who left their homelands to come to America,
the first Asian and Pacific Island immigrants who arrived here in the
19th century were seeking a better life than the one they left behind.
Many were poor; many had suffered oppression; but all were strengthened
by a rich culture, an ancient heritage, a belief in freedom's promise
and a willingness to work for their share of the American Dream.
For many, however, that dream was deferred. These courageous men
and women from Asia and the Pacific Islands were met in America by
prejudice as they strived to make a living and establish a home in
their adopted country.
These brave new Americans would prevail over every hardship.
Whether working in the gold fields of California, laboring on the sugar
and pineapple plantations of Hawaii, constructing the transcontinental
railway, or creating their own businesses, Asian and Pacific Americans
succeeded in building new lives for themselves and their families.
Today, Asian and Pacific Americans are helping to build a vibrant
America. They are leaders in medical and scientific research, in the
halls of Congress, in the classrooms of our educational institutions,
in business, labor, the arts, and every other human endeavor. They are
building economic and technological bridges across the Pacific and
beyond, which will ensure America's leadership well into the next
millennium. These sons and daughters of Cambodia, China, Indonesia,
India, Japan, Korea, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and so
many other Asian and Pacific lands have enriched our national life and
culture with their energy and talents, with their commitment to family
and community, and with their enduring reverence for freedom.
As we approach the 21st century, Asian and Pacific Americans are
playing an increasingly important role in the life of our Nation,
helping us to maintain our leadership in the global economy. More
important, they are inspiring us to embrace the wider world, to
recognize and appreciate the blessing of our great diversity, and to
become one America.
To honor the accomplishments of Asian and Pacific Americans and to
recognize their many contributions to our Nation, the Congress, by
Public Law 102-450, has designated the month of May as "Asian/Pacific
American Heritage Month."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United
States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1998 as Asian/Pacific
American Heritage Month. I call upon the people of the United States
to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day
of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred
and twenty-second.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 5, 1997
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1997
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Today, almost 10 million Americans can trace their roots to
Asia and the Pacific Islands. This month provides a wonderful
opportunity to recognize and celebrate all the ways in which
Asian and Pacific Americans have enhanced our Nation and
strengthened our communities.
North America was visited regularly by Asian and Pacific
traders as early as the 16th century, and by the late 1800s,
this continent was receiving large numbers of immigrants
from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and the Indian
subcontinent. These settlers worked hard, turning wilderness
into bountiful farmland in Hawaii, opening new industries
in the West, and helping to build the first transcontinental
railroad.
Along with a vast array of skills, Americans of Asian and
Pacific Island ancestry brought their remarkable traditions of
hard work and respect for family and education to their new
country. Their belief in the American Dream of equality and
opportunity enabled them to face the challenges of adversity
and discrimination and achieve a record of distinguished
service in all fields, from academia to government, from
business to the military, and medicine to the arts. These
people and their children managed to preserve the rich legacy
of their homelands while also embracing the best values and
traditions that define our Nation.
In recent years, newly arrived groups of Asian and Pacific
peoples have continued to enrich our proud tradition of cultural
diversity and endow our Nation with energy and vision. Today,
as we prepare to enter the 21st century, we must continually
strive to fulfill the ideals that originally attracted so many
immigrants to our shores.
To honor the accomplishments of Asian and Pacific Americans
and to recognize their many contributions to our Nation, the
Congress, by Public Law 102-450, has designated the month of
May as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of
the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1997
as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. I call upon the
people of the United States to observe this occasion with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and
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ninety-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and twenty-first.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 6, 1996
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1996
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
claim Rod to day jór
A PROCLAMATION
you one you
are 19ᵗʰ
Our national character has been enhanced by citizens who
maintain and honor cultural values and customs brought from
other lands. Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry
have long been a part of that tradition, enriching the fabric of
our society with their unique talents and abilities This month
provides a welcome opportunity to recognize these gifts and to
celebrate the daily contributions that Asian and Pacific
Americans make to our country's progress.
Every sector of American life has benefited from the
extraordinary leadership of those who trace their roots back
to Asia and the Pacific Island region. In the arts and
sciences, the business world, law, academia, and government,
these remarkable individuals have expanded our horizons,
achieving exceptional success and demonstrating a dedicated
belief in equal opportunity. Asian and Pacific Americans have
worked to overcome challenges, often in the face of
discrimination and prejudice, and have successfully embraced the
opportunities of the American Dream.
As we stand on the threshold of the 21st century,
ready to compete in the global marketplace and strengthen our
partnerships with the nations of the Pacific Rim, let us draw on
the strengths added by Asian and Pacific Americans and applaud
their proud legacy of service and dedication to this country.
To honor the accomplishments of Asian and Pacific Americans
and to recognize their many contributions to our Nation, the
Congress, by Public Law 102-450, has designated the month of
May as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J.
CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby
proclaim May 1996 as
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. I call upon the people
of the United States to observe this occasion with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and
ninety-six, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and twentieth.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Public Papers of the Presidents
November 8, 1996
CITE: 32 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 2359
LENGTH: 10484 words
HEADLINE: The President's News Conference
BODY:
Chief of Staff Transition
The President. Good afternoon. Please be seated. Before I begin I'd like to ask the Vice President and
Leon Panetta and Erskine Bowles to join me up here. In no particular order. [Laughter]
Let me begin by once again thanking the American people for the honor they have bestowed upon
me and the responsibility they have once again placed in my hands. I will work hard over the next 4
years to uphold their trust, to protect our shared values, and to meet our common challenges.
To do that, I want our administration to be able to serve the American people as well in the next 4
years as we have in the past 4. I must, therefore, begin by announcing that Leon Panetta, who has
been my Chief of Staff since 1994, will be resigning to return to California.
I understand why he wants to return home, after so many long years and long hours, but that
doesn't make it any easier for me to see him go. No one in recent memory has better served the
administration any administration or the American people than Leon Panetta in what is perhaps
the most difficult of all the jobs in public service in Washington today.
As a civil rights official, a distinguished Member of Congress, an OMB Director, Leon Panetta brought
his sharp mind and his huge heart to bear on every task he ever undertook. He became my Chief of
Staff at a difficult time. He leaves with a remarkable record: deep reduction in the deficit, millions of
new jobs, a strong defense of programs for those in need, including food stamps. All these bear
Leon's stamp.
Just as important as the work he did was the way he did it. He saw our White House staff as a family.
They returned his devotion. His easy laugh and his level head kept our priorities straight and our
spirits up.
He and I have often had the opportunity to wonder at the miracle of America that took us this far. He
is a child of immigrants who came to this country in search of a better life and found it in the walnut
groves of California. He has become my great friend, more than my countryman, more than my
ellow Democrat, more even than my fellow worker. In the language of his people, he is my paisan.
[Laughter] And I love him very much.
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I think the Republican Party should have the same rules. But the real thing that I would say here is --
I'd like to make two other points. First, and far and away the most important point, is that this has
shown us once again that our campaigns cost too much, they take too much time, they raise too
many questions, and now is the time for bipartisan campaign finance reform legislation.
1
supported the McCain-Feingold bill last year. The leaders of the other party did not, and it did not
pass. Today I reaffirm my support for McCain-Feingold, and I am prepared to do whatever is
necessary to pass it as soon as possible with an amendment that our party has agreed to, saying that
we should not have contributions from foreign nationals who are otherwise -- who can legally give
money now. I am prepared to do that.
I called Senator McCain yesterday and Senator Feingold; I had a good conversation with both of
them, and I asked them for their best advice about where to proceed. I assured them that I would
support this legislation, that our party would support it, and that we had more than enough votes in
our caucus to guarantee it an overwhelming victory. So the question now is basically for the leaders
of the Republican majority in Congress, whether they will support it, either right now or as soon as
we come into session next year. But I am prepared to go forward, and I think that's the most
important thing.
Now, let me just make one final comment. A lot of, I thought questions had been raised about
these contributions, and any questions that had been raised, we should do our best, the Democratic
Party should do its best to answer; any questions you ask of us, we should do our best to answer.
But there was a in your question and in a lot of the things that have happened in the aftermath,
there is an almost disparaging reference to Asians. And in the last few weeks, a lot of
Asian-Americans who have supported our campaign have come up to me and said, "You know, I'm
being made to feel like a criminal. All these people are calling me. And I say, 'Why are you calling
me?' They say, 'Because you have an Asian last name." And I maybe I don't need to do this, but I
would like to remind everybody here and throughout the country that our country has been greatly
enriched by the work of Asian-Americans. They are famous for working hard for family values and
or giving more than they take. And I, frankly, am grateful for the support that I have received from
hem.
And so I just want to make that clear. I think that there's been a lot of rather I don't mean that
you did, Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International], but there has been a lot of rather
disparaging comments made about Asian-Americans. And it's ironically, I found it surprising that
our friends on the other side did because historically they have received more votes from
Asian-Americans than we have.
Q. May I say as a point of rebuttal, I certainly didn't mean to disparage --
The President. I know you didn't.
Q. No, but also there was also the question of whether the Indonesian contributions may have
affected our policy toward
The President. Well, now that's a different the answer to that is, absolutely not. Indeed, look at the
difference in my policy and my predecessor's policy. We changed our policy on arms sales because of
East Timor, not to sell small arms. And we cosponsored the resolution in the United Nations in favor
of greater human rights for East Timor. And I'm proud that we did that. So I can tell you categorically
that there was no influence.
By the way, all kinds of people talk to me about policy. Polish-Americans, Hungarian-Americans,
Jewish-Americans, Irish-Americans talk to me about policy. Citizens that I people I meet around
the world in the course of my travels on your behalf talk to me about it. But in the end, I always do
what I believe is right for the American people.
Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].
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Q. Mr. President, Attorney General Reno is considering whether to appoint an independent counsel to
investigate these allegations of improper fundraising by your campaign. She says that she's
The President. Wait, wait, wait. There have been no allegations about improper fund
Q. Well, by the Democratic
The President. That's correct, by the Democratic Party.
Q. She says that she's caught between a rock --
The President. That was the other campaign that had problems with that, not mine.
Independent Counsel and Attorney General Reno
Q. General Reno says she's caught between a rock and a hard place and that she'll be criticized no
matter what she does. I know that it's her decision, but what do you think? Do you think that these
allegations should be investigated by an independent counsel? And secondly, do you think that
General would you like to see General Reno stay on for a second term?
The President. I think, on the first question, I should have no comment on that. On the second
question, I should have no comment on any personnel decision until I have had a chance to meet
with the Cabinet members in question and work through all the decisions. And I think I should have a
uniform policy on that, which I have followed to date and which I will continue to follow.
Wolf [Wolf Blitzer, CNN].
John Huang and James Riady
D. Getting back to the first question, Mr. President, a lot of questions have been raised, though,
bout your personal relationship with John Huang, who was the DNC fundraiser who went out to the
Asian-American community and raised some of the money that had to be returned, as well as with
the Riady family in Jakarta, James Riady in particular, who came to the White House on several
occasions. What exactly was your relationship with John Huang and with the Riady family?
The President. I believe the first time I met John Huang I believe was several years ago in
Taiwan when I was a Governor on a trade mission. I believe that is correct. He might have a better
memory than I do, but I think that's right.
I met James Riady when he came to Arkansas to live and work when he was partners when his
family and his family's business group were partners with the Stephens interest in Arkansas, in a
bank there. And he and his wife lived there, and I got to know them several years ago.
So I have known both James Riady and his wife and John Huang and his wife for several years. And I
knew them primarily in the context of my work as Governor, both inside Arkansas in dealing with the
economic issues within the State and then in my work as Governor of Arkansas and going to Taiwan
-- which parenthetically is one of the biggest purchasers of soybeans, which is a big product in my
home State, of any country in the world. So I was there quite often, I think five times during the
course of my governorship. And that's how I knew them.
So I had a personal relationship with them that went back several years, and long before there was
any politics or even contributions or anything like that involved. I had known them for several years.
Q. Was it a mistake for you to appoint John Huang to a Commerce Department position, Assistant
Secretary of Commerce, given the relationship he had with the Lippo conglomerate in Indonesia and
his business interests in the past?
The President. Well, I don't believe so. As soon as -- I don't think so, not as long as the clearances
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and the search of all the records and the business disclosures, if they were all appropriate. You know,
there are all kinds of standards for that, that anybody who gets an appointment that they have to be
confirmed for has to meet. And if they were, I wouldn't say so.
mean, keep in mind, one of the jobs of the Department of Commerce, and perhaps one of the most
important jobs now and one which Ron Brown did very well, is to open new opportunities for
American businesses around the world, to open new markets for American businesses, to create jobs
by doing that. And one of the great advantages the United States has over virtually every other
country in the world is that we have living here in our country citizens who are from everywhere else
and who have business ties and contacts and deep understandings of the cultures and the economies
of every other country in the world.
And so assuming that all the proper disclosures were made and all the proper clearances were had
I mean, the Government has rules for that I would think that that's the sort of person we would be
looking for, someone who did have good contacts and could and did have a general understanding
of international commerce.
Yes.
Bosnia
Q. Yes, Mr. President, thank you. Despite your promises earlier to pull out of Bosnia next month, the
Pentagon now says that U.S. troops will remain there at least until the end of March. Is it possible
you would keep U.S. troops there beyond March as part of a follow-on peacekeeping force if NATO
decides they are needed?
The President. Well, let me explain, first of all, what the March deadline is. We have already begun
moving some people out, and the December we said that the mission, the IFOR mission, would
take about a year. But as the Pentagon can explain in greater detail and specificity than I, you can't
just up and pull people out in one day. There has to be a phase-down, and people have to be brought
n to help move out the people that have been there the whole time. So the March date is just the
time the last people who are part of a 3 1/2 month phase-down will leave.
Now, separate and apart from that, NATO has been asked to consider the question of whether well,
let me make one other point. IFOR went there to establish a buffer zone between the ethnic groups
and to make sure that during this time elections could be held and basic security could be maintained
along the border areas, not to be actually involved in law enforcement. And I think they've done their
job very well. I am very pleased with it. I am very pleased with the cooperation between the NATO
allies and Russia and the other non-NATO countries. And I think that it has helped the Bosnian peace
process to take hold. And we have had elections. A lot has been done.
What NATO has been asked to consider is whether or not, since the economic reconstruction has not
taken hold as fast as we had hoped and there is still, obviously, some hard feelings there between
the parties, we should consider a smaller, different force that might have a more limited mission than
the IFOR mission that NATO would be involved in. I have taken I believe the position I have taken
on that is the position that the other NATO leaders have taken, the leaders of the other NATO
countries, which is, we would like to see the proposed mission; we would like to see what our
contribution would be. I want to assess the risks, as I always do, and the possible benefits, and then
I will make a judgment.
I took a long look at the IFOR mission. We worked very hard to define it in a way that would
guarantee the maximum possibility for success and the minimum possibility of danger to our forces.
It has worked very well. Whether we could do this, as I said all along, would depend on what the
nature of the mission is.
I'm looking forward to the NATO report; I haven't received it yet. When I do, I will tell you exactly
what the recommendations are and what my best judgment on them is. It is conceivable that we
could participate, but it depends upon exactly what the recommendation is.
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Public Papers of the Presidents
May 16, 1996
CITE: 32 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 874
LENGTH: 2741 words
HEADLINE: Remarks at the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus Institute Dinner
BODY:
Thank you, Admiral, for that wonderful introduction. And I want to thank Tamlyn Tomita and
Garrett Wang, your co-emcees, for standing up here with me. I made them come out. I said, I want
you to stand up here with me because you make me look young and fresh and alive. [Laughter] So I
thank them for doing that. To Gloria Caoile, your dinner chair; Francey Youngberg, your executive
director; Rona Figueroa, and all the Members of Congress who are here. And a couple of former
Members of Congress who are here, my good friend, Norm Mineta, who is being honored tonight, and
Frank Horton, who was the primary sponsor of the bill creating Asian-Pacific Heritage Month. I thank
ou, sir.
I don't know how many Members of Congress are here. I saw Congressman Underwood,
Congressman Abercrombie, Congresswoman Pelosi, and I know Congressman Matsui is here - or
Doris would stop speaking to him. So however many Members of Congress who are here, I'm
delighted to join you tonight.
I was honored to be here last year at your inaugural dinner. I'm proud of what we have accomplished
together since then. More than anything else tonight I would like to say a simple thank you thank
you on behalf of the United States for the many contributions that the 9 million Americans who trace
their roots to Asia and the islands of the Pacific make to our country every day. And thank you,
particularly to those of you and those whom you represent throughout this country who have
participated in the efforts of our administration and without whom we would not have been able to
accomplish much of what has been done.
As we debate the issue of immigration again this year, we should never forget that America is a great
country because we have welcomed successive generations of immigrants to our shores. Because we
are a nation of laws we should do everything we can and we should do more than we have to, to stop
illegal immigration. I have done more than has previously been done. But we should avoid bashing
immigrants. We are nearly, all of us, immigrants or the children or grandchildren or
great-grandchildren of immigrants. The Native Americans were here first, and I think they crossed an
ice cap to get here.
This is a country founded on a certain set of ideas, a certain set of values, a certain set of principles.
And anybody willing to embrace them, to work hard to make the most of their own lives, to be
esponsible, can be an American citizen. That is the special thing about the United States, and we
should never forget it.
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I have been especially fortunate to have so many people from the Asian-Pacific American community
in our administration, more than 170 all told, more than any previous administration, and I am
grateful. When I took office I learned that it had been 14 years since the last Asian-American had
been nominated to the Federal bench. I have nominated four, and I'm proud of every one of them.
I almost hate to start with this, but there are a few Asian-Americans I would feel bad if I didn't
mention tonight who have been part of this administration: I thank my Deputy Assistant for Public
Liaison, Doris Matsui, who made sure I came tonight; Barbara Chow, Special Assistant for Legislative
Affairs; Maria Haley, Director of the Export-Import Bank; Ginger Lew, the Deputy Administrator at
SBA; Valerie Lau at Treasury; David Tseng at Labor; Raj Anand at Agriculture; T. S. Chung at
Commerce; Dang Pham at Education; Dennis Hayashi at HHS; Will Itoh, now our Ambassador to
Thailand, formerly on my National Security Council staff; and Stuart Ishimaru at Justice. Those are a
few of the people who serve you every day in the Clinton administration.
Three and a half years ago when I took the Oath of Office, I did so with a clear vision of what I hoped
our country could be like as we move into the 21st century. I wanted this to be a country where
every person, without regard to race or gender or income, would have a chance to live out his or her
dreams. I wanted this to be a country where we were coming together around our basic values, not
being driven apart for cheap, short-term political reasons.
I wanted this to be a country that would continue to be the greatest and strongest country in the
world and the world's strongest force for peace and freedom and prosperity. We've still got a good
ways to go, but without question, if you compare where we are today with where we were then, we
have made progress on all three fronts.
Our economic strategy to reduce the deficit, expand trade, invest more in our people, our technology
and our potential for growth means that our deficit is less than half of what it was 4 years ago, but
we have 81/2 million more jobs, the lowest combined rates of inflation, mortgage rates, and
unemployment in 27 years, a 15-year high in homeownership, an all-time high in exports and new
business formations for 3 years in a row. Nearly 8,500 SBA loans have been approved to start those
ew small businesses.
We've increased educational opportunities from more positions for children in Head Start to more
affordable college loans to the national service program. We've done our part to help lower the crime
rate by passing a crime bill which will put 100,000 police officers on the street we're more than 40
percent of the way there in less than 2 years banning assault weapons and passing the Brady bill
which has kept 60,000 people with criminal records from getting handguns.
We have worked to dramatically increase our protection of the environment from our cities to our
rural areas, including our National Parks. We have worked to strengthen families through the family
and medical leave law; a family tax credit for working families on modest incomes; an increased
effort to collect child support; going for the V chip and for a television rating system to help parents
raise their young children without excessive exposure to violence and other destructive elements;
and our campaign against childhood smoking, which has attracted a great deal of opposition, but I
would just point out, the biggest health problem in America and 3,000 children a day illegally begin
to smoke.
The economy is better off, but its important to point out that the crime rate is down, the welfare rolls
are down. There are over one million fewer families on welfare today than there were 4 years ago.
The poverty rate has dropped, and this country is coming together.
I am grateful for what we have been able to do to make this a more peaceful place. There are no
nuclear weapons pointed at the children of the United States for the first time since the dawn of the
nuclear age. The United States is a force for peace and freedom. From Northern Ireland to Southern
frica, to Haiti, to Bosnia, to the Middle East, we are working to bring the countries of the world
logether to fight our common enemies of terrorism and organized crime and drugrunning and the
proliferation of weapons and the destruction of our precious global environment.
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But if you ask me to tell you what it is we really have to do to get into the 21st century with these
ideals being met, I would say we have to find a way to meet our challenges and protect our values
and to do it together.
f you think about so much of the political rhetoric we have heard in America for, well, a long time
now, it seems to be designed to divide people, to make neighbors look upon their neighbors as if
they're almost alien, to make people believe that public servants that are otherwise perfectly normal
people are somehow capable of the utmost depravity.
The truth is, this is a pretty great country, or we wouldn't be here after over 200 years. And we
should have our debates and our differences and our heated debates on public policy. But we ought
to do it in a way that says that we realize that we all love our country, we all love our Constitution,
and we know we're going up or down together. And if we persist in dividing ourselves against one
another, we will weaken America. If we unite and make a virtue out of our diversity, there is no
country as well-positioned for the 21st century as the United States.
We've tried to do that. In the past year, just for example, we hosted two Asian-Pacific American
Education Forums to address the needs of Asian-American students and their teachers. We're
approved almost $ 2 million in loans from the Small Business Administration to Asian-American
businesses. We funded an SBA program targeted to Asian-American women, to provide training and
counseling to thousands of women in Chinatown in New York City. We've done all this while shrinking
the size of the Government and the burden of regulation.
I don't believe that there's a big Government answer to every problem. The Chinese philosopher, Lao
Tzu, once said that governing a great county is like cooking a small fish; you spoil it with too much
poking. [Laughter] On the other hand, you can also spoil it if you don't try to cook it in the first place.
So the trick is for us to do together those things which will give every American the chance to make
the most of his or her life, at work, at home, in the community, and in our great country.
We are going through a period of profound change. The economy is changing more than it has in a
undred years, moving into this information-technology age, moving into this global economy,
indeed, a whole global society. It's been a hundred years since we moved from farm to factory and
from the country to the city, since we changed this much. In terms of our communications with our
fellow human beings, the changes are even more profound. Bill Gates, the famous founder of
Microsoft, says that the digital chip is revolutionizing communications more than at any point since
Guttenberg printed the first Bible in Europe 500 years ago.
Now, in this environment we have to understand that things will change. There will be some
uprooting. We must meet these challenges. But we can do it if we are determined to do it together
and determined to pull together and go forward together.
A big part of that is making sure that you are a part of the American dream and that you and the
entire Asian-Pacific community feel that we are moving forward together and that we are moving
forward with a vision of the world that includes a strong partnership with the Pacific. My first
overseas trip as President was to Japan. The first thing I tried to do in organizing the world in a
different way was to establish the leadership summit in the Asia-Pacific Economic Council. The first
meeting was held in Seattle; we're about to have the fourth one in Manila later this year.
as
result
Already we see the fruits of this engagement. Recently, I was ill the Pacific, and we reaffirmed our
security relationship with Korea. We reaffirmed our efforts with Korea for a new initiative for peace
between North and South Korea. We asked our friends in China to join with us in sponsoring an effort
to reach this sort of peace. We reaffirmed our security ties with Japan in a very positive way. And we
made it clear that what we want what we want in Northern Asia is peace between all nations.
And we want to see all honest differences resolved peacefully so that people raise their children
without the fear that has nagged that region through the World Wars and the regional wars of the
20th century. We can't go back to that, we have to go forward in peace. And the United States
intends to be a force for peace and reconciliation in Asia and throughout the Pacific region.
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Most of you know this, but a lot of our ticket to the future economically is in the Asian-Pacific region
as well. It already accounts for a quarter of the world's output, growing every day. Already more than
half our trade is with the nations of the Pacific, sustaining 3 million good American jobs. I am proud
to say and I want to hammer this home that 68 percent of the 8% million new jobs that have
been created were created in high-wage areas of our economy, not low-wage areas of our economy.
And that's because we have emphasized trade, which creates better paying jobs for the American
people. A lot of you have been in the forefront of that, and I thank you for that.
Exports to Asia have increased by 44 percent. In the 20 areas covered by our specific agreements
with Japan in 3 years, our exports increased by 85 percent. That is a staggering amount of advance.
Our late Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown, the best friend that American businesses and trade ever
had worked tirelessly to open those markets. His successor, our former Trade Ambassador who was
the most effective trade negotiator we ever had -he negotiated 200 separate trade agreements in
3 years Mickey Kantor will continue on that path.
But a lot of what we have to do must be rooted in mutual trust and respect, and willing, willing
partnerships. We know that. And we know we have a ways to go. I want better relations with China. I
recognize the one China policy. I also recognize that an important part of that policy is the
commitment that was made by all parties that the differences between China and Taiwan will and
must be resolved in a peaceful and lawful manner.
I want a growing understanding between our two countries. I realize that neither of us is perfect, and
both of us are going to have a great say over what the future looks like, and we have to work hard to
understand each other and to work together. That's why I am committed to securing an extension of
the MFN treatment for China and why I want to build better relationships. But it's also why I think we
have to insist on fairness in our trade and on honoring all of our commitments in the area of
nonproliferation. Some things in this world are more important than money, and not arming rogue
nations with weapons that can destroy the future of our children is one of them.
We must be in a position where we don't hesitate to take appropriate action if we can't gain adequate
enforcement of the agreement that China has already made with us to stop the piracy of American
property. I realize that this has been a problem in developing economies for a long time. But China is
not just another developing economy. It is a very great nation, with over one billion people.
A lot of America's meal ticket to the future consists of our ability to take advantage of the information
revolution. And today, we are losing as much as $ 2 billion in opportunities, many of them
opportunities that would belong to Asian-Pacific Americans, in Washington State, in Oregon and
California, in New England, in the Middle West, all across this country. I have no choice but to take
strong action to try to protect the work of the minds of all Americans, and it's their right to be
rewarded in the international marketplace.
The main thing I want to say to all of you tonight is that, again, I thank you for your contributions to
America. And I thank you for the people you have supplied, both within and without the
administration, who have advanced our cause. I think that your devotion to learning, to hard work, to
family, to the ideas of entrepreneurialism and the idea of engagement with the rest of the world,
these are the kinds of things that will keep America great in the 21st century.
We can go into the next century with a country where everybody who is willing to work for it can live
out their dreams. We can maintain this country as the world's strongest force for peace and freedom
and prosperity. But if we are going to do it, we must be committed to that third element of our
vision: We have to be committed to bringing this country together around a mutual ethic of
responsibility instead of letting ourselves be divided by differences that ultimately don't matter nearly
as much as our devotion to our shared ideals.
You can help bring this country together as well as move it forward, and I'm convinced we can't do
one without the other. Asian-Pacific Americans have done both and done them brilliantly. I ask for
your continued support as we try to make sure that out entire country does the same.
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Thank you, and God bless you all.
NOTE: The President spoke at 7:52 p.m. at the Sheraton Washington Hotel. In his remarks, he
referred to Rear Adm. Ming Chang, USN (Ret.), chairman, Congressional Asian-Pacific American
Caucus Institute, who introduced the President.
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
or Immediate Release
May 4, 1995
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1995
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Like SO many people of this Nation, Americans of Asian and Pacific
ancestry enjoy dual heritage - - the great cultures of the lands of
their forebearers and the rich traditions of liberty and equality
cherished by the United States. Bringing new values and customs to
these shores, Asian and Pacific Americans have immeasurably enriched
the quality and character of this country. In every field of endeavor,
in public and private sector alike, they have endowed our Nation with
unparalleled energy and vision.
We owe a debt of gratitude to these Americans, both for the gift of
their talents and for helping us build bridges of understanding to their
ancestral lands in the Pacific Community -- bridges that help our
economies to grow and that widen the path to peace.
Today, our Nation stands at the dawn of a new era of hope and
opportunity. We depend as never before on the active involvement of
very one of our people to meet the challenges of our changing world.
With the strength of our diversity and a continued commitment to the
ideal of freedom, all Americans will share in the blessings of the
bright future that awaits us.
To honor the achievements of Asian/Pacific Americans and to
recognize their many contributions to our Nation, the Congress, by
Public Law 102-450, has designated the month of May as "Asian/Pacific
American Heritage Month."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United
States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1995, as Asian/Pacific
American Heritage Month. I call upon the people of the United States to
observe this occasion with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of
May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
nineteenth.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
###
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 9, 1994
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1994
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
The Pacific Ocean is ringed by some of the most populous,
dynamic, and promising countries the world has ever known. So
rapid has the progress been in this region that the new Pacific
community has come to exemplify the ideals of growth and
prosperity. America is well-placed to play a major role in that
thriving community, not only because of geography and history,
but also because of the leading role that countless Americans of
Asian/Pacific descent play in our diverse society.
Americans of Asian and Pacific ancestry share twin
heritages the stimulating cultural legacy of the lands of
their ancestors and the liberty that is the birthright of every
American. Drawing on the values and customs of their homelands
and their expectations of America's promise, Asian/Pacific
Americans have long helped to advance and enrich our Nation. We
can all be profoundly grateful for their contributions to every
FROM
field of human endeavor, from science, law, and literature to
agriculture, commerce, government, and the arts.
Many of these achievements have been the work of brave
and tireless immigrants who, through determination, creativity,
intelligence, and dedication to American ideals of freedom and
fairness, have added strong threads to the fabric of America's
multicultural society. As they have built a community of
tremendous talent and breadth, they have helped our country to
usher in this new era of great opportunity and unlimited hope.
To honor the achievements of Asian/Pacific Americans and to
recognize their contributions to our Nation, the Congress, by
Public Law 102-450, has designated the month of May of each year
as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of
May 1994, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. I call
upon the people of the United States to observe this occasion
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and
ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and eighteenth.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 3, 1993
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT PROCLAMATION SIGNING FOR
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE AWARENESS MONTH
The East Room
5:40 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Let me begin by
extending a warm welcome to all of you, especially those who have
traveled very great distances, as many of you have, to help celebrate
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
I'm pleased to be joined on the stage by Senator Dan
Akaka, with whom I played golf last weekend - - (laughter) -- less
well than he did, I might add; and Representatives Bob Matsui, Norm
Mineta, Robert Underwood, Patsy Mink; Eni Faleomavaega - - did I do a
good job? Pretty good? (Laughter and applause.) And Jay Kim.
And let us also honor the memory of the late Senator
Spark Matsunaga, who left such a wonderful legacy as a true friend of
the Asian Pacific community.
My campaign and my administration have gained SO much
from the talents of Asian Pacific Americans, and I'd like to
recognize just a few of them: Barbara Chow, my Special Assistant for
Legislative Affairs; Neil Dhillon, at the Department of
Transportation; Atul Gawande, who has been working on the Health Care
Task Force; Maria Haley on our personal staff; Goody Marshall with
the Vice President's staff; Doris Matsui in Public Liaison who did
such a wonderful job with this event; Shirley Sagawa in Legislative
Affairs; Debra Shon at the United States Trade Representatives
Office; Melinda Yee at the Department of Commerce; and many others
who are an essential part of our efforts every day.
Fifteen years ago, Representative Frank Horton
introduced the first resolution proclaiming American -- Asian Pacific
American Heritage Week, honoring the significant contributions of
Asian Pacific Americans in all walks of life. In 1990, Congress
designated and President Bush proclaimed the month of May as Asian
Pacific Heritage Month. And last year, with the help of
Representative Horton and 106 of his colleagues, the designation of
May as Asian Pacific Heritage Month each year became the law of the
land.
The month of May was chosen because of its significance
to Asian Pacific American history. In the first week of May in 1843,
the first Japanese arrived in America. And on May 10, 1869, Golden
Spike Day, the Transcontinental Railroad, built partly with Chinese
labor, was completed. Today, 150 years after these historic events,
nearly eight million Asian Pacific Americans can trace their roots to
Asia and the islands of the Pacific.
It is astonishing to realize the breadth of diversity
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among Americans of Asian Pacific heritage. The Asian Pacific
community stretches across thousands of miles and encompasses
millions of diverse people. In our country the Asian Pacific
American community can trace its roots to at least 25 different
ationalities, more than 75 different languages, and literally
fundreds of different ethnic groups. Now, that's diversity.
And still Asian Pacific Americans have something in
common and something to emulate a commitment to strong families,
to community, and to instilling in each new generation a respect for
educational opportunity and hard work. These values have been an
essential part of success in achieving the American Dream, as so many
Asian Pacific Americans know.
And while we realize all the rich opportunities America
has given to all our people, we are aware also of how much Asian
Pacific Americans have given back to this country. Immigrants from
Asia and the Pacific helped build our country. Today their
descendants are making us even better. They are prominent among our
scientists, artists, doctors, teachers and other professionals who
have enriched the lives of all of us in America.
I want to talk for a moment about the importance of
education. The Asian Pacific community has demonstrated that a
commitment to education is truly the key to bettering our lives.
Among Asian Pacific Americans 25 years old and over, 82 percent have
had four years of high school or more; 39 percent have completed four
years of college or more. For individuals, education is the key to
economic parity and social mobility. But for America, it is the key
to our strength and our competitiveness in the global economy.
I want to thank you all again for coming here today to
recognize all the achievements and the contributions that Asian
Pacific Americans have made to this great nation. I hope that we can
ontinue to come together as we have today to rejoice in our
diversity as we renew the bonds of community that bring all Americans
together. I believe that if we embrace those things which we share,
if we embrace our common values and our common goals, we strengthen
ourselves, our community and our democracy and we make ourselves free
to celebrate the richness of our diversity.
Therefore, it is with great pride and admiration that I
take this opportunity, my first one, to sign the proclamation
proclaiming this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Thank you
very much. (Applause.)
(The proclamation is signed.) (Applause.)
END5:45 P.M. EDT
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
Established
*
For Immediate Release
May 3, 1993
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1993
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
This month we honor the heritage and history of Asian
and Pacific Americans and the contributions they have made to
our country: to its economic development, its cultural wealth,
its scientific and medical achievements, its institutes of
education, and its government. As we celebrate the diversity
of our people and their heritage, we remember that we are one
Nation, united in a common quest for freedom and dignity.
Traders from the Asia-Pacific region reached North America
as early as the 16th century, but the first significant wave
of immigration began during the late 1800s. From China, Japan,
Korea, the Philippines, and the Indian subcontinent they came
and found work in America: as miners, railroad workers,
farmers, and merchants. These settlers and their children
preserved the rich legacy of their homelands while also learning
the history of our Nation and embracing the traditions that
define it.
While they found many opportunities in America,
immigrants from the Asia-Pacific region also were victims
of discrimination. Some were denied the right to buy land
or become naturalized citizens solely because of their ethnic
origin. Such prejudice often led to segregated community
structures. Once thought of as ghettos, these neighborhoods
are now vibrant cultural assets and magnets for tourism and
trade in the cities of which they are a part.
America has made great progress in advancing civil
rights since the days when Asian workers were exploited and
labored under crushing hardship. A second significant wave
of immigration brought doctors, nurses, engineers, musicians,
scientists, and other professionals. Now-familiar names like
Yo Yo Ma, Midori, Seiji Ozawa, Amy Tan, Michael Chang, and
Kristi Yamaguchi today symbolize the rich heritage that Asian
and Pacific Americans have added to our culture.
Today Asian and Pacific Americans represent a large
portion of our population. The region from which they migrated
is now one of the world's most dynamic areas of economic growth.
America's trade with Asian and Pacific countries totals more
than $300 billion, a greater amount than any other region in the
world. The United States maintains alliances with countries
from the Pacific such as Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and
Thailand. We will continue to promote economic cooperation and
the expansion of free markets there. The security of our allies
and the advancement of human rights in Asia and the Pacific
benefit both our country and the countries of that region.
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more
(OVER)
2
America is an ongoing experiment, an unfinished work.
It is important that we continually strive to fulfill the
ideals that attracted the Asian/Pacific peoples and other
immigrants to our shores. The next century will present many
challenges, but the ethnic diversity that binds us as a Nation
will provide us with the energy and hope we need to build a more
peaceful and more prosperous world. To honor the achievements
of Asian/Pacific Americans and to recognize their contributions
to our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 102-450, has
designated the month of May of each year as "Asian/Pacific
American Heritage Month."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of
the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of
May 1993 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. I call upon
the people of the United States to observe this occasion with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. I also call
upon all Americans to rededicate themselves to the principles
of inclusion, mutual respect, and social justice.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and
ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and seventeenth.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
###
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Clinton Presidential Records
Digital Records Marker
This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
This marker identifies the place of a tabbed divider. Given our
digitization capabilities, we are sometimes unable to adequately
scan such dividers. The title from the original document is
indicated below.
STATS / INFO.
Divider Title:
APAICS APA Heritage Month
http://www.apaics.org/apa/facts.html
APA-HERITAGE
Institute For
Congressional Studies
MONTH
HOME
PROFILES
HISTORY
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
FACTS
Interesting Facts from Asian Pacific American
History: May
EVENTS
Here are interesting facts related to APA History, brought to you by the
RESOURCES
non-profit Philadelphia group Asian Americans United.
May 1
CONTACTS
International Worker's Day
1992: Asian/Pacific American Labor Alliance founded in Washington, D.C. The
500 unionists formed the 1st national Asian/Pacific American, a subgroup of
the AFL-CIO.
May 4
1946: Tule Lake internment camp is closed, ending a history of beatings,
raids, hunger strikes, and martial law.
May 6
1987: 100 Latino and SE Asian parents protest against crowded, substandard
schools, and sued for unconstitutional segregation and denial of equal
education opportunity.
May 7
1994: 700 attend ceremony in which federal government returns Kaho'olawe to
Hawaii. The sacred site was a Navy bombing ground for 40 years.
1954: Dien Bien Phu battle ends French colonial rule in Indochina.
May 8
1970: Marion Lacadia Obera becomes the 1st Filipina American to be
appointed judge to the Los Angeles bench.
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act suspends immigration of Chinese laborers to the US.
May 9
1909: Several hundred Japanese plantation workers strike in Hawaii.
Eventually the strike included 7000 Hawaiian workers.
May 10
1869: Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad joined at
Promontory, Utah. An estimated 90% of the track from Sacramento to
Promontory was laid by Chinese workers, although no official group photos
of laborers includes them.
May 12
1975: Over 2500 New York Chinatown residents demonstrate outside City Hall
against police brutality.
May 14
1905: Establishment of Japanese and Korean Exclusion League in San
Francisco, eventually to become the Asiatic Exclusion League in 1908.
May 15
1892: Fong Yue-Ting V US
Chinese community raises money to test the constitutionality of the Geary
Act, which allowed deportation of Chinese when caught not carrying a
certificate of residence. The Act, which also renewed exclusion of Chinese
laborers for 10 years, was eventually
upheld.
May 16
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APAICS APA Heritage Month
http://www.apaics.org/apa/facts.html
1974: Chatham Square Rally in New York, NY. Prompted by the failure of
DeMatteis Corp. to hire Asian American construction workers for Confucius
Plaza, Asian Americans for Equal Employment stages a demonstration.
May 18
1974: Members of the Pacific/Asian Coalition coin the phrase "Asian
Americans and Pacific Island peoples" to refer to themselves.
May 19
1975: People from Phila., Boston, and Wash., DC join 20,000 NYC Chinatown
residents in a demonstration against police brutality.
1921: Quota Immigration Act limits new entrants to 3% of 1910 census sorted
by national origin.
1913: CA's Alien Land Law prohibits Asians from purchasing land.
May 21
1986: 200 Asian garment workers and their supporters rally to demand
training benefits to which they were entitled after being displaced from
their jobs at P&L Garment in Boston.
May 22
1882: Treaty of Amity and Commerce allows Koreans to immigrate to the
United States.
May 23
1975: Congress redefines the term "refugee"to include people from Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia.
May 25
1925: Hidemitsu V US
Sup. Ct. rules that to maintain distinctions of race and color in
naturalization laws, a Japanese person cannot be naturalized.
1894: Charles Kim, innovator in developing nectarines, is born.
May 26
1924: National Origins Act excludes immigration of all Asian laborers.
Filipinos, considered colonial subjects of the US, were exempted.
May 27
1887: 1st day of brutal 2-day massacre of 31 Chinese miners in Snake River,
Oregon. Covered up by officials, the case was not discovered until 1995.
1869: The 1st group of several dozen Japanese immigrants arrive in the US
mainland to establish the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony in CA.
May 28
1992: Federal Jury acquits Thomas Kozak of civil rights charges in the
brutal 1987 "Dotbusters" attack on Dr.Kaushal Sharan.
1975: Fort Indiantown Gap, PA opens as a receiving center for Southeast
Asian refugees. 16,000 refugees went through the camp.
May 29
1922: Ho V White
Sup. Ct. rules that Congress has the right to deport "dangerous" aliens,
and that the alien must prove citizenship to remain in the US and can be
held for trial.
May 30
1995: Over 100 Chinese immigrants rallied at the San Francisco Senators'
Office to deliver 10,000 petitions opposing congressional proposal which
bar immigrants from federal public assistance programs.
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APAICS
APA Heritage Month
http://www.apaics.org/apa/history.html
APA-HERITAGE
Institute For
Congressional Studies
MONTH
HOME
PROFILES
HISTORY
A Brief Look at Asian Pacific American
Immigration
FACTS
I. Essential Labor to Industrialize America
EVENTS
From 1850 to World War II, Asians immigrating to the United States
RESOURCES
were largely subject to the labor needs of a rapidly industrializing
nation and to the struggle between labor and industry. In the late 19th
CONTACTS
century, Asian immigrants came to the United States to support the
growing agricultural and railway industries. Chinese workers
constructed the western half of the first transcontinental railroad
deemed critical to linking the emerging U.S. markets and providing a
gateway to the Pacific. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the
Chinese were followed by the Japanese and the Filipinos and, in
smaller numbers, by Koreans and Asian Indians.
In response to the chronic labor shortage in the agricultural industry in
the West Coast, Japanese and Filipino laborers were hired to work on
farms, mostly in California. Asians provided agricultural labor not only
to the West Coast but also Hawaii. Hawaii agriculture was largely
dependent on Chinese, Japanese and Filipino farm workers because
the native Hawaiians proved to be an inadequate labor force for the
plantation owners.
II. Discriminatory Laws and the "Yellow Peril"
As the numbers of Asian immigrants increased and they made the
transition to small businesses or to tenant farming, tensions mounted
and public opinion turned against them. Chinese were portrayed as
the "yellow peril" and Asians were labeled as "foreigners" or "aliens". It
was in this period that the worst racist laws were enacted to place
restrictions on land ownership, citizenship, occupations and most
importantly, immigration.
In 1790, a law was passed allowing only white persons to
become citizens. Even after the law was changed to include
African Americans, similar legislation to include APAs was
rejected. The Supreme Court even upheld the laws making
Asians ineligible for citizenship. It was not until 1952 with the
passage of the McCarran-Walter Act when naturalization
eligibility was extended to all races that the last of these laws
were repealed.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was one of the worst
example of racist immigration legislation. Chinese were
specifically excluded by federal law from emigrating to the
United States. This resulted in many Chinese families being
separated for decades until the laws were repealed.
In 1907, anti-Asian sentiment led to the Gentlemen's
Agreement limiting Japanese immigration.
The Immigration Act of 1917 banned immigration from almost
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all the countries in the Asia-Pacific Triangle except for the
Philippines and Japan.
The Immigration Act of 1924 further restricted immigration by
banning immigration of persons ineligible for citizenship.
Eighteen years later in 1942, one of the most tragic event in
American history occurred. On February 19, 1942, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which led
to the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans
during World War II. Shortly thereafter, all American citizens of
Japanese descent were prohibited from living, working or
traveling on the West Coast of the United States with no
evidence to support the massive denial of constitutional rights
and liberties.
Between the 1940s and the 1960s when immigration was severely
restricted, the APA population was largely U.S. born APAs.
It was not until 1965 with the passage of the Immigration and
Naturalization Act that Congress eliminated the final vestiges of these
unfair immigration laws. Since then there has been a dramatic growth
in the Asian Pacific American population. The second wave of Asian
immigration produced by this relaxing of restrictive immigration laws
was heavily Chinese, Filipino, South Asian and Southeast Asian. Only
the Japanese American population, which was the largest group in
1970, did not grow substantially during the past two decades as a
result of laws on immigration.
To atone for the severe injustice to the Japanese Americans who
were interned during World War II, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was
passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan on
August 10, 1988. The Act established the Office of Redress
Administration and the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. The
Office of Redress Administration was charged with identifying all
potential recipients deemed eligible for redress so each could receive
a payment of $20,000 and a letter of apology from the President of the
United States. The Civil Liberties Education Fund was established in
1996 to sponsor research and public educational activities so that the
events surrounding the Japanese internment will be remembered and
its causes may be better understood.
III. Immigration Trends and Political Empowerment
Post-1965 immigration also saw a different wave of immigration from
Asia. Unlike the majority of Asians that came before them, the next
wave of immigrants were skilled and were admitted based on their
potential economic contributions to this nation. Many entered the U.S.
under occupational preferences resulting in a high percentage of
college educated immigrants which along with the highly-educated
second generation APAs have formed the backbone of the significant
APA middle class.
From 1960 to 1990, the U.S. APA population grew from about 1
million to over 7 million, making it the fastest growing segment of the
country. According to the Census Bureau there were 9.76 million
APAs living in the United States as of July 1, 1995.
APAs now make up 3.7% of the nation's population. According to the
Census predictions, by the year 2050, one out of 10 Americans will
trace their heritage to Asian or Pacific Island roots.
Recently, APAs are taking significant steps on the road to political
empowerment. Previously invisible and untapped by political parties,
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the APA population is becoming a potent political force capable of
swinging the vote in key electoral states and congressional districts.
APAs are concentrated in five states which carry large electoral votes
- California, Hawaii, Texas, Illinois, and New York There are also at
least 65 Congressional districts where APAs represent 5% or more of
the constituency. With Congressional races often won or lost by less
than 5%, APAs can make a tremendous difference when they
exercise their right to vote.
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ABIAN MICANE
4
STATE
WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
TO:
FROM:
NAME:
NAME:
Sam Afridi
Shamina Singh
ORGANIZATION:
White House Initiative on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders
Plasse
Parklawn Building, Room 10-42
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
PHONE:
PHONE:
301-443-2492
FAX:
FAX:
202-456-5709
301-443-0259
DATE:
Number of pages
(including cover page)
REMARKS:
Per your request - Hope you find this
helpful
5600 FISHERS LANE, ROOM 10-42 - ROCKVILLE, MD 20857 P: (301) 443-2492 F: (301) 445-0259 - [email protected] WWW.AAPI.GOV
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022/029
BRIAN
AMERICANS
CLAISE
WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13125
INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF ASIAN AMERICANS AND
PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS
~ Fact Sheet -
President Clinton signed Executive Order 13125 on June 7, 1999 to improve the quality of life
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased participation in federal programs
where they are underserved. The Executive Order calls on all federal departments to mobilize
their resources to address the unmet needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The Executive Order establishes the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders, and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
President's Advisory Commission on Aslan Americans and Pacific Islanders
The President will appoint fifteen Commissioners with a history of involvement in Asian
American and Pacific Islander communities from the fields of health, human services,
education, housing, labor, transportation, economic and community development, civil rights
and the business community. The Commission will focus on three goals:
1. Develop, monitor and coordinate federal efforts to improve Asian American and Pacific
Islander participation in government programs;
2. Foster research and data collection for Asian American and Paclfic Islander populations
and sub-populations; and
3. Increase public and private sector and community involvement in improving the health and
well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The Commission is seated through June 7. 2001, and will then be considered for renewal by
the President.
White House InItiative on Aslan Americans and Pacific Islanders
An Interagency Working Group, composed of deputy secretaries from federal departments, will
advise the President through the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
on Initiative activities. Goals for the first year include the development of a tailored inventory of
current programs and funding levels relating to AAPIs and a plan to address AAPI needs in FY
2001. The second year will focus on the development of a three-year Integrated Federal Plan
that will be submitted to the President by May 2001.
Office of the White House Initlative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
The Department of Health and Human Services coordinates the implementation of the
Executive Order. The Office of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders is administratively housed in the Health Resources and Services Administration. The
Office coordinates federal efforts under the Executive Order; serves as the point of contact for
community groups, and provides administrative support to the Commission.
5600 FISHERS LANE, ROOM 10-42
ROCKVILLE, MD 20857
EMAIL: [email protected]
P: (301) 443 2492
F: (301) 443 0259
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00/02
ASIAN
WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER FACTS
Latest U.S. Census Bureau data show:
10.4 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) live in the United States and
U.S.-associated Pacific Island jurisdictions, comprising approximately 4 percent of the total
U.S. population.
AAPIs are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, and are expected to
reach 10 percent of the population by the year 2050.
Two-thirds of AAPIs are immigrants.
40 percent of AAPIs do not speak English fluently.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are often viewed as a model minority with few health or social
problems; however, emerging data on AAPIs show significant disparities and barriers to accessing
health care and social services.
The poverty rate of 14 percent for AAPI families is higher than that of the general U.S.
population's poverty rate of 10 percent. Within the AAPI population, 47 percent of
Cambodian Americans and 66 percent of Hmong Americans are impoverished. (Census,
1990)
AAPIs lack health insurance at a higher rate than the total U.S. population with an estimated
2 million uninsured AAPIs. (Census, 1998)
AAPIs have the highest incidence rate of tuberculosis, at 41.6 per 100,000 versus 2.8 per
100,000 for White, non-Hispanics. (National Health Interview Survey, 1996)
Infant mortality rates in the U.S.-associated Pacific Island jurisdictions often exceed the U.S.
rate by more than twice as much. (Institute of Medicine, 1998)
Less than 6 percent of Tongans, Cambodians, Laotians and Hmong have completed college;
the high school graduation rate for Hmong is 31 percent. (Census, 1995)
The poverty rate for American veterans is approximately 6 percent; whereas, 27 percent of
Southeast-Asian American veterans live in poverty. (Census, 1990)
Among Native Hawaiians, the age-adjusted death rate is 901 per 100,000, as opposed to 524
per 100,000 for the total U.S. population. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1992)
5600 FISHERS LANE, ROOM 10-42 2 ROCKYILLE, MD 20857 a EMAIL: [email protected] 9 P: (301) 443 2492 R F: (301) 443 0259
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CONGRESSMAN ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD
PACIFIC ISLANDERS BRIEFING BEFORE THE
ADVISORY COMMISSION ON
ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
May 17, 2000
I.
Where Pacific Islanders Live Under U.S. Jurisdiction or Areas
That Have Close Ties to U.S.
A.
Geography
No other minority population is dispersed in as wide a geographical area than
Pacific Islanders. They live in the U.S. mainland, Hawaii, Guam,
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
1.
U.S. Mainland and Hawaii
The 1990 Census counted 365,024 Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Mainland
and Hawaii or 5 percent of the aggregate Asian and Pacific Islander category.
75 percent of these Pacific Islanders live in Hawaii and California.
Other states with more than 5,000 Pacific Islanders include the
states of Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Texas.
Hawaii is the only Pacific Island state, and is geographically part of Polynesia.
2.
U.S. Pacific Territories - Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
The U.S. Pacific Territories are geographically closer to Asia than
to the U.S. mainland. Guam is the westernmost territory of the U.S. and
is located 9,500 miles from Washington, D.C.
Pacific Islanders comprise a significant percentage of the total populations
of the U.S. Pacific Territories.
Guam:
1997 U.S. Census: 145,780
1990 U.S. Census:
133,152
American Samoa:
1997 U.S. Census:
60,383
1990 U.S. Census: 47,199
CNMI:
1997 U.S. Census:
63,763
1990 U.S. Census: 43,325
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3.
Freely Associated States - Republic of the Marshall Islands,
Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau
The Freely Associated States are geographically part of Micronesia
and conduct their own censuses.
Pacific Islanders comprise the majority of the total populations
of the Freely Associated States.
Republic of the Marshall Islands 1997 Census: 60,652
Federated States of Micronesia 1997 Census: 127,616
Republic of Palau 1997 Census:
17,756
B.
Political Relationships Most Diverse in U.S. Governmental Structure
Federal Policymakers must take into account the diversity of political relationships
of the geographical areas in which Pacific Islanders reside as
they include states, territories, and the freely associated states.
C.
Strategic and Historical Importance to U.S.
Hawaii, Guam, and other areas of Micronesia have always played a key role
in U.S. national strategy policy in the Asia Pacific Region.
The U.S. military presence in the region is focused between Hawaii and Guam.
From these loci Naval and Air Power can be projected. The U.S. also has an
Army installation at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands that is used for ballistic
missile development.
Apart from the U.S. Pacific Territories, the U.S. maintains close ties
with the independent and Freely Associated States (FAS) of the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic
of Palau.
The FAS states and the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands were all formerly administered by the U.S. as part of the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, established under the United Nations
Trusteeship System after WWII. It was the only U.N. designated
"Strategic Trusteeship," whose disposition was to be determined by the
U.N. Security Council. The Republic of Palau, which was the last
remaining U.N. trust territory, signed its Compact Agreement with the United
States in 1994.
2
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Guam and American Samoa are both non-self-governing territories
under Article 73 of the U.N. Charter. There are 16 territories left on the list,
three of which are U.S. territories. The U.S. Virgin Islands is the other
U.S. territory on the list.
II.
U.S. Pacific Islander Populations
Pacific Islander Populations are composed of indigenous populations
under U.S. jurisdictions and immigrant and migrant populations.
A.
U.S. Indigenous Populations
Apart from American Indians and Alaska Natives, the only other
indigenous populations under U.S. jurisdiction include Native Hawaiians,
Chamorros from Guam and the CNMI, and American Samoans.
While Native Hawaiians have been included in many federal programs
benefitting American Indians and Alaska Natives, there are few programs
that include all three Pacific Island groups as Native Americans. Examples that
include all three groups are the Native American Programs Act and the Native
American Veterans Home Loan Equity Act.
It is difficult to provide a snapshot for the total populations of
Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, and the American Samoans
living in the U.S. mainland, Hawaii, and the territories because Census
data is collected separately for the states and for the U.S. territories.
For purposes of the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, 1990 Census Data show
that Native Hawaiians were 58 percent of the Pacific Island population,
Samoans (from American Samoa and Samoa) were 17 percent of the
population and Chamorros from Guam and the CNMI were 13.8 of the
population. The Census Bureau does not disaggregate data between
Samoans from American Samoa and Samoa.
B.
Immigrant Populations
The population of immigrant Pacific Islanders is less than 15% of the total
Pacific Island population for the U.S. mainland and Hawaii.
They include immigrants from Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia.
(i.e. Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Federated States of Micronesia)
3
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C.
Migrant Populations
Under the Compact Agreements between the U.S. and the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and
the U.S. Republic of the Marshall Islands, citizens of these
Freely Associated States are allowed to enter the United States
freely to work or to pursue education.
III.
Issues and Role of Federal Agencies
C.
Recognition of Different Needs Among Pacific Islander Populations
Due to the geographical diversity within the Pacific Islander populations
and the political status of these areas, the varying groups have distinct
needs.
The Pacific Island populations in the U.S. mainland do not have the
support network or governmental structure that exists in Hawaii, the
U.S. Pacific Territories or the Freely Associated States.
In Hawaii, Native Hawaiians comprise 20% of the population. While there are many
state and federal programs which exist for their benefit, there is still a need to affirm
the political relationship between Native Hawaiians and the Federal Government.
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
American Samoa each have their own unique problems with
the federal government, particularly with regard to funding, economic, and
land issues.
Because Guam, the CNMI, and American Samoa are outside of
the U.S. Customs zone for economic reasons, the U.S. government
has been inconsistent in determining how to apply federal laws
toward the three territories.
While Pacific Islanders need greater attention by all federal
agencies, the Departments of Interior and State should play greater roles as
they have the lead jurisdiction of U.S. policy toward the insular areas,
the freely associated states, and indigenous peoples.
More attention should be given by the Departments of Interior and State
on Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, and American Samoans.
4
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While the Department of Interior coordinates federal policy on
Federal Indian Law with the Department of Justice, greater coordination
is needed to work with the State Department on developing U.S.
policy on the Draft Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
being considered at the United Nations and Organization for American States.
This will be needed because current federal policy should also include
Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, and American Samoans.
IV.
Disaggregation of Data Collection Key to Helping Pacific Islander Populations
A.
U.S. Census Data
Census Data is collected separately for the U.S. mainland and Hawaii
and individually for Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and American Samoa.
There needs to be a reconciliation of the various Census data.
Greater coordination is needed between the Census Bureau and
the statistical policy offices of each federal agency in the exchange
of readily available information.
The Census Bureau should disaggregate Pacific Island data immediately
in its official surveys and reports of the aggregate Asian Pacific Islander
category, particularly as it pertains to data on higher education, health,
median income, and loan lending patterns.
B.
Office of Management and Budget Statistical Policy Directive No. 15
On October 30, 1997, the Office of Management and Budget revised
its Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, the federal guideline governing
racial and ethnic data collection and civil rights compliance reporting.
Under these revised standards, a new category was established entitled
"Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander." Previously, Pacific Islanders
were part of the "Asian or Pacific Islander" category.
The new category was supposed to be effective as of October 30, 1997,
for all new and revised record keeping or reporting requirements that
include racial and/or ethnic information. Yet very few federal agencies
have modified their data collection records.
5
05/22/2000 MON 18:10 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAP1
1.
009/029
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There should be greater coordination between statistical policy offices
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and civil rights offices within federal agencies since data collection is key to monitor
civil rights compliance.
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Q3.
Are there simllar Executive Orders for other ethnic or minority groups?
There are three other Executive Orders focusing on minority populations: The Executive
Orders on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities,
and one for the Educational Excellence of Hispanics. These three have a specific focus
on institutions of higher education.
This Executive Order calls on all fourteen Executive Branch Departments and eighteen
1.
selected independent Agencies to develop partnerships with each other and community
groups to improve the health and well-being of our communities, and does not focus
specifically on institutions of higher education.
Q4.
Why is it necessary to have a group of Commissioners to support the InItiative?
The Commission is the Initiative's formal link to AAPI communities. Through the
Commission, communities can guide federal agencies on how best to respond to
community needs. The Commission will be a key vehicle through which AAPI
communities everywhere will have input Into the deliberations of the Commission and
the activities of the Initiative.
The Initiative is a partnership between the federal government and AAPI communities.
The leadership and expertise of the Commission will be critical in ensuring that the
activities of the Initiative and agency plans are appropriate, grounded and have
maximum impact, especially in the absence of adequate federal data that is reflective of
AAPI sub-population needs and community issues.
Q5.
What do you as a Commissioner hope to accomplish with this Initiative?
The White House Initiative presents an opportunity to translate the spirit and the words
of the Executive Order and forge new partnerships between the Federal government and
AAPI communities to bring forth meaningful change that is felt by communities.
We hope to ensure that AAPIs are at the table in all agency and Administration
Initiatives. Inclusion of all communities of color is critical to the President's efforts to
build "One America" and eliminate racial disparities.
We hope to dispel the myth of the model minority, once and for all, among federal
agencies, decision makers and the general public in order to ensure that the needs of
underserved AAPIs are recognized and addressed.
We hope that our work will increase agencies' capacity to serve AAPIs through having
appropriate and detailed sub-population data far into the future, beyond the life of this
particular group of Commissioners.
Q6.
What is the significance of an Executive Order?
N
An Executive Order Is the highest level of action a president can take. This Executive
Order is an explicit statement of commitment by the Administration to improve the health
and well-being of AAPIs.
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012/029
Some Executive Orders have served as catalysts for action on issues that impact the
most neglected and vulnerable segments of our society. The mandates of this Executive
Order are in stark contrast to Executive Order 9066 that placed over 100,000 Americans
of Japanese descent into internment camps during World War II.
Like the other Executive Orders for minority populations. this one gives the government
the authority-and responsibility-to focus more intensive efforts on the needs of a
specific population. It lifts quality of life issues for AAPIs up to the highest levels of
government.
Questions about the role and activities of the Commission
Q1.
What are the Commission's responsibilities?
The Commission is responsible for providing advice to the President Services on three
goals:
Develop, monitor and coordinate federal efforts to improve Asian American and
Pacific Islander participation In government programs;
Foster research and data collection for Asian American and Pacific Islander
populations and sub-populations; and
Increase public and private sector and community involvement in improving the
health and well-being of all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The Commission will deliver an interim report to the President by the end of this year
that will include a federal inventory, an analysis of agency plans and recommendations,
and a final report in June 2001.
Q2.
How often will the Commission meet?
The Commission will most likely meet on a quarterly basis, but the final schedule of full
Commission meetings are still being discussed.
Q3. Where will the Commissioners meet?
Preliminarily, we are planning to hold full Commission meetings in conjunction with Town
Hall meetings in various AAPI communities across the country.
The exact locations of these meetings have yet to be determined, but each meeting will
be announced in the Federal Register two weeks prior,
Q4. The Commissioners represent a diverse cross-section of the Aslan American and
Paclfic Islander communities around the country. How will this group ever
achieve consensus on the most important needs of the communities they
represent?
Though the Commissioners are from specific ethnic communities and professional
backgrounds, their mandate is to ensure that the needs of all underserved AAPIs are
given full consideration, Indeed, the diversity of the AAPI community is even greater
than that represented by the Commission.
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There are several cross cutting areas that the commission will be addressing such as
the need for increasing the amount of research and data available for AAPI
subpopulation groups so that federal agencies have the tools to plan programs and
make decisions based on adequate data and information.
The diversity of perspectives and backgrounds that Commissioners bring to the table is
an incredible source of strength. Under the leadership of the Commission's chair, former
Congressman Norman Mineta, we are confident that the multiple and varied
perspectives and issues will be given full attention and careful consideration.
Q5. How will the Commission's progress be monitored?
Progress and outcomes for the Initiative will be based on a strong partnership between
the Commission, the Interagency Working Group and AAPI communities across the
country and the Pacific Island Jurisdictions. The Commission will define specific
outcomes related to the goals and objectives set forth in the Executive Order.
Agencies involved in the Initiative are developing an inventory of programs, policies,
activities, and employment focusing on AAPIs, which will be used as a baseline from
which to measure progress towards meeting the mandates of the Executive Order. This
baseline will be a key tool to measuring and monitoring progress.
The Commission will deliver an interim report to the President by the end of this year.
The interim report will include Commission recommendations, the Federal Inventory, and
agency plans for fiscal year 2001. A final report, including agency three-year plans will
be issued in June 2001.
Important outcomes will also be determined through Town Hall meetings. Feedback
from community groups will also be a gauge to measure whether or not the activities and
plans of the Commission and federal agencies are addressing community priorities.
Q6. Where can we get additional information about the CommIssion and the Initlative?
You can contact the Initiative office at (301) 443-2492 or visit the website at
www.hrsa.gov/aapl.
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014/029
NATIONAL
IN PACIFIC
IERICAN
STATEMENT OF KAREN K. NARASAKI
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
NATIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN LEGAL CONSORTIUM
TO THE
ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
LEGAL
May 17, 2000
CONSORTIUM
1140 Connecticut Ave NW
On behalf of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and our
Suite 1200
Washington DC 20036
Affiliates, the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, Asian American Legal
TELEPHONE
Defense and Education Fund in New York and Asian Pacific American Legal
202 296-2300
FACSIMILE
Center of Southern California, I would like to congratulate the Commissioners on
202 296-2318
being called by the President to this critical task.
WEBSITE
www.napalc.org
I have been given 15 minutes to talk about civil rights and immigration. As you
might imagine, that is a daunting task so I will only be able to hit the highlights
and frame inquiries you may want to make as the Commission moves forward.
CIVIL RIGHTS
First, let me touch on data issues. Both the Asian American and Pacific
Islander communities are severely hampered by the lack of data that is either
collected or reported for these two racial categories. Too often, we are dumped
into other. Rarely is the ethnic category data provided. This is true whether we
are talking about health, education, cmployment, housing, criminal justice or
access to government programs.
/
The lack of meaningful government data makes it difficult to track trends,
identify problem areas, pinpoint solutions and enforce civil rights. For
example, the FBI must be required to collect and report crime data by
cthnicity so as to allow communities to pinpoint their vulncrabilities.
If the Commission can compel the federal agencies to track, disclose and
analyze this data, you will have made a significant contribution to the
ability of all stakeholders to ensure that the needs of our community are
being met.
This problem will be exacerbated by the fact that data collection of mixed race
will make the Pacific Islander numbers even smaller since many are mixed and
since Asian American and Pacific Islander are now separate racial categories. The
Commission must weigh in with the Office of Management and Budget's
proposal not to show Pacific Islander numbers in many displays because of the
AFFILIATES
Los Angeles
relatively small numbers and concerns about statistical significance. The
Axian Pacific American
I
Center
Consortium has urged OMB to display the number and footnote any statistical
concerns.
American Legal
Defense & Education Fund
Sun Francisco
Axian Law Caucos
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015/029
Second, is the issue of civil rights enforcement. Very few cases are being
brought on behalf of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by many of the
federal civil rights agencies. When the various agencies like the Department of
Education and Office of Federal Contract Compliance in the Department of Labor
published reports, we had to ask separately for information on cases involving our
community.
For example, the Department of Education has rarely acted to ensure that
limited English proficient Asian immigrant children are receiving the
bilingual assistance they need, which is ironic given the fact that the
Supreme Court decision which established the principle was brought by
Chinese immigrant parents.
As your staff does their research, they should look closely at the extent to
which the civil rights offices of each of the agencies have a plan and
budget to do outreach and education in a linguistically and culturally
appropriate manner to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. They
should ask how many cases are being brought to protect the rights of these
two communities. The EEOC strategic plan might be showcased as a
model.
They should also look at the glass ceiling issues within each agency. You
will find all too few Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders in significant
leadership roles.
Your staff should ask each significant agency within each Department to
provide you with any Asian or Pacific Islander language materials
developed to help their clients understand their rights and obligations, as
well as procedures, services and programs. They will find an appalling
lack of effort. Even the INS which was finally pushed to produce some
materials in Spanish, refuse to translate materials even into Chinese, much
less other languages.
Your staff should ask each agency with regional staff or who develop and
manage grant and other contract programs to provide you with the written
guidance they provide on issues like Title VI and national origin
discrimination.
Your staff should seek to discover whether the pool of people reviewing
responses to requests for proposals routinely include Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders or require applicants to outline who they plan to cnsure,
where relevant, the participation and coverage of Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders.
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Third, are civil rights issues in general.
The President and Attorney General Reno have made hate crimes a
priority and together have pushed to improve the federal response.
However, hate crimes involving Asian American victims still seem to go
virtually unnoticed. Just two weeks ago, six people were shot by a self-
styled white supremacist - five of whom died, in a Pittsburgh suburb. Yet
the victims and their families have been virtually ignored.
Students in high schools and colleges tell us that hate crimes are ignored
or covered up to avoid had publicity. The students feel that they have no
one to whom they can turn. Although the Department of Education
recently issued a handbook on harassment, few schools seem to be aware
of their obligations under federal law and few are addressing the problem.
Moreover, colleges are not aware of a federal law that passed several years
ago that requires them to collect and annually publish campus crime
statistics. There appears to be по enforcement effort or plan.
Language issues also raise important and hard issues. Adult English-
as-a-second language programs are underfunded and, as a result, the
waiting lines for those who are able to make time to learn are too long.
The Clinton Administration has sought money in their budget, but not
madc it a priority.
The Office of Bilingual Education in the Department of Education has
focused most of its attention on Spanish. There is little resources invested
by the Department in what is happening or not happening for limited
English Asian or Pacific Islander children - what works, what teacher
training is available, or what parent assistance is provided. The Native
Hawaiian language is supposed to be preserved with the help of federal
programs. It is not clear what, if any, targeted data collection, research,
and analysis is being done of Asian American and Pacific Islander
children by the Department.
Federal agencies do not do much to make their programs, or to require the
state, local or community based organizations they are funding through
block grants or other programs, accessible to our community. There
generally is no guidance as to language assistance or outreach.
As a result, health care facilities, police departments, welfare agencies,
legal aid organizations, and other entities receiving federal funding, do not
appear to be aware of the obligations to provide translated information
under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act - sometimes with dire results.
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For example, in central California, a Lao woman with tuberculosis
ended up being held in prison for over six months because of a
series of mistranslations - simply for being afraid to take her
medication. She was arrested at gun point in front of her children,
but never charged with a crime or brought before a judge.
Rather than addressing these issues, some congressional leaders have
sought to pass English-only laws and end bilingual education.
Voting Rights is another area to watch. We believe that the federal
government should consider providing resources to encourage immigrants
to become citizens and to participate. Instead, some congressional leaders
have sought to pass laws under the cover of campaign finance that would
lead to discrimination and intimidation based on race and national origin.
Compliance with Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act which mandates
translations and other language assistance in voting for areas which reach
certain population thresholds has improved over the past seven years, but
there are still significant gaps. Initiative staff should ask the Voting
Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division how much resources they have
put into bringing cases, placing federal monitors or making other efforts to
enforce this law.
I have touched on employment discrimination in a number of areas. The
EEOC under the leadership of Chair Ida Castro and Vice-Chair Paul
Igasaki, has sought to improve its outreach and to better target impact
litigation. The Department of Justice, which handles state and local
government complaints, has done only sporadic outreach. Finally, Asian
Americans in the various federal agencies complain of glass ceiling
discrimination as well as racial harassment. The complaint system appears
to be broken. We hope the Commission will consider looking at what can
be done to address the plight of Asian Americans in the federal
government.
The debate about affirmative action continues to rage in many
communities. States like Texas and Florida have adopted plans that rely
on racial segregation to work. It is unclear what will happen to Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders in these systems, generally or by
individual ethnic group. Nor is it clear what is happening to Asian
American and Pacific Islander owned businesses given the changes that
have been made or proposed to various federal minority contracting
programs.
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PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE
Working on Behalf of Asian Pacific Americans
Expanding Economic Opportunity
Moving From Record Deficits to Record Surplus. In 1992, the deficit was $290 billion, a
record dollar high. In 2000, we have a projected budget surplus of $167 billion -- the largest
dollar surplus on record (even after adjusting for inflation) and the largest as a share of our
economy since 1951. This is the first time we have had three surpluses in a row in more than a
half century.
Saving Social Security. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have coupled fiscal
discipline with a commitment to preserve and protect Social Security. President Clinton has
pushed to eliminate the confusing and out-dated Retirement Earnings Test in order to
encourage work and earnings for older Americans. Under the Clinton-Gore Administration,
the life of the Social Security trust fund has been extended to 2034. President Clinton has
proposed extending the program's solvency to at least 2054 by paying down the national debt
and dedicating the interest savings to Social Security. The President has also pushed for
measures to strengthen Social Security's benefits to reduce poverty among elderly women.
These steps would be a down payment on truly saving Social Security.
Over 21 Million New Jobs. 21.2 million new jobs have been created since 1993, the most
jobs ever created under a single Administration -- and more new jobs than Presidents Reagan
and Bush created during their three terms. 92 percent (19.4 million) of the new jobs have been
created in the private sector, the highest percentage in 50 years.
Unemployment Is the Lowest in Three Decades. Unemployment is down from 7.5 percent
in 1992 to 4.1 percent in March. The unemployment rate has fallen for seven years in a row,
and has remained below 5 percent for 33 months in a row.
Lowest Inflation Since 1965. Inflation remains virtually non-existent, with the underlying
core rate of inflation at 1.9 percent in 1999 the lowest rate since 1965. In the last four years
the GDP price index has risen under two percent each year the lowest rate of increase since
the early 1960s.
Strong Private Sector Growth. The private sector of the economy has grown 4.4 percent
annually since 1993, compared to 3.4 percent under President Reagan and 1.8 percent under
President Bush.
High Median Household Income for Asian Pacific Americans. In 1998, the median
household income for Asian Pacific Americans was $46,600 - higher than the national median
income.
Tax Cuts For Working Families. President Clinton's 1993 Economic Plan provided tax cuts
to 15 million hard-pressed working families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit
(EITC). The average family with two children who received the EITC received a tax cut of
$1,026. In 1998, the EITC lifted 4.3 million Americans out of poverty. This year the President
has proposed expanding the EITC to provide tax relief to 6.8 million additional working
families.
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Minimum Wage Increased. The President raised the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour. This
year, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have called on Congress to pass an additional
$1.00 per hour increase in the minimum wage.
Asian Pacific American Poverty Declines. The poverty rate of Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders has declined from 15.3 percent in 1993 to 12.5 percent in 1998, While this marks
significant progress, President Clinton will continue to fight for policies that help to raise
incomes and reduce poverty.
Highest Homeownership Rate in History. There are more than 7 million new homeowners
since the President and Vice President took office.
Over Three and a Half Times the Number of Small Business Loans. Between 1993 and
2000 the Small Business Administration (SBA) approved more than 30,200 loans to Asian
Pacific American entrepreneurs under the 7(a), 504, and Microloan programs [as of 3/17/00].
In 1999 alone, the SBA granted 5,655 loans worth over $2.1 billion to Asian Pacific American
businesses, more than three and a half times the number of loans granted in 1992.
Ensuring Minority Business Owners Have a Fair Opportunity to Compete. The President
signed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century into law on June 9, 1998. The Act
protects the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, a program that ensures that
minority and women-owned businesses have an opportunity to compete for transportation
projects. The Administration helped defeat an amendment to the House version of this bill that
would have eliminated the DBE Program. In a different measure, the President also approved
the creation of a new program to target assistance to minority-owned businesses in industries
that continue to reflect the effects of discrimination. As a result, thousands of minority-owned
businesses will be able to compete more effectively for government contracts.
Expanding Investment in Urban and Rural Areas. Spurring economic development in
distressed communities, the Clinton-Gore Administration has created 31 Empowerment Zones
and more than 100 Enterprise Communities, including 20 rural Enterprise Communities that
are creating new jobs, new opportunities and stronger communities. The President won $70
million in funding for Rural and Urban Empowerment Zones in FY 2000 -- after Congress
initially provided no funding.
Encouraging Investment in Underserved Communities with the New Markets Initiative.
President Clinton's New Markets Initiative is helping to bring economic development and
renewal to communities that have not benefited from the soaring economy by prompting
approximately $15 billion in new investment in urban and rural areas. In the FY 2000 budget,
President Clinton won $20 million in funding for America's Private Investment Companies,
and $16.5 million in funding for the New Markets Venture Capitol Program -- two key
elements of the New Markets Initiative. The President's FY 2001 budget provides tax credits
and loans guarantee incentives to stimulate $22 billion in new investment in urban and rural
areas.
Expanding Access to Capital with Community Development Financial Institutions
(CDFI). Proposed and signed into law by the President in 1994, the CDFI Fund, through
grants, loans and equity investments, is helping to create a network of community
development financial institutions in distressed areas across the United States. In FY 1999,
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funding was increased 19 percent to $95 million from $80 million. President Clinton
successfully worked to maintain that investment in FY 2000. In FY 2001, the President is
proposing $125 million.
Closing the Digital Divide. Access to computers and the Internet is becoming increasingly
important in American life, but there is a growing "digital divide" between those who have
access to information technology and those who do not. Increasing access to technology and
bridging that digital divide has been a top priority for President Clinton and Vice President
Gore. To help make access to computers and the Internet as universal as the telephone, the
Clinton-Gore Administration is proposing a comprehensive initiative to bridge the digital
divide and create new opportunity for all Americans. Their FY 2001 budget includes proposals
to: broaden access to technologies such as computers, the Internet, and high-speed networks;
provide people the skilled teachers and the training they need to master the information
economy; and promote online content and applications that will help empower all Americans
to use new technologies to their fullest potential.
Taking Executive Action to Bridge the Digital Divide. In December 1999, President Clinton
directed the Cabinet to take specific actions to close the digital divide, such as expanding
Community Technology Centers in low-income neighborhoods, continuing to measure the
extent of the digital divide, and helping low-income workers gain the skills needed to compete
for high-paying information technology jobs. The President also announced the launch of the
Digital Divide Network, an Internet-based information clearinghouse on public and private
efforts to bring technology to underserved communities; and the formation of the Digital
Opportunity Partnership, an alliance between the private sector and civil and human rights
organizations to bring high technology to the doorstep of nonprofit organizations. He also
announced a commitment by the Congress of National Black Churches to make the digital
divide a top civil rights priority.
Working on Behalf of Minority Farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is
working to strengthen programs and increase outreach targeted to underserved communities,
including increasing its lending to minority and women producers. Lending to socially
disadvantaged farmers increased by 44 percent last year, from $186 million in 1998 to $269
million in 1999.
International Business Affairs
Facing the Challenges of the Global Economy. The President's strategy of fiscal discipline,
investment in our people, and open trade is working for America. For the U.S. economy to
continue to prosper, the economies of the world need to rebound from their recent difficulties.
The United States is working with other leading nations to intensify efforts to speed economic
recovery in Asia.
Expanding Exports and Creating Jobs. Since President Clinton took office, the
Administration has concluded over 270 new trade agreements. This export expansion has
accounted for more than one-quarter of the record U.S. economic growth between 1992 and
1998 and has helped created jobs that, on average, pay 15 percent more than non-export
related jobs. Thirty percent of U.S. exports go to Asia; this country exports more goods to Asia
than Europe.
Created Three Major Global Trade Agreements In the World Trade Organization. In the
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last year, this Administration completed a "trifecta" of three major global trade agreements in
the World Trade Organization: the Information Technology Agreement covering $500 billion
in global trade and more than $100 billion in U.S. exports, the global telecommunications
services agreement (which will create more than a million jobs in the next ten years) and the
financial services accord (which covers 95 percent of the global financial services market).
Together, these initiatives cover trade totaling more than $1 trillion annually.
Historic U.S.-China Trade Agreement. After 13 years of negotiation, the Clinton
Administration reached an historic trade agreement that will open China's markets to
American goods and hold the Chinese government to international standards. The agreement
will significantly lower Chinese tariffs, and ensure fair treatment for both American businesses
in China and American workers here at home. The agreement is a crucial step toward China's
accession into the World Trade Organization.
Eliminated Barriers To Open Trade In Asia Pacific Nations From Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Summit. Secured commitments from Asian Pacific nations to eliminate
barriers to open trade in the region by 2020 for developing countries and 2010 for
industrialized countries. Over the next two years, 15 sectors will be identified for tariff
reductions, including energy products and services, environmental technologies and services,
natural resources, medical equipment, telecommunications, gems and jewelry.
Fighting For Equal Opportunity
Building One America. The President has led the nation in an effort to become One America
in the 21st Century: a place where we respect others' differences and, at the same time,
embrace the common values that unite us. Angela Oh served on the Advisory Board to the
President's Initiative on Race, which the President charged with overseeing this effort. The
President, the Administration and the Advisory Board were actively involved in public
outreach efforts -- including holding numerous public meetings and town halls -- to engage
Americans across the nation in this historic effort. One of the critical elements of the
President's Initiative on Race was identifying, highlighting and sharing with the nation
promising local and national efforts to promote racial reconciliation. The Advisory Board
presented their final report to the President on September 18, 1998, and recommended that
conversations on race continue. President Clinton appointed Robert B. (Ben) Johnson as
Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office on the President's Initiative
for One America, a new office the President created to follow up on the work of his Initiative
on Race. The President's FY 2001 budget includes $5 million for One America dialogues to
promote and facilitate discussions on racial diversity and understanding.
An Administration that Looks like One America. President Clinton has appointed the most
diverse Administration in history, with more Asian Pacific American appointees than any
other President. Appointees include: Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights, Department of Justice; Nancy Ann-Min DeParle, Administrator of the Health
Care Finance Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; Robert Wayne Gee,
Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Department of Energy; Paul Igasaki, Vice Chair, Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission; Rose Ochi, Director, Office of Community Relations,
Department of Justice; Donna Tanoue, Chair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Jeanette
Takamura, Assistant Secretary for Aging, Department of Health & Human Services; Phyllis
Fong, Inspector General, Small Business Administration; and Raj Reddy, Co-Chair,
President's Information Technology Advisory Committee. Asian Pacific Americans serving on
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the President's staff at the White House include Maria Haley, Deputy Assistant to the President
and Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel; Eric Liu, Deputy Assistant to the President and
Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council; Laura Efurd, Deputy Assistant to the
President and Deputy Director of Public Liaison; and Shamina Singh, Executive Director,
White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
regar
Increasing the Number of Judicial Appointments. President Clinton has nominated more
Asian Pacific Americans to the federal bench than any other Administration. His judicial
appointments include the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima, Judge, U.S. Ninth Circuit Court and
District Court judges Denny Chin, Anthony Ishii, George King, and Susan Oki Mollway.
Improving the Quality of Life of Asian Pacific Americans. In June 1999, the Clinton-Gore
Administration issued an Executive Order dedicated to improving the lives of Asian Pacific
Americans, the first of its kind ever issued. The Executive Order established the President's
Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and an interagency working
group called the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to advise the
President on ways to better serve Asian Pacific Americans by increasing their participation in
Federal programs. The Initiative is also working to increase public sector, private sector, and
community involvement in improving the health of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Ordered an Assessment of Affirmative Action Programs. The President ordered a
comprehensive review of the government's affirmative action programs which concluded that
affirmative action is still an effective and important tool to expand educational and economic
opportunity to all Americans. This review of federal affirmative action programs has helped to
ensure that these programs are fair and effective and that they can survive legal challenges. As
a result, programs that benefit women and minorities, including students, working men and
women, and business owners, remain in effect and are more likely to be upheld by the courts.
Working to Expand Civil Rights Enforcement. In FY 2000, the President won a six percent
increase in funding for federal civil rights enforcement agencies including $82 million for the
Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, a 19 percent increase. And this year, President
Clinton has proposed $698 million for civil rights enforcement -- a 13 percent increase -- to
prosecute criminal civil rights cases (including hate crimes and police misconduct), enforce the
American with Disabilities Act, pursue Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
employment actions and prevent housing discrimination, and other civil rights enforcement
efforts.
Opposed California Proposition 209 and Similar Measures. The Clinton-Gore
Administration strongly opposes state and local initiatives to eliminate affirmative action
programs that expand opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans and others. The
Administration opposed Proposition 209 in California and filed amicus briefs opposing
Proposition 209, which currently prohibits state affirmative action programs. The Clinton
Administration opposed a similar initiative in Houston, which was defeated and is currently
opposing an initiative in Washington that is similar to Proposition 209. In all these cases,
representatives of the administration have spoken out strongly against these initiatives as
unfair and a barrier to equality.
Opposed California Proposition 187. The Administration opposed California's Proposition
187, which would have made illegal immigrants ineligible for public school education at all
levels and ineligible for public health care services.
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Ensuring Election Fairness. The Clinton Administration defended racially fair redistricting
plans against claims that they were unconstitutional and prevented election day discrimination
against minority voters and voter intimidation and harassment by monitoring polling place
activities in a record number of states and counties. The Administration has continued
enforcement efforts to ensure that citizens who rely on languages other than English have the
same opportunities to participate in voting-related activities as English-speaking voters.
Increasing Voter Registration. Since 1995, the National Voter Registration Act or "Motor
Voter" law has registered nearly 28 million new voters and made voting easier for millions
more. [FEC, 6/99; FEC, 6/97]
Working for Fair Housing. To respond to the increase in reported cases of serious fair
housing violations, HUD has committed $37 million to 67 fair housing centers around the
country to assist in fighting housing discrimination. In addition, the President proposed and
won a major expansion (a 33 percent increase) of HUD's Fair Housing programs in FY 1999.
In FY 2000, the President won $44 million for HUD's efforts to fight housing discrimination,
which includes $6 million to continue the audit-based fair housing enforcement initiative
started last year.
Defended Fairness. The Clinton-Gore Administration has filed more cases between 1993 and
1997 to enforce fair housing laws than any other Administration (more than 500 cases). For
instance, this Administration desegregated a Vidor, Texas, public housing complex and
ordered a Mississippi bank to implement remedial lending plans for minority customers who
were unfairly denied loans by the bank.
Eliminated Discriminatory "Redlining" Practices. The Clinton Administration negotiated
agreements with health care agencies to eliminate discriminatory "redlining" practices denying
home health care services based on residential location.
Working to Ensure a Fair, Accurate and Complete Census. The Clinton-Gore
Administration is working to ensure that Census 2000 is as accurate as possible using the best,
most up-to-date scientific methods as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences.
The 1990 Census had an undercount of 8.4 million and 2.3 percent of Asian Pacific Americans
were not counted. A fair and accurate Census is a fundamental part of a representative
democracy and is the basis for providing equality under the law. The President and Vice
President are determined to have a fair and full count in 2000, and in February 2000 the
President announced new steps to encourage all Americans to participate in Census 2000. The
President launched a Census in Schools Challenge, to ensure that children are counted and
educate both students and parents; reiterated that Census information is strictly confidential;
and directed federal agencies to step up activities in support of the Census.
Immigration
Welcoming New Americans. Since 1993, the United States has welcomed 4.4 million new
American citizens. Faced with this unprecedented number of applications, the Administration
undertook an initiative that has significantly reduced the backlog of citizenship applications
and is restoring timely processing while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the
process. Furthermore, the Administration's English as a Second Language/Civics Education
Initiative will provide limited English speaking adults with instruction in both English literacy
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and critical life skills necessary for effective citizenship and civic participation.
Fairness for Immigrants. The President worked with Congress to correct the most egregious
impacts of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. As a
result, almost a million people will be able to proceed with legalizing their immigration status
under the former standards of immigration law and not the new, stricter and more burdensome
standards enacted in 1996.
Restoring Benefits to Legal Immigrants. The President believes that legal immigrants
should have the same economic opportunity, and bear the same responsibility, as other
members of society. In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Agricultural Research Act of
1998, the President fought for and succeeded in reversing unfair cuts in benefits to legal
immigrants. They restored benefits to Hmong immigrants from Laos who aided our country
during the Vietnam War and extends the period during which refugees and asylees may qualify
for Food Stamps while they await citizenship. The FY 2001 budget builds on the
Administration's progress of restoring these important benefits by providing $2.5 billion over
five years to allow states to provide health care to certain legal immigrant children and their
families and pregnant women, to restore SSI eligibility to legal immigrants with disabilities,
and to restore Food Stamp eligibility to certain aged immigrants and to legal immigrants who
live in a household with Food Stamp eligible children.
Assuring Families Access to Health Care and Other Benefits. In May 1999, the Vice
President announced new actions to assure families that enrolling in Medicaid or the new
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and receiving other critical benefits, such as
school lunch and child care services, will not affect their immigration status. The new
Department of Justice regulation clarifies a widespread misconception that has deterred
eligible populations from enrolling in these programs and undermined the nation's public
health. In addition, the Vice President directed Federal agencies to send guidance to their field
offices, program grantees and to work with community organizations to educate Americans
about this new policy.
Defended Immigrant Rights. The Administration defeated legislative efforts which would
have significantly eroded health care for immigrants. The bipartisan agreement strengthened
the sponsorship requirement while preserving the basic ability of families to reunify.
Improving Our Nation's Health
Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. In 1998, President Clinton announced an
initiative to end racial and ethnic health disparities. The effort sets a national goal of
eliminating the longstanding disparities by the year 2010 in six key health areas: infant
mortality, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS and immunizations. In the FY 1999
budget, Congress took a critical first step in investing in the President's multi-year proposal
and in FY 2000 provided an additional $20 million in funding, a 200 percent increase.
Working with minority public health providers, advocates, and other consumer representatives,
the FY 2001 budget includes $35 million for the Centers for Disease Control to continue
demonstration programs to enable select communities to develop innovative and effective
approaches to address these disparities.
Focused Health Efforts. The Clinton-Gore Administration established the Office of Research
on Minority Health and the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine at
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the National Institutes of Health. The Administration also helped communities develop
culturally-competent systems for the care of children with serious emotional disturbances
through the Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Children and Families program.
Working to Enact a Strong, Enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights for All Americans.
President Clinton and Vice President Gore have called on the Congress to pass a strong,
enforceable patients' bill of rights that assures Americans the quality health care they need.
The bill should include important patient protections such as: assuring direct access to
specialists; real emergency room protections; continuity of care provisions that protect patients
from abrupt changes in treatment; a fair, timely, and independent appeals process for patient
grievances; and enforcement provisions to make these rights real. Leading by example, the
President directed all federal agencies to ensure that their employees and beneficiaries have the
benefits and rights guaranteed under the President's proposed Patients' Bill of Rights.
Enacted Most Comprehensive Medicare Reforms in History. In the 1997 Balanced Budget,
President Clinton and Vice President Gore protected, modernized and extended the life of the
Medicare Trust Fund while offering new options for patient choice and preventive care. New
preventive benefits passed include coverage of annual mammograms, coverage of screening
tests for both colorectal and cervical cancer, and a diabetes self-management benefit. They
have proposed a plan to reform and modernize Medicare's benefits, including an optional
prescription drug benefit that is affordable and available to all beneficiaries. In 1993, Medicare
was expected to run out of money in 1999. Now, the life of the Trust Fund has been extended
until 2023.
Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). President Clinton won over $4 million
for nutrition assistance to 7.4 million women, infants, and children through the WIC program,
an increase of $108 million over FY 1999. The additional funds will allow the program to
provide a monthly package of nourishing supplemental foods, nutrition education, and health
care referrals to 7.4 million low-income women, infants and children who are at nutritional
risk -- a 25 percent increase in participation since 1993. Research shows that every $1 increase
in the prenatal care portion of the WIC program cuts between $1.77 and $3.90 in medical
expenses in the first 60 days following childbirth. In 1996, 2.8 percent of the infants and 2.9
percent of the children who benefited from WIC were Asian American.
Extended Health Care to Millions of Children with the Children's Health Insurance
Program. In the Balanced Budget of 1997, President Clinton won $24 billion to provide
health care coverage to up to five million uninsured children. The Administration is actively
reaching out to communities to target and enroll eligible, uninsured children in CHIP and in
October 1999 the President announced new outreach efforts. Asian Pacific American children
make up 15.8 percent of all uninsured children. This year, the budget includes several of Vice
President Gore's proposals to accelerate enrollment of children in CHIP. The President and
Vice President are also proposing a new FamilyCare program, which would give States the
option to cover parents in the same plan as their children.
Providing Access to Health Care Services for Uninsured Workers. Last year, the President
proposed and won $25 million in funding for a program to coordinate systems of care, increase
the number of services delivered and establish an accountability system to assure adequate
patient care for the uninsured and low-income. This year, the President has proposed funding
this initiative at $125 million, representing a substantial down payment on the his plan to
invest $1 billion over 5 years.
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Raised Immunization Rates to All Time High. Since 1993, childhood immunization rates
have reached all-time highs, with 90 percent or more of America's toddlers receiving the most
critical doses of vaccines for children by age 2. For the most critical childhood vaccines,
vaccination levels are nearly the same for preschool children of all racial and ethnic groups,
narrowing a gap that was estimated to be as wide as 26 percentage points a generation ago.
Expanding Coverage to Uninsured Americans. The President and Vice President have
proposed a 10-year, $110 billion initiative that would dramatically improve the affordability of
and access to health insurance. The proposal would expand coverage to at least 5 million
uninsured Americans and expand access to millions more. If enacted, these policies would be
the largest expansion of coverage since Medicare was created in 1965.
Providing Health Care to Children and Pregnant Women. Under current law, states have
the option to provide health coverage to immigrant children and pregnant women who entered
the country before August 22, 1996. The President's FY 2001 Budget gives states the option to
extend Medicaid or CHIP coverage to low-income legal immigrant children and Medicaid to
pregnant women who entered the country after August 22, 1996. The proposal would cost
$695 million and provide critical health insurance to approximately 144,000 children and
33,000 women by FY 2005. This proposal would reduce the number of high-risk pregnancies,
ensure healthier children, and lower the cost of emergency Medicaid deliveries. The budget's
Medicaid/SCHIP FamilyCare initiative also covers legal immigrant parents of children who
are covered by Medicaid or SCHIP.
Investing in Education
Made the Largest Investment in Education in 30 Years. Maintaining his longtime
commitment to education, the President enacted the largest investment in education in 30 years
-- and the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill.
Opening the Doors of College to All Americans. In 1997, President Clinton proposed and
passed the HOPE Scholarships and Lifetime Learning tax credits to provide tax relief to nearly
13 million Americans each year who are struggling to pay for college. The Hope Scholarship
helps make the first two years of college universally available to about 5.6 million students
annually by providing a tax credit of up to $1,500 for the first two years of college. The
Lifetime Learning tax credit provides a 20 percent tax credit on the first $5,000 of tuition and
fees for students beyond the first two years of college, or taking classes part-time (in 2003, this
increases to $10,000). In his FY 2001 budget, the President has proposed to expand the
Lifetime Learning tax credit with the College Opportunity tax cut, which will give families the
option of taking a tax deduction or claiming a 28 percent credit for the first $5,000 of college
tuition and fees until 2002, and $10,000 thereafter.
Expanding Work Study and Pell Grants. One million students will be able to work their
way through college because of the President's expansion of the Work Study Program, and
nearly four million students will receive a Pell Grant of up to $3,300, the largest maximum
award ever. The maximum award has increased 43 percent under the Clinton-Gore
Administration. This year President Clinton proposed a $77 million increase in Work Study to
continue to support one million awards, and a $200 increase in the Pell Grant maximum
award, to raise it to $3,500.
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Fostering Diversity. The White House awarded Presidential Awards for Excellence in
Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring Grants to both individual mentors and
institutions that foster mentoring, helping to ensure that America's future scientists and
engineers come from all of the nation's racial and cultural segments of the population.
Modernizing Our Schools. This year, the President and Vice President have proposed federal
tax credits to pay the interest on nearly $25 billion in state and local bonds to modernize and
rebuild up to 6,000 public schools that are overcrowded, out-of-date, and unsafe. In addition,
the budget includes a new $13 billion school urgent/emergency renovation loan and grant
proposal.
More High-Quality Teachers with Smaller Class Sizes. The Clinton-Gore Administration
won a second installment of $1.3 billion for the President's plan to hire an additional 100,000
well-prepared teachers to reduce class size in the early grades, when children learn to read and
master the basic skills. Already, 29,000 teachers have been hired through this initiative. This
year's budget provides $1.75 billion, a $450 million increase -- enough to fund nearly 49,000
teachers. Research shows that minorities, and low-income students in particular, benefit
academically from smaller classes.
Providing Safe After-School Opportunities for 850,000 Students Each Year. The 21st
Century Community Learning Centers program will provide enriching after-school and
summer school opportunities for 850,000 school-age children in rural and urban communities
in FY 2000. Extended learning time has not only been shown to increase achievement in
reading and math, but to decrease youth violence and drug use. Funding for this program more
than doubled from FY 1999 to FY 2000. For FY 2001, the President's budget calls on
Congress to invest $1 billion in the 21st Century Program and to ensure that all children in
failing schools have access to quality after-school and summer school opportunities. This
proposal will double funding and nearly triple the number of students served to 2.5 million.
Teaching Every Child to Read by the 3rd Grade. The President challenged Americans to
unite to be sure that every child can read well and independently by the third grade. In
response to his America Reads challenge, more than 1,100 colleges have committed Work
Study students to tutor children in reading, and more than 2 million children have been taught,
tutored or mentored by national service programs like AmeriCorps, VISTA, and Foster
Grandparents. In addition, colleges and universities that participate in the Federal work-study
program must include at least one tutoring or family literacy project as part of its community
service activities, giving priority to the employment of work-study students as reading tutors in
schools participating in reading reform efforts. Grants are awarded through the Reading
Excellence Act to high-poverty schools to improve the teaching and learning of reading.
Expanding Access to Education Technology. With the Vice President's leadership, the
Clinton-Gore Administration has made increasing access to technology a top priority. The
President and Vice President created the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund to help connect
every school to the Internet, increase the number of multimedia computers in the classroom
and provide technology training for teachers. They increased overall investments in
educational technology from $23 million in 1993 to $769 million in FY 2000, and tripled
funding for Community Technology Centers to reach at least 120 low-income communities.
Through the E-rate program, they secured low-cost connections to the Internet for schools,
libraries, rural health clinics and hospitals, benefiting more than 80 percent of America's
public schools. They also increased investment in education research to ensure all children
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benefit from educational technology. In 1999, 95 percent of public schools were connected to
the Internet -- up from just 35 percent in 1994.
Turning Around Failing Schools. 1 million low-income students in 13,000 school districts
now benefit from higher expectations and a challenging curriculum geared to higher standards
through Title I-Aid to Disadvantaged Students. The FY 2000 budget provides a $134 million
accountability fund to help turn around the worst performing schools and hold them
accountable for results through such measures as overhauling curriculum, improving staffing,
or even closing schools and reopening them as charter schools. This year, the President is
proposing to double funding for this fund to turn around the nation's failing schools to ensure
all children receive a quality education. In the 1996-97 school year, 3.3 percent of the children
served by Title I were Asian American.
Providing Early Education to Nearly 900,000 Children with Head Start. The President
and Vice President have expanded Head Start funding by 90 percent since 1993. Head Start
will reach approximately 880,000 low-income children in FY 2000 and, with the President's
proposed increase for the program, will be on the way to reaching the President's goal of
serving 1 million children and their families by the year 2002. The Administration also created
Early Head Start, bringing Head Start's successful comprehensive services to families with
children ages zero to three, and set high quality standards for both programs.
Establishing the GEAR-UP Mentoring Program for Middle School Children. President
Clinton and Vice President Gore created and expanded GEAR-UP, a nationwide mentoring
initiative, to help over 750,000 low-income middle school children finish school and prepare
for college. GEAR-UP will expand mentoring efforts by states and provide new grants to
partnerships of middle schools, institutions of higher education, and community organizations,
to provide intensive early intervention services to help prepare over 750,000 students at
high-poverty middle schools for college. The President's FY 2001 budget would expand
services to 1.4 million students with a 63 percent increase.
Expanding Investments in Youth Education and Training. While House Republicans
attempted to eliminate the successful Summer Jobs program in FY 1999, President Clinton
prevailed with his request for $871 million in funding, which provided about 483,000 summer
jobs for disadvantaged youth. That same year the President signed into law the Workforce
Investment Act, consolidating the funding streams of the summer jobs and year-round training
programs and increasing local flexibility to design youth job training programs. The Youth
Opportunity Grants program provides high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 24
with academic and job-skills training, as well as apprenticeships building and rehabilitating
affordable housing. The President proposed and won $250 million for the second year of
funding for this innovative program in FY 2000, allowing the program to serve up to 58,000 of
the most disadvantaged young people in high poverty areas.
Addressing Minority Needs. Hosted Asian Pacific American Education Forums to address
the needs of Asian Pacific American students and their teachers.
AmeriCorps College Support. Since 1993, more than 150,000 people have had the
opportunity to serve through AmeriCorps, with Asian Pacific Americans comprising 3 percent
of all participants. In 1999, nearly 50,000 young people had the opportunity to serve and earn
an award of up to $4,725 to pay for college or repay student loans.
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Helping to Assist Schools with More Foreign Language Programs; Opposing English
Only. The Administration has restructured Foreign Language Assistance Programs to assist
local schools in establishing programs in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. The Clinton
Administration strongly opposes legislation to make English the official language of the
United States which would have jeopardized services and programs for non-English speakers
and jeopardized assistance to the tens of thousands of new immigrants and others seeking to
learn English as adults.
Strengthening Bilingual and Immigrant Education. The President is committed to ensuring
that students with limited English skills get the extra help they need in order to learn English
and meet the same high standards expected for all students. The Clinton-Gore Administration
fought for and won a 35% increase in bilingual and immigrant education in the 1997 budget
deal, and won another $26 million increase in the FY 2000 budget. Bilingual education
funding helps school districts teach English to more than a million limited English proficient
(LEP) children and helps LEP students to achieve to the same high standards as all other
students. It also provides teachers with the training they need to teach limited English
proficient students. The Immigrant Education program helps more than a thousand school
districts provide supplemental instructional services to more than 800,000 recent immigrant
students. In his proposal to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the
President has proposed additional help to ensure that all teachers are well-trained to meet the
needs of students with Limited English Proficiency. His proposal would also make schools and
districts more accountable for helping children with Limited English Proficiency master their
academic subjects and learn English. The President's FY 2001 budget increases funding for
these programs by an additional $832 million.
English Literacy/Civics Initiative. The Clinton-Gore Administration's budget requests $75
million for the English Language/Civics Initiative -- a nearly $50 million increase to help an
additional estimated 250,000 limited English proficient (LEP) individuals. This program helps
states and communities provide LEP individuals with expanded access to quality
English-language instruction linked to civics and life skills instruction, including
understanding the U.S. government system, the public education system, the workplace, and
other key institutions of American life.
Opposed Gallegly Amendment. The Administration opposed the Gallegly Amendment,
which would have ended the guarantee of public education for all children. It would have
shifted immigration enforcement from the borders and work sites to classrooms and made
children susceptible to gangs and violence.
Strengthening Families and Communities
Helping Parents Balance Work and Family. The Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
the first piece of legislation the President signed into law enables workers to take up to 12
weeks unpaid leave to care for a new baby or ailing family member without jeopardizing their
job. Since its enactment, millions of Americans have benefited from FMLA, and the President
has expanded leave options for Federal employees. President Clinton has called for extending
this benefit to 12 million more working families and expanding the law to allow workers to
take leave for family obligations such as doctors appointments and parent-teacher conferences.
Additionally, in his FY 2001 budget, the President is proposing new grants to enable states and
regions to develop innovative paid leave options for working parents.
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Providing Incentives to Save. President Clinton signed legislation creating Individual
Development Accounts, providing incentives for low-income families to save for a first home,
higher education, or to start a new business, a key part of his 1992 community empowerment
agenda. In FY 1999, $10 million was awarded to establish savings accounts for over 10,000
low-income workers in 40 communities, and an additional $10 million will be awarded in FY
2000. The President's budget provides $25 million for IDAs in FY2001 and proposes to allow
low-income working families to use IDAs to save for a car that will allow them to get or keep
a job.
Nearly Doubled Child Support Collections. President Clinton signed into law the toughest
child support crackdown in history. Federal and state child support programs broke new
records in 1999, collecting $15.5 billion -- nearly double the amount collected in 1992. The
number of paternities established rose to nearly 1.5 million in 1998 - more than triple the
number from 516,000 in 1992. The number of child support cases with collections rose 59
percent, from 2.8 million 1992 to 4.5 million in 1998.
Protecting Rent Subsidies for Low-Income Families. President Clinton won $10.8 billion in
the FY 2000 budget for the renewal of all Section 8 contracts, an increase of $1.2 billion from
FY 1999. This will ensure continuation of HUD rental subsidies for low-income tenants in
privately owned housing.
Expanding Low-Income Housing Tax Credit by 40 Percent. In 1993, President Clinton
fulfilled his promise to permanently extend the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, spurring the
private development of low-income housing and helping to build 75,000-90,000 housing units
each year.
Improved Access to Affordable, Quality Child Care and Early Childhood Programs.
Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, federal funding for child care has more than doubled,
helping parents pay for the care of about 1.5 million children in 1998, and the 1996 welfare
reform law increased child care funding by $4 billion over six years to provide child care
assistance to families moving from welfare to work. Since 1993, the Clinton-Gore
Administration has increased funding for the Head Start program by 90 percent, and in FY
2000, the program will serve approximately 880,000 children - over 160,000 more children
than in 1993. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have proposed a $817 million
increase in FY 2001 for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which helps working
families struggling to afford child care. These new funds, combined with the child care funds
provided in welfare reform, will enable the program to serve over 2.2 million children in 2001.
Fighting Crime
Lowest Crime Rate in 25 Years. Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, America has
experienced the longest continuous drop in crime on record. The violent crime rate fell 7
percent in 1998 and 27 percent since 1993. The murder rate is down more than 25 percent
since 1993, its lowest point since 1967. The overall crime rate is the lowest in 25 years.
Between 1993-1998, decreasing victimization trends were experienced about equally for all
race, sex and income groups.
Putting 100,000 More Police on the Streets. In 1999, ahead of schedule and under budget,
the Clinton-Gore Administration met its commitment to fund an additional 100,000 police
officers for our communities. As a part of the COPS Program, the President announced new
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grants to increase community policing in high-crime and underserved neighborhoods. To help
keep crime at record lows, the President won funding for the first installment toward his goal
to hire up to 50,000 more officers by 2005. This year, the Clinton-Gore Administration's
budget includes over $1 billion to continue the successful COPS initiative to hire more
officers, hire new community prosecutors, give police the tools they need to fight crime, and to
fund community-wide crime fighting efforts.
More than Half a Million Felons, Fugitives and Domestic Abusers Denied Guns. Since the
President signed the Brady Bill into law, more than 500,000 felons, fugitives and domestic
abusers have been prevented from purchasing guns. And the historic 1994 Crime Bill banned
19 of the deadliest assault weapons and their copies, keeping assault weapons off our streets.
The homicide rate dropped 7 percent in 1998 - almost entirely due to a decrease in homicides
committed with guns. Since 1993, there has been a more than 35 percent drop in gun-related
crime and a 57 percent decrease in juvenile gun homicide offenders.
Preventing Hate Crimes. As part of the historic 1994 Crime Act, the President signed the
Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act which provides for longer sentences where the
offense is determined to be a hate crime. The President and Vice President have repeatedly
called for passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would strengthen the existing
federal hate crimes law. The President's FY 2001 budget includes $20 million to promote
police integrity and for hate crimes training for federal, state, and local law enforcement.
President Clinton also hosted the first White House Conference on Hate Crimes, which
examined laws and remedies that can make a difference in preventing hate crimes, highlighted
solutions that are working in communities across the country, and continued the frank and
open dialogue needed to build One America.
Giving Police the Tools They Need to Fight Crime. President Clinton won $230 million in
FY 2000 to provide law enforcement with the latest crime-fighting and crime-solving
technology. This funding will help make crime mapping technology -- which enables police
agencies to track crime hot spots and target their resources to where they are most needed --
more widely available, to improve compatibility among law enforcement communications
systems, and aid development and expansion of innovative tools to help law enforcement fight
crime.
Largest Gun Enforcement Initiative in History. This year, President Clinton has proposed
the largest gun enforcement initiative ever. The initiative would provide a record $280 million
to add 500 new federal ATF agents and inspectors to target violent gun criminals and illegal
gun traffickers, and fund over 1,000 new federal, state, and local prosecutors to take dangerous
gun offenders off the streets. This initiative will build on the Administration's success in
cracking down on serious gun criminals: the number of federal firearms cases prosecuted by
the U.S. Attorneys increased 25 percent, from 4,754 in 1992 to 5,500 in 1999.
National Campaign Against Youth Violence. In August 1999, President Clinton announced
the formation of an independent, national campaign to address the problem of youth violence.
The Campaign plans to launch anti-violence activities including a major media campaign,
concerts, town hall meetings, in- and after-school programs. The Campaign will also highlight
effective youth violence initiatives in cities across the country.
Safe and Clean Environment
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Investing in a Cleaner Environment. The Clinton-Gore Administration won significant
gains for the environment in the FY 2000 budget, including new resources to combat water
pollution, protect wildlife, address global warming, and preserve precious lands across the
community. They forced Congress to drop or substantially modify dozens of
anti-environmental riders that would have rolled back hard-won environmental safeguards and
benefited special interests at the expense of our public lands.
Environmental Justice and Redevelopment. The Clinton-Gore Administration issued an
Executive Order on Environmental Justice to ensure that low-income citizens and minorities
do not suffer a disproportionate burden of industrial pollution. The Administration identified
pilot projects to be undertaken across the country to redevelop contaminated sites in
low-income communities, turn them into useable space, create jobs and enhance community
development.
Accelerating Toxic Cleanups and Brownfields Redevelopment. The Clinton-Gore
Administration has cleaned up over 500 Superfund sites -- nearly three times as many in six
years as the previous administrations did in twelve with clean up of more than 90 percent of
all sites either completed or in progress. The Administration has leveraged nearly $1 billion in
private sector investment for brownfields redevelopment.
Clearing the Air of Unhealthy Pollution. The President and Vice President have adopted the
toughest standards ever on soot and smog. They proposed significant reductions in tailpipe
emissions from cars, light trucks and SUVs, and launched long-term effort to restore pristine
skies over our national parks and wilderness areas. Since 1993, the number of Americans
living in communities that meet federal air quality standards has grown by 43 million.
Keeping Our Drinking Water Safe. The President proposed and signed legislation to
strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure that our families have healthy, clean tap
water. The Clinton-Gore Administration has required America's 55,000 water utilities to
provide regular reports to their customers on the quality of their drinking water. The
Administration also proposed new rule to reduce dirty runoff and strengthen protections for
20,000 rivers, lakes and other waterways too polluted for swimming and fishing. Ninety-one
percent of America's tap water from community drinking water systems now meets all federal
standards.
Reducing the Threat of Global Warming. The Clinton-Gore Administration negotiated an
international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an environmentally strong and
economically sound way. The President and Vice President secured $1.1 billion in FY 2000
for research and development of energy efficiency and clean energy technologies, and set a
goal of tripling U.S. use of bio-energy and bio-products by 2010. The President issued an
Executive Order directing agencies to dramatically improve energy efficiency in federal
buildings, saving taxpayers over $750 million a year when fully implemented.
Preserving Our National Treasures. The Clinton-Gore Administration has protected tens of
millions of acres, from the red rock canyons of Utah to the Florida Everglades. The
Administration reached agreements to protect Yellowstone from mining and save the ancient
redwoods of California's Headwaters Forest. In the FY 2000 budget, the President and Vice
President won $651 million (a 42 percent increase) for Lands Legacy, a historic initiative to
strengthen federal efforts to preserve national treasures and provides communities with new
resources to protect local green spaces.
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American Leadership
Persuaded North Korea To Freeze its Dangerous Nuclear Program. The Administration
persuaded North Korea to freeze its dangerous nuclear program and is one of the leading
forces for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Renewed Bipartisan Consensus for Engagement with China. The Administration has
renewed the bipartisan consensus for engagement with China to advance U.S. interests and
draw the world's most populous nation more fully into the international community.
Supporting Human Rights In China. The Administration has engaged China's leaders in
ground-breaking human rights dialogue.
Led International Efforts Against Terrorism. The Administration has led international
efforts against terrorism, including signing anti-terrorism legislation that ensures strong
penalties for convicted terrorists.
Secured Bipartisan Senate Ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the
Start II Treaty. The convention bans the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical
weapons. Start II, together with Start I, will reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals
two-thirds from their Cold War heights.
Meeting Emerging Threat of Biological Weapons. By strengthening our ability to respond
to an attack, vaccinating our troops and seeking tough inspection to enforce international
treaty.
Led Efforts to Rid the World of Land Mines. The Administration has led efforts to rid the
world of land mines by eliminating non self-destructing mines from our arsenals, seeking
alternatives to self-destructing mines by 2006, and devoting more resources to removing
existing mines than the rest of the world combined.
4/00
Clinton-Gore Accomplishments by Issue
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Racial profiling is a growing issue in our communities I: happened in
Texas when the INS raided a compute: company and focused only on the
any court
employees who looked South Asian. It is happening in Minnesota to the
we fo:
Hmong. One wornan told me that he: young brother had been stopped
)itc several
three times by the same police officer fo: Γ.o apparent reason. Police
Justice
misconduct continues to be 3 problem, particularly in New York.
IMMIGRATION
n al
unigrants to
The set of welfare and immigration laws passed in 1995 have had a devastating
> legal
impact on the rights of the most vulnerable in our community.
im's report
the INS, one
With the support of President Clinton, we have been able to force
Congress to restore some benefits to some categories, but too many others
termain unprotected ty any safety net.
ation
even worse
Legal permanent residents who enter the U.S. after August 22,
1996, remain ineligible for basic programs like SSI, Medicaid,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Food Stamps.
la report,
TC waiting to
05/22/2000 MON 18:13 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
Many immigrants who entered before that time also remain
ineligible for Food Stamps unless they are elderly o: children.
That means low-nocme children with at least one noncitizen
cklogs are
parent, are likely to live in a household with without enough focd.
Tilippines
and Vietnam
Let me tell you what this means. One of the people shot in the
ch a way that
Pittsburgh rampage survived but is paralyzed. Only 25 years old,
as have a
Sandeep Patel worked at ar. Indian grocery store. He had no
insurance through bis employer and his wages were such that be
probably could not afford private insurance. Most of his family is
but the
still in India As a noncitizen, it is not clear what eligibility he has
log issues.
for any government assistance.
about why i:
Immigrants who committed a minor crime, however !ong ago, are now
hope the
subject to deportation based on decisions they made long before the laws
e impact of
changed in 1996. For some immigrants like those from some of the
lad on family
countries in Southeast Asia. that has resulted in being held for life terms
provals are
for even the most minor of effenses since those countries will not accept
nd, therefore,
their return.. The Department of Justice could be doing much more to
separated.
address this gross violation of human rights.
to continuing
The government is also able to use secret evidence against immigrants
: mission.
that means there are no due process rights to know, confont and refute
5
018/029
05/22/2000 MON 18:13 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
BZO/BIN
Asian Pacific
AFL
CIO
American Labor
APALA
Alliance
APALA: 202-842-1263
THE COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC STATUS OF ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS
Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) are one of the fastest growing groups in the United
States. There are now ten million APAs in the United States, compared to 7.2 million in 1990,
3.5 million in 1980, and 1.3 million in 1970. The states with the largest populations of Asian
Pacific Americans are California (3.7 million), New York, Hawaii, Texas, Illinois, New Jersey,
and Washington. Here are some key facts about this increasingly important group:
Two out of three APAs are foreign born, in large part due to changes in
immigration law in 1965 (immigration) and 1975 (refugees). Prior to that time,
Asian immigration was sharply restricted. Some of the largest APA heritages are
Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Asian Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese. Many APAs
from Southeast Asia are refugces who fled war-torn countries.
There are more than four millions APAs in the work place.¹ Of these, a little
over half a million belong to unions.² Hawaii, which is predominantly APA, is
the most unionized state in the country.
Most APAs are non-professionals. The chart at the bottom of this fact sheet
shows the distribution of APAs in the work force.
The per capita income of APAs is less than whites, $13,420 versus $15,260 in
1993. 3 Within APA groups there are large differences in income levels, e.g.,
Japanesc (19,373), Filipino (13,616), Thai (11,970), and Vietnamese (9,032) and
Hmong ($2,692).4 Due in part to the fact that APAs on average have more
earners per family, APAs have a higher median family income than whites.
"Selected Economic Characteristics of the Population, by Sex and Race: March 1996, Bureau of
the Census (December 9, 1997 internet release at census.gov).
2.. Union Membership and Earnings Data Book," 1998 Edition, Bureau of National Affairs.
³"Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, a Profile," Bureau of the Census, 1993.
"We the Americans: Asians" & "We the Americans: Pacific Islanders," Bureau of the Census,
1993. Citing data from 1989 and 1990.
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5.
020/029
Page Two
APAs earn less than whites with comparable education levels,⁵ and a glass ceiling
may exist for APAs with high education levels. For example, Asian American
males are only .3% of senior managers in large corporations, although they make
up nearly 4% of the population.⁶
The poverty rate for APA families (14 percent) is higher than that for non-
Hispanic white families (8 percent).⁷ Some Asian Pacific American
communities very high poverty rates, including Hmong (63.00), Chansosian
(42.6%), Laotian (34.7%), Vietnamese (25.7%), and Samoan (25.8%).8
Unionization, with its opportunities for increased wages and benefits and
protections from discrimination, offers an important opportunity for Asian Pacific
Americans to improve their economic status.⁹
Occupational Distribution of the Employed Civillan
YOUR
Male
Labor Force, by Sex and Race: March 1991
Female
Asian and Pacific lelander
White
Managerial and
27.4
33.2
professionalspecialty
28.4
28.5
26.3
Technical, sales. and
20.8
42.6
administrative support
44.8
15.8
9.3
Service
16.7
16.2
9.9
Precisionproduction.
19.4
4.2
craft, and repair
2.1
12.7
Operators, fabricators,
16,9
9.4
and laborers
7.4
2.3
4.3
Farming, forestry.
0.5
and fishing
1.1
From: "The Asian & Pacific Islander Population, March 1991 & 1990, Census Bureau.
"Asian/Pacific Islanders Trail Whites in Earnings," Washington Post, September 18, 1992.
See also www.census.gov/popoulation/socdemo/race/api96/tab-08.tx for more current information.
6Korn/Ferry survey cited in the March 1995 report of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission.
7 "The Nation's Asian and Pacific Islander Population-1994." Bureau of the Census, November
1995.
"We the Americans: Asians," Bureau of the Census, 1993. For a detailed study of APA
immigrants, see "Reframing the Immigration Debate," Bill Ong Hing and Ronald Lee, LEAP APA
Public Policy Institute and UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 1996.
9For a discussion of APA unionization see: "The Effects on Union Membership of Race and
Immigration Status," Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, September 1997.
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E 021/029
Union Data Book 25
Table 3a: Union Membership, Coverage, Density, Employment,
and Earnings by Demographic Group, 1998
Sample
Emp
Mem
Cov
%Mcm
%Cov
Earn
Wage
All Workers
156,990
116,729.9
16,211.4
17,918.3
13.9
15.4
577
14.17
Private
131.129
98.328.9
9,306.1
10,103.6
9.5
10.3
565
13.84
Public
25,861
18,401.0
6,905.3
7,814.7
37.5
42.5
63B
15.96
Private For Profit
121,487
91,664.0
8,809.6
9,508.2
9.6
10.4
565
13.78
Private Nonprofit
9,642
6,664.9
496.5
595.4
7.4
8.9
562
14.64
Men
79.983
60,972.7
9,849.7
10.638.5
16.2
17.4
682
15.88
Women
77,007
55,757.2
6,361.7
7.279.9
11.4
13.1
461
12.30
Whites
133,824
97,530.8
13,118.1
14,460.4
13.5
14.8
592
14.50
Blacks
15,240
13,894.4
2,460.4
2,739.3
17.7
19.7
465
11.75
Asians
6,147
4,373.3
515.1
589.5
11.8
13.5
603
15.05
Other
1.779
931.4
117.9
129.1
12.7
13.9
460
11.60
White Males
69,273
51,699.5
8,165.9
8,787.8
15.8
17.0
705
16.29
White Females
64.551
45,831.2
4,952.2
5,672.6
10.8
12.4
466
12.47
Black Males
6,607
6,451.8
1,337.5
1,457.7
20.7
22.6
516
12.56
Black Females
8,633
7,442.6
1,122.9
1,281.6
15.1
17.2
421
11.05
Asian Males
3,208
2.329.4
272.1
312.2
11.7
13.4
681
16.53
Asian Females
2,939
2,043.9
243.0
277.3
11.9
13.6
514
13.37
Hispanic Males
7,790
7.359.6
936.9
1.017.2
12.7
13.8
472
11.45
Hispanic Females
5,907
5,014.6
533.6
617.1
10.6
12.3
361
9.79
Male Full-time
70,453
53,797.3
9.362.5
10,091.3
17.4
18.8
741
16.62
Male Part-time
9,270
6,999.1
456.4
515.3
6.5
7.4
232
10.19
Female Full-time
55,918
40,805.3
5,356.3
6,114.6
13.1
15.0
549
13.16
Female Part-time
20,779
14.737.7
987.3
1,143.7
6.7
7.8
217
9.93
Ages 16-24
24,187
19.163.6
1.013.5
1.151.2
5.3
6.0
270
8.04
Ages 25-54
114,075
84,565.1
13,082.0
14,442.9
15.5
17.1
642
15.38
Ages 55+
18,728
13,001.2
2,115.8
2,324.3
16.3
17.9
603
15.38
Schooling 0-11
20,044
15,661.5
1.377.6
1.477.3
8.8
9.4
299
8.35
Schooling 12
50,247
37,184.7
5,611.7
6,030.6
15.1
16.2
468
11.69
Schooling 13-15
45,209
33.532.4
4,696.5
5.159.0
14.0
15.4
523
13.20
Schooling 16+
41,490
30,351.3
4,525.6
5,251.4
14.9
17.3
912
21.30
Data source: Current Popularion Survey (CPS) Outgoing Rotation Group (ORG) Earnings Files. 1998. Sample
includes wage and salary workers. ages 16 and over. Variable definitions are: Sample=CPS sample size,
Emp=employment in thousands, Mem-number of union members in thousands. Cov=number of workers
covered by collective bargaining agreements in thousands, %Mem-percent of employed workers who are union
members, %Cov=percent of employed workers who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement,
Earn=mean weekly earnings in 1998 dollars. and Wage-mean hourly earnings in 1998 dollars. Sample sizes for
full-time/part-cime and Hispanic/non-Hispanic breakdowns do not add up to the total sample size. There are 570
observations with insufficient informados to classify as full-time or part-time (see footnote 10 in text for
explanation). and 961 observations with "don't know" or "n.a." reported for Hispanic state.
Copyright © 1999 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Lnc.
05/22/2000 MON 18:14 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
022/029
Asian Pacific
AFL
American Labor
APALA
Alliance
National Officers
President
Guy Fujimura, ILWU
1st Vice-President
Gloria Caoile, AFSCME
President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific
2nd Vice-President
Luisa Blue, SEIU
Islanders
Secretary
Remarks by Jin Sook Lee
Susan Minato. HERE
Treasurer
Executive Director of APALA
Marian Thom, AFT
Executive Board
Health and Human Services Department
Mary Ann Ahtyc. AFT
Washington, DC
Luisa Blue, SEIU
Josie Camacho, SEIU
May 17, 2000
Oloria T. Cabile, AFSCME
Richard Chan, UFCW
May Ying Chen, UNITE
Helen Chin, AFT
Good afternoon. My name is Jin Sook Lee, and I am the executive
Jun Chong, SEIU
Lila Chui, AFT
director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). It is my
Silant Chung, UNITE
George Cousart. APWU
honor and pleasure to brief you on key labor issues affecting the Asian Pacific
Ray Fong, NALC
American community.
Guy Fujimura. ILWU
Ying Gee, UAW
Richard Gurtizu, ILWU
Sumi Haru, SAG/AFTRA
Let me first acknowledge Commissioner Gloria Caoile, who is
Bob Hasegawa, IBT
APALA's First Vice-President and a national leader in the labor movement.
Alex Hing, HERE
Monica Hogan, CWA
conard Hoshijo, ILWU
Melvin Kahele, IBT
About APALA
Ho Nhu Lai, UFCW
Gordon Lec. UBC
Nicole Lee. HERE
APALA, one of six constituency groups within the AFL-CIO, is the
Patricia Lee. APL-CIO
Atul Maharaja, USWA
first and only organization of Asian Pacific American trade unionists. Founded
William Martinez, PACE
in 1992, APALA is committed to organize the unorganized into unions, to
Imcida Mchlert, OPEIU
Susan Minato. HERE
promote the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans, and to seek economic
Lonway Moy, IBEW
Jon Ng, AFSCME
justice for all.
Tony Sarmiento. AFL-CIO
Julio Sharp. APSCME
Guy Tajiri, HGEA/AFSCME
APALA's tradition is rooted in a long line of APA workers, who have
Patty Tamura. SEIU
Marian Thom, AFT
participated in the labor struggles for over 100 years - from the sugar fields of
Jan Tokumaru. HERE
Hawaii, to the railroad and agricultural camps of California, and to the fishing
George Wong, GCIU
Kent Wong, APT
and cannery factories of Alaska.
William Wong, UBC
Janct Wright. IAM
Current APA Worker Issues
Executive Director
Jin Sook Lee, TNG/CWA
We, in the APA community, face complicated issues in a complex
Orgunizing Director
Kathleen Yasuda, AFSCME
economy.
National Office
Mailing Address:
815 16th Street. NW
Washington, DC 20006
Street Address:
888 16th Street, NW
1
Suite 6410
Washington, DC 20006
202-842-1263
FAX 202-842-1462
05/22/2000 MON 18:14 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
023/028
1)
Despite the model minority myth, a vast majority of APAs is of the working class.
Many in our community work in technical, sales, food processing, and service
industries. While APA contributions to the economy is expanding, we are met
with barriers from achieving equality and justice in the workplace.
Even though the economy is booming, profits of major corporations are soaring,
and management salaries are skyrocketing, most Americans - including Asian
Pacific American workers - are working longer and harder just to get by.
This is especially true for workers such as Samad Bholat, a wheelchair attendant
for Argenbright Security at the Los Angeles Airport, Samad, who immigrated
from Burma ten years ago, currently carns $5.75 per hour without benefits, after
working at the airport for almost three years. Thus he must work two jobs to
support his family.
2)
Today, the richest one percent of Americans own 38% of the nation's wealth,
while many Americans, including APAs, at the other end of the wealth scale have
fallen deeper in debt.
The economic status of APAs is further complicated by an income disparity: the
per capita income of APAs was $13,420, while it was $15,260 for whites in 1993.
Even among APA groups, the income disparity is unmistakable: the per capita
income for Filipino Americans is $13,616, while it is $9,032 for Vietnamese
Americans, and $2,692 for Hmongs.
3)
Nearly one-third of American workers, including APAs, work in temporary or
part-time jobs without benefits or job security.
For example, Chop Yong has been a part-time banquet server at the San Francisco
Marriott Hotel, since it opened in 1989. To this day, Yong and other part-time
workers at the hotel do not receive benefits, even though their work hours amount
to a "full-time" shift.
4)
Immigrant workers are vulnerable. Some are threatened with deportation.
Although U.S. labor laws forbid employers from retaliating against workers for
union activity, many employers are using the 1986 Immigration Reform and
Control Act to target undocumented workers and intimidate all immigrant
workers.
Last year, chambermaids at the Holiday Inn Express in Minneapolis voted to join
the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 17 to increase their wages
and improve their working conditions. After the union vote, the hotel manager
2
05/22/2000 MON 18:15 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
024/029
called the INS to check the immigration status of some employees. This led to
arrests and possible deportation of some workers.
Actions and Solutions
How do we address these complex issues? What can be done to address the problems and
challenges faced by low-wage workers?
There needs to be better job training programs for these workers. The minimum wage
must increase, and a real living wage must be considered: Affirmative action must'stay and
improve. There has to be better enforcement of labor laws and elimination of sweatshops and
sweatshop conditions.
In addition, APA workers can organize together and join unions. Unionization, with its
opportunities for increased wages and benefits and protections from discrimination, offers an
important opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans to improve their economic status. Unions
indeed make a difference.
Consider these facts:
Union workers earn on average 34% more than non-union workers.
Benefits are greater for women and people of color in unions than those who are
not.
85% of union members receive health benefits compared with 74% of non-union
workers.
79% of union members are covered by guaranteed pension compared with only
44% of non-union workers.
Union members have more job security. Six in 10 union members have been with
the same employer for 10 years or more, compared with three in 10 non union
workers.
Recommendations to the Commission
1)
Today, some 500,000 out of 4 million APA workers belong to unions. Many non-
union workers are unaware of their worker and civil rights.
Those APA workers trying to form unions are met with hostility from their
employers, who ignore labor laws that guarantee the right to form unions. These
workers are harassed, threatened, intimidated, and even fired. The enforcement of
labor laws is too lax to protect worker rights.
Therefore, APALA urges the Commission to seek and recommend ways to
enforce labor laws to protect worker rights, in particular, the right to form unions.
3
05/22/2000 MON 18:15 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAP1
02/02/028
2)
Recently, the AFL-CIO has recognized the link between labor and immigrant
rights. The AFL-CIO has emphasized the importance of defending immigrant
rights to ensure economic fairness in the work place. In February 2000, the AFL-
CIO passed a resolution calling for the restoration of safety net benefits to legal
immigrants, repeal of employer sanctions, and amnesty for undocumented
immigrants.
APALA endorses the AFL-CIO's policy on immigrant worker rights and concurs
with its resolution, which supports the immigrant workers in the APA community.
Therefore, APALA urges the Commission to investigate the link between labor
and immigrant rights, and to support the restoration of safety net benefits to legal
immigrants. repeal of employer sanctions, and amnesty for undocumented
immigrants.
In closing, I applaud the Commission for inviting APALA and other APA organizations
to seek ways to improve the well being of Asian Pacific Americans.
APALA is excited about the formation of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders. This is a historic initiative, that has far-reaching implication for
our community. We need to take advantage of this opportunity to strongly advocate for our
community, including the vast majority of working people whose concerns and issues are too
frequently ignored.
We, at APALA, hope that the Commission can help to provide a stronger voice for Asian
Pacific Americans, to access resources within the federal government, and to advocate for critical
issues of concern within our community. We are hopeful that the Commission will work to
ensure that issues of working people are addressed, including the need for economic equality, the
right to organize unions and the defense of immigrant rights.
APALA looks forward to working with the Commission, and we would be happy to
assist in any way. Thank you.
4
MUN PAA 0014450208 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAP1
026/029
1998 Audit of Violence Against Asian Pacific Americans
Executive Summary
Lak cries
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Findings
1. Although there was an 11% decrease in reported anti-Asian incidents reported in 1998, there was a
disturbing rise in hate incidents against South Asians. There were 429 anti-Asian incidents reported to
date for 1998 compared to 481 in 1997. During this same period, the FBI reports that violent crime
rates fell by 6.4%. In tracking bias motivated incidents against specific ethnic groups where the infor-
mation is available, South Asians were targeted in significantly larger numbers than in 1997 or 1996.
There were 41 reports of incidents with South Asian vicrims in 1998. compared to seven in 1997 and 22
in 1996 While some part of the increase from 1997 may be due to the improved specificity that
accompanied this year's data compared to that in 1997. it is still significantly higher than more compa-
rable 1996 data.
2. One possible factor to which the decline in number of reported incidents may be attributed is the
continued underreporting by law enforcement and the increased inability of community-based
organizations to supplement police reports. A commissioned study has confirmed the prevalence of
significant underreporting by law enforcement agencies. The decline in numbers reported in 1998 may
largely be due to the failure of police to improve their reporting and the growing inability of commu-
nity-based organizations to supplement the official reports. Many victims report incidents to local
community-based organizations that are either not reported to the police or are not properly identified
by police as hate crimes. However, in 1998, many of these organizations that gathered information on
bias motivated incidents against Asian Pacific Americans for the Consorcium's previous reports were
forced to scale back on reporting to the Consortium due to lack of resources. In the past, these reports
have at lease partially offset official underreporting.
3. The response to hate crimes remains an inadequate and inconsistent patchwork of local, state and
federal civil and criminal laws. Moreover, prosecutors are not adequately enforcing the hate crime
laws that do exist. On the federal level, the Department of Justice is hamstrung by the limitations of 18
U.S.C. $245 a 30-year-old civil rights law with very stringent jurisdictional requirements. Federal
prosecutors have brought no more than 10 indictments per year since it was enacted. Most of the state
laws that do exist do not adequatcly cover all of the categorics of victims most scriously targered and are
also inadequately enforced.
4. The perception that police will not prosecute hate crimes makes Asian Pacific American victims less
inclined to report. Victims are less inclined to report to police agencies because they lack confidence
that the police will investigate and prosecute the incident. The reluctance of victims to come forward
CONSORTIUM
with incidents contributes to the undetreporting.
S. There was a significant increase in reported numbers of violent crimes and attacks in private resi-
dences and businesses, but the increase appears to be largely due to more detailed information that
accompanies the incident reports. The Audit results indicate higher numbers of severe crimes against
persons, such as aggravated assaults. Increases in anti-Asian incidents in private residences and busi-
nesses were also reported. The increases, however, are probably due to improved reporting of specific
information regarding the incidents compared to that available for 1997.
NAPALC
05/22/2000 MON 18:16 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
027/029
1998 Audit of Violence Against Asian Pacific Americans
6. Most law enforcement agencies have failed to establish the organizational support necessary to
effectively address hate crimes. Agencies have failed to commit sufficient resources for the investiga-
tion and prosecution of hate crimes. Most lack policies and procedures that would improve their
responsiveness to hate crime reports such as a written department policy on hate crimes, a specialized
hate crimes officer, language assistance for victims, or community outreach efforts.
7. The media tends to ignore anti-Asian bias incidents. Despite the heightened national awareness of
hace crimes generally, the media continues to overlook bias incidents against APAs. The national media
ignored the hate murder of Naoki Kamijima in Illinois despite the fact the local police immediately and
publicly identified it as a hate crime. The national media also failed to consistently identify the murder
of Joseph Ilero as a racially motivated hate crime, generally identifying him only as a letter carrier and
inadequately covering the concerns of the Asian Pacific American community. As a result, community
leaders, government officials and law enforcement regularly fail to recognize an anti-Asian incident as a
hate crime, underestimace the problem of anti-Asian violence and fail to direct adequate resources to
addressing it.
8. APAs continue to be stereotyped in the media, if they are included at all. APAs are carely seen in
movies are on relevision, other chan in stereotypical roles. In 1998, only 1.3 of television series lead
roles went to APA actors. Moreover, the national news media fails to adequately cover the community.
As a result, negative stereotypes continue to be perpetuated, making APAs vulnerable to scapegoating
and xenophobia
9. Police misconduct remains a problem in the APA community. Like other minorities, APAs are subject
to racial profiling in some parts of the country and to other acts of bias motivated police misconduct.
10. Despite the increased national focus on race relations, local community-based organizations and law
enforcement have not received sufficient resources for anti-bias education or hate crime enforcement
efforts. The horrific deaths of James Byrd and Matthew Shepard in 1998 generated national media
and renewed commitment by the Clinton Administration to address this problem. However, this has
not appeared to translate into greater resources and commitment for local communities to act on the
problem, such as providing community education, lending technical assistance to victims, addressing
underlying racial tensions in the communities, advocating for anti-bias education in the schools and
supplementing official reports with victim incident reports that are not reported to the police. Con-
gress and state legislatures still were unable to pass tougher hate crime laws and local governments have
not directed sufficient additional resources to communicy-based organizations or other institutions to
address this problem.
11. Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice continues to struggle with insufficient
resources to do its important conciliation and education work. A specialized federal conciliation
service, CRS has assisted in over a hundred hate crime cases in schools, housing, businesses and church
burnings. Using their expertise in mediation, technical assistance, training, public education and event
contingency planning, CRS has played a critical role in restoring harmony and stability to communities
having a potential for racial violence.
4
NAPALC
05/22/2000 MON 18:16 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
E
1998 Audit of Violence Against Asian Pacific Americans
Executive Summary
Recommendations
1. All law enforcement agencies should fully comply with the Hate Crimes Statistics Acc of 1990. Law
enforcement agencies have had a decade to establish adequate reporting systems, yet the vast majority of
agencies has failed to make it a priority. The current technology and systems make it easier to report
data to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program than ever before so that law enforcement agencies have
no valid excuse for refusing to comply and should do so before the end of 2000. States should enact
legislation requiring collection of hate crime data and direct law enforcement agencies to integrate their
reporting efforts with the UCR Program. The Clinton Administration should consider using law
enforcement grants as an incentive for full compliance.
2. All segments of society need to become informed and take the responsibility to educate others about
hate crimes in general and about anti-Asian violence. Before hate crimes can be properly addressed,
community-based organizations, public officials, law enforcement, federal and state government agen-
cies. the media, foundations and corporations, must be educated about what constitutes a hate crime
and why it warrants serious attention.
3. Elected officials, the Department of Justice, law enforcement associations (including unions) and
other institutions should do more to ensure that law enforcement agencies are accurately identifying
and fully investigating, documenting, prosecuting and reporting hate crimes. Governors, mayors,
and other elected officials should ensure that their law enforcement agencies have made hate crimes a
priority; have adequate resources for training of patrol officers and prosecutors; and, are fully investigat-
ing, documenting, prosecuting and reporting have crimes. Police chiefs should consider appointing
special officers or task forces to ensure consistent reporting and response. The Department of Justice
and law enforcement associations should develop models and programs to ensure periodic review of
agency policy and efforts. Concerned community leaders should meet regularly with law enforcement
to discuss these issues and to ensure incidents are being fully investigated and prosecuted.
4. Law enforcement should design and implement a plan to overcome reporting barriers. Agencies
should build and maintain a diverse workforce that reflects the community, including officers who can
provide language assistance to victims. Additionally, law enforcement agencies should sensitize their
officers to race relations issues. Certain communities may bc reluctant to report incidents because of
negative past experiences with law enforcement, either in the U.S. or in the case of newly arrived
immigrants, their native homeland. Agencies should work with community-based organizations to do
community outreach and address specific incidences.
5. More complete federal and state hate crime laws should be enacted to warn hate perpetrators that
society will severely prosecute them for crimes targeting a victim based on his or her race, religion,
gender, sexual orientation and disability. While hate crimes cannot be legislated out of existence, laws
chat provide prosecutors with separate charges to bring against an offender for bias motivated crimes or
enhanced sentencing penalties make society's position clear that it will not tolerate hate. Federal pros-
ecutors should have broader authority to prosecute hate crimes where the states request assistance or
decline to prosecute. Federal hate crime laws should be extended to provide protection to women,
persons with disabilities, and gays and lesbians, as they are also vulnerable to bias motivated violence.
States need to enact hate crimes statutes if they do not already have them or amend existing statutes to
offer better protection to their residents. People should not have to rely on where they reside for state
protection against bias motivated violence.
NAPALC
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029/029
1998 Audit of Violence Against Asian Pacific Americans
G. Federal and state agencies, foundations, and corporations should fund programs that enable commu-
nities to respond effectively to hate incidents and to invest in anti-bias education efforts. Govern-
ment agencies and community-based organizations need resources to collaborate on hate crime
prevention and intervention projects. Communities need sufficient resources to provide community
education. to monitor data collection and enforcement and to partner with law enforcement and
government agencies to address hate crimes.
7. The Department of Justice, clected officials and law enforcement organizations should continue to
work with community organizations to address police misconduct and provide the resources needed
to increase community outreach and education. Police misconduct, particularly when based on race
or other biases, needs to be more effectively addressed. Hate crimc viccims cannot be expected to
report incidents to police if the misconduct of rogue officers is ignored.
8. Journalists, editors and producers need to treat anti-Asian violence with the same concern and
interest as they treat hate incidents involving other victims. Journalist associations and other media
organizations need to educate their members as to the realities of anti-Asian violence so that they are
accurately represented in media coverage. Support needs to be provided to community organizations
TO monitor media and work with journalists.
9. Television and other entertainment media need to institute measures to increase the inclusion of
APAs in non-stereotypical roles. News agencies need to improve their coverage of the APA commu-
nity, particularly of anti-Asian violence. Continuing negative stereotypes make Asian Pacific Ameri-
cans vulncrable to hatc crimes. Community-based organizations need resources to monitor media and
to work with the entertainment industry to ensure that all segments of the industry are educated about
the problem.
10. The Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice must be given adequate resources to
follow-up on mediation efforts. CRS continues to serve as a unique federal program to help commu-
nities experiencing racial conflicts resolve the tensions and prevent the escalation of violence. Congress
must provide CRS with the resources it needs to do its work.
NATIONAL
ASIAN PACIFIC
/CORR
AMERICAN
the Executive
Pleasenote that of
297 (2).
LEGAL
CONSORTIUM
6
NAPALC
05/22/2000 MON 18:18 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
01/08
FORM STATEMENT
E
WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
TO:
FROM:
NAME:
NAME:
Sam
Shamina Singh
ORGANIZATION:
White House Initiative on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders
White House
Parklawn Building, Room 10-42
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
PHONE:
PHONE:
301-443-2492
FAX:
FAX:
202-456 -5709
301-443-0259
DATE:
Number of pages
(including cover page)
REMARKS:
Per your request
5600 FISHERS LANE, ROOM 10-42 ROCKVILLE, MD 20857 P. (301) 443-2492 F: (301) 443-0259 . [email protected] WWW.AAPI.GOV
05/22/2000 MON 18:18 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
002/008
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The
the Asian and Pacific Islander American
disparity among its members. This
population is growing rapidly and becoming
multifaceted ethnic minority also has its fair
extremely complex in terms of its members'
share of contemporary societal problems
socioeconomic status, as well as is their
such as chemical dependency, crimes, gangs,
ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity. The
domestic abuse, and generational conflicts.
number of Asian and Pacific Islander
Americans increased 730 percent from
After the 1965 Immigration Act abolished the
880,000 in 1960' to 7.3 million in 1990, when
national origins quota system, which had
they constituted 2.9 percent of the U.S.
traditionally favored European immigrants,
population.² By the year 2000, the number of
Asian immigration rose dramatically,
APIA people is projected to reach 10 million,
accounting for 35 percent of all foreign
or 4.0 percent of the national total.³ In 1990,
immigration to the United States in the 1970s.
over half the APIA residents in the United
as compared with only 13 percent in the
States were foreign-born (63.1 percent) and
previous decade.⁵ Before World War II, Asian
almost three-fourths (73.3 percent) spoke a
immigrants were predominantly single males
language other than English at home.4
from the rural areas who had little formal
education and who engaged in manual labor
23
Asian and Pacific Islander Americans originate
in this country. In contrast, many of the post-
from, or can trace their ancestry to, vast
1965 arrivals were college-educated urban
regions of the world spanning the Pacific and
professionals who brought their families from
Indian Oceans; and they include many racial,
their native countries. Therefore, prewar
nationality, and generational groups.
Chinese and Filipino immigrants, for example,
Composed of people in a broad range of
may be quite different from their respective
socioeconomic strata, the APIA community
post-1965 counterparts with regard to their
mirrors all walks of life, manifold religious and
social. educational, and even linguistic
political beliefs, interracial friction and
backgrounds. llocano and Visayan speakers,
animosity and economic and academic
though both from the Philippines, may not be
I
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1960, Vol. I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 1. United States
Summary (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964, p.1-144. Table 4A. Race by Sex
for the United States, 1860 to 1960, and by Size of Place, 1960. The 1960 census figure included only Japanese,
Chinese, and Filipinos, and other Asian and Pacific American groups were not identified.
2 U.S. Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce News (June 12, 1991), Table 1. Race and Hispanic
Origin for the United States: 1990 and 1980.
, Robert W. Gardener. Bryant Robey, and Peter C. Smich, "Asian Americans: Growth. Change and Diversity,"
Population Bulletin. Vol. 40, No. 4 (October, 1985), P. 37. Table 16. Asian American Population: 1980 and Projected for
1990 and 2000.
4 U.S. Bureau of the Census, We, the American Asians (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1993), P. 8-9,
Table 3. Selected Social and Economic Characteristics for the Asian Population.
5 Leon F. Bouvier and Robert W. Gardner, "Immigration to the U.S.: The Unfinished Story," Population Bulletin, Vol. 41,
No. 4 (November, 1986), P. B, Table 1. Legal Immigration to the U.S., by Region of Last Residence: 1820-1985.
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Cultural Backgrounds and Educational Issues: A Guide on Asian & Pacific Islander Students
able to communicate with each other,
preindustrial, and urban to rural. Even though
because the two languages are not mutually
they are often lumped together for the sake
intelligible.
of convenience, the Southeast Asians are far
from being a monolithic and homogeneous
Korean students, on the other hand, may
population. On the contrary, there may exist
present a drastically different set of challenges
more dissimilarities than similarities among
to educators. American-born third-generation
the Vietnamese, Lao, Hmong. and Cambodians
Koreans, limited English-proficient (LEP)
(Kampucheans), as well as among their
children of recent Korean immigrants, or
respective subgroups. For this reason, a
adopted Korean children by white families
French-educated Hmong could be more
may appear physically alike. However, their
proficient in English [more "Americanized,"].
demeanors. values, cultural backgrounds,
and even more likely to succeed academically
study habits, career goals, parental
than an American-educated Vietnamese
expectations, interpersonal skills, levels of
whose peer interaction has been almost
English proficiency and degrees of assimilation
exclusively with his or her fellow Vietnamese
may be quite different.
students. Therefore, it is dangerous for
educators to generalize the cultural traits and
To further complicate the matter, the end of
behavioral patterns of particular APIA
the Vietnam War brought about massive influx
children based solely on their racial or
of Southeast Asian refugees into the United
national origins.
States. Consequently, Southeast Asian
population in this country skyrocketed from
Last but not least, Pacific Islanders who were
some 20,000 in 19706 to one million by
artificially lumped together as Asian
14
1990.7 The extraordinary circumstances
Americans for census purposes are very small
under which the refugees fled their homeland
in number and litcle known to, or understood
have engendered a myriad of complex
by, the general public. Pacific Islanders inhabit
problems not only for these people but also
Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and other U.S.
for their host society. The problems included
trust territories in Micronesia and Polynesia.
broken families, physical and mental health
Separated by thousands of miles of water and
problems, disrupted studies and careers.
influenced by various colonial powers, these
limited English proficiency, various forms of
Pacific Islanders have developed divergent
racial discrimination and maladjustment to life
cultures, languages, rellgions and political
in the United States.
systems. Except for Hawaiians and
Guamanians, the Pacific Islanders are not
Furthermore, the rapidly expanding Southeast
citizens of this country, but are nationals who
Asian community consists of several ethnic,
are free to travel to and from the United
linguistic, and nationality groups ranging from
States. Though small in volume, Increasing
highly literate to preliterate, industrial to
migration from the U.S. trust territories is
6 Harry H.L Kitano and Roger Danlels, Asian Americans: Emerging Minorities (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall, 1988). p. 138. Prior to 1971, the United States received only 4,675 Vietnamese immigrants. U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1987 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and-Noturalization Service
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office 1988). P. 3, Table 2. Immigration by Region and Selected
Country of Last Residence, Fiscal Year 1820-1987.
7 Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce News, Table 3A. Race and Hispanic Origin for the
U.S. and Regions: 1990.
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004/008
INTRODUCTION
creating on the West Coast several
Chinese were the largest ethnic group,
burgeoning niches for transplanted Pacific
followed closely by Filipinos, Japanese. Asian
Islanders. Tremendous diversity existing
Indians, Koreans, and Vietnamese also had
among various Pacific Islander groups makes
sizable communities. As for the Pacific
it difficult to treat them as though they were
Islanders, on the other hand. Hawaiians vastly
a homogeneous population. Moreover, the
outnumbered Samoans and Guamanians, the
Pacific Islanders are substantially different
second and third biggest groups. The rest of
from Asian Americans in many respects,
the Pacific Islanders filled substantially smaller
including the racial stock, historical and
ethnic niches in the United States.'
economical development and cultural and
geographic backgrounds.
Due to steadily growing Asian immigration,
including a large number of displaced
Southeast Asians, Asian countries accounted
for 48 percent of all foreign immigration to
the United States during the 1981-85 period,
in comparison with 35 percent for Latin
America and II percent for Europe." As such
a trend is expected to continue for years to
come, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
not only will remain the fastest growing racial
group, but they also will become more
diverse and stratified. What we knew about
15
the APIA population in 1960, or even in 1970,
for that matter, is no longer valid or applicable
to this rapidly expanding and highly
metamorphic community. It is, therefore,
imperative for today's teachers, counselors,
staff, and policy makers to correctly
understand the current status of APIA
students in their particular locales, with a
view to helping the students have meaningful
educational experiences.
In 1990, there resided in the United States
6,908,638 Asian Americans and 365,024
Pacific Islanders. Among the Asian Americans,
a Bouvier and Gardner, "Immigration to the U.S....," p.8, Table I. Legal Immigration to the U.S., by Region of Last
Residence: 1820-1985.
, U.S. Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce News, Table 3A. Race and Hispanic Origin for the
United States and Regions: 1990.
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Cultural Backgrounds and Educational Issues: ^ Guide on Asian & Pacific Islander Students
Although Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
Group
Number
have increasingly dispersed throughout the
United States, 56 percent of them are
Asian Americans
concentrated in the West according to the
Chinese
1,645,472
1990 census. Seven states (California, New
Filipino
1,406,770
York, Hawaii, Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, and
Japanese
847,562
Washington) collectively account for 73
Asian Indian
815,447
percent of the APIA population in this
Korean
798,849
country. California alone claims 39 percent of
Vietnamese
614,547
the APIA residents. In Hawaii, on the other
Lao
149,014
hand, 62 percent of the state's population
Cambodian(Kampuchean)
147,411
consists of Asian and Pacific Islander
Thai
91,275
Americans.¹⁰
Hmong
90,082
Pakistani
81,371
In 1990, the Asian and Pacific Islander
Indonesian
29,252
American population was 94 percent urban
Other
191,586
and 63 percent foreign-born. Reflecting the
Subtotal
6,908,638
heavy volume of post-1965 Asian immigration
and the large number of Southeast Asian
Pacific Islanders
refugees who entered the United States since
Hawaiian
211,014
1975, 65 percent of Asian Americans were
Samoan
62,964
foreign-born. In contrast, only 12.9 percent of
Guamanian
49,345
Pacific Islanders were born outside the
16
Tongan
17,606
United States. The percentage of the foreign-
Fijian
7,036
born in the APIA community ranged from
Other
17,059
79.9 percent for Vietnamese to 1.3 percent
Subtotal
365,024
for Native Hawaiians.¹¹
Grand Total
7,273,662
On the whole, Asian and Pacific Islander
Americans are relatively young. Their median
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, United States
age was 29.8 in 1990 as compared with 32.9
Department of Commerce News (June 12. 1991),
for the United States. However, the median
Table 3A. Race and Hispanic Origin for the United
States and Regions: 1990.
age among different APIA groups varied
greatly, from 36.3 years for Japanese, one of
the oldest Asian immigrant communities, to
21.5 years for Samoans, one of the most
fertile APIA groups. Proportionately speaking,
the senior citizen population in the APIA
community was half as big as that in American
10 U.S. Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce News, Table 3C. Race and Hispanic Origin for the
United States and Regions: 1990; Table 5B. Asian or Pacific Islander Persons by Group for the United States and
States; and Table 6C. Race and Hispanic Origin for the United States and States: 1990 (Cont'd).
11 U.S. Bureau of the Census, We, the American Asians pp-8-9, Table 3.
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INTRODUCTION
society as a whole. 12 Whereas merely 6.2
degrees.'s It should be noted, however, that
percent of Asian and Pacific Islander
many of the recent Asian immigrants had
Americans were 65 years and older in 1990,
received their postsecondary education
12.6 percent of the people in this country
outside the United States, and that the 1980
were in this age bracket."
U.S. census did not distinguish between
foreign and American college degrees. For
Traditionally, Asian and Pacific Islander
example, 44 percent of the Asians who
Americans as a group have valued education
immigrated to the United States between
highly, respected both educators and the
1970 and 1974 had graduated from college. As
educated, and used education as a means of
high as 70 percent of the Asian Indian and 54
upward mobility. In 1990,APIA people 25
percent of the Filipino immigrants came to
years of age and older led the total U.S.
this country with foreign bachelor's degrees.¹⁶
population in the same age bracker, 77.5
College graduates from Asia with less than
percent to 75.2 percent, with respect to the
native fluency in English often find it difficult
percentage of high school graduates. Despite
to obtain in the U.S. jobs commensurate with
such a laudable collective accomplishment by
their educational background.
Asians and Pacific Islanders, tremendous
differences existed among various APIA
Asian and Pacific Islander Americans pursue
communities. As high as 87.5 percent of the
advanced degrees in the United States at
Japanese and 84.7 percent of the Asian Indians
higher rates than do other groups of
had finished high school, in remarkable
Americans. While constituting 2.9 percent of
contrast to 34.9 percent of the Cambodians.¹⁴
the U.S. population in 1990, this ethnic group
accounted for 4.4 percent of bachelor's
At the higher education level, the APIA
degrees (in addition to college degrees
17
communities' educational attainments were
earned in foreign countries), 3.8 percent of
even more impressive. About 36.5 percent of
master's degrees and 3.8 percent of
Asian and Pacific Islander Americans age 25
doctorates granted in this country in the
and over held bachelor's degrees. whereas
1992-93 academic year.¹⁷
only 20.3 percent of the nation's adults in the
same age category were college graduates.
In 1990, the collective occupational status of
Intergroup disparities among the Asian and
Asian and Pacific Islander Americans was
Pacific Islander Americans were far greater at
quite similar to that of the total U.S.
the college level than at the secondary level.
population. Due to their superior educational
While over half the Asian Indians had college
attainment, however, the APIA people were
degrees. merely 17.4 percent of the
better represented than the national labor
Vietnamese, 5.7 percent of the Cambodians,
force in the managerial and professional
and 5.4 percent of the Laotians held
category: 30.6 percent versus 26.4 percent.
12 Ibid.
13 U.S. Bureau of the Census, We, the American Asians
14 Ibid., P. 8, Table 3.
IS Ibid.
" Bouvier and Gardner, "Immigration to the U.S....." P. 22, Table 8. Educational Attainment of Total U.S. Population and
Immigrants Aged 25 and Over: 1980.
17 National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Staustics 1995 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Education, 1995), Tables 256, 259 and 262. Degrees Conferred by Institutions of Higher Education by Racial/Ethnic Groups.
tody
how very
veryes of
clayges ?
7
,
05/22/2000 MON 18:20 FAX 3014430259 WHITE HOUSE INIT-AAPI
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Culcural Backgrounds and Educadonal Issues: A Guide on Asian & Pacific Islander Students
Technical, sales and administrative support
death when the Challenger exploded
jobs, on the other hand, were held in similar
immediately after its lift-off.
percentages . 33.2 percent and 31.7 percent
of the APIA and national populations. The
Asian Americans have also been quite active
service industry accounted for 14.8 percent
in politics at the municipal, state, and federal
of APIA employment; but there were only
levels. Dalip Singh Saund, an Asian Indian with
In 195),
13.2 percent of all other workers in this
a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of
Dr
-
country. The category of operators,
California at Berkeley, was the first Asian
ur
XP
fabricators, and laborers is one of the two
American to be elected to Congress, where
major occupations in which the total
he served three terms from 1957 through
put ans
population surpassed the APIA communities,
1962.' The state of Hawaii, where Asian and
medical
14.9 percent versus 12.1 percent, with
Pacific Islander Americans constituted 62
on
respect to the percentage of the work force
percent of the population in 1990,20 has had
involved.¹ᵃ
four U.S. senators, two governors, three
elected b
lieutenant governors, and five members of the
yes
Although there are proportionately more
House of Representatives of APIA descent.
engineers, scientists, medical professionals.
Lieutenant Governor Jean Sadako King was
toos
and educators among Asian and Pacific
the first Asian American woman to hold such
the al
Islander Americans than among the general
high state office. The other three lieutenant
population, APIAs are well represented in
governors (George Ariyoshi John Waihee
almost all walks of life. Many work in both the
and Benjamin Cayetano) later became
print and electronic media; some, such as
governors of Hawaii. Furthermore. two of
Connie Chung and Tricia Toyota, are reporters
those five representatives are now U.S.
and anchorpersons on major networks and
senators: Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka.
their affiliates. The Army has a lieutenant
While comprising only one percent of
general and a major general, both of Japanese
California's population, the Japanese American
ancestry; whereas the Air Force brass
community has produced one U.S. senator (S.
includes a Chinese American lieutenant
I. Hayakawa) and two congressmen (Norman
general. The aerospace and defense industry
Mineta and Robert Matsui). Dr. :S.B.Woo
has hired large numbers of Asian American
served one term as lieutenant governor of
engineers, computer programmers, and
Delaware until he unsuccessfully ran for the
scientists. Moreover, the National Aeronautics
U.S. Senate in 1988.22 As of 1996, both of the
and Space Administration (NASA) had three
U.S. senators from Hawaii are Asian and
Asian American astronauts until 1986, when
Pacific Islander American; two members of
one of them, Col. Ellison Onizuka, met a eragic
the House of Representatives of Japanese
10 U.S. Bureau of the Census, We, the American Asians, pp.8-9, Table 3.
" Kitano and Daniels, Asian Americans PP- 97-98.
20 The Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce News, Table 6C.
" Who's Who of American Women, 1981/1982 (Chicago: Marquis Who's Who Incorporated, 1981), P. 654; and Alan
Ehrenhalt (ed.), Politics in America: Members of Congress in Washington and at Home, 1984 (Washington, D.C.:
Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1983), pp.381-386; and The Minneapolis Star Tribune (November 8, 1990).
22 Ehrenhalt, Politics in America PP. 101-103, 129-131, 379-386;, Politics in America; Members of Congress In Washington
and at Home, 1986 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc, 1985), P. 280; and Bill Frank, "In Delaware, $. B.
Woo is Personality of the Year," in the Sunday News Journal (December 30, 1984).
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INTRODUCTION
ancestry represent California and Hawaii;
two or more workers, as compared with 13.4
Robert Matsui and Patsy Mink respectively.
percent of all American families. Per capita
Jay Kim, a member of the House of
income, therefore, may present a more
Representatives, is of Korean descent. Eni
accurate picture of the Asian and Pacific
Faleomavaega is the Samoan representative.
Islander Americans' earning power. In the
Proportionately speaking, Asian and Pacific
same year, the nation's per capita income was
Islander Americans are well represented in
$14,143 - in contrast with $13,658 for the
Congress. However, this phenomenon is
APIA communities.²⁴ Asian and Pacific Islander
partly ascribed to the fact that a majority of
Americans earn substantially more as family
the APIA legislators come from Hawaii, which
units but slightly less on an individual basis
has long been truly multiculcural and much
than the general population. Although Asian
more tolerant of non-white groups than are
and Pacific Islander Americans outdid any
the West Coast states. In addition, there are
other racial group in the United States with
two Asian American governors in 1997,
regard to median family income,
Filipino American Ben Cayetano of Hawaii and
proportionately more people of APIA
Chinese American Gary Locke of the state of
ancestry were in poverty compared to the
Washington.
total U.S. population. In 1989, 11.6 percent of
APIA families had income below the poverty
As in 1979, the median family income of Asian
level, as opposed to 10 percent for the nation.
Americans in 1989 surpassed that of the total
The poverty rate among Southeast Asians
U.S. population, $41,583 versus $35,225. The
ranged from a high of 61.8 percent for
total population's median family Income was
Hmong to a low of 23.8 percent for
greater than that of Pacific Islanders at
Vietnamese, In remarkable contrast, however,
$33,955. However, there were tremendous
the percentage of families in poverty among
19
disparities among the APIA groups with
earlier immigrant communities varied from
respect to that income. They ranged from
3.4 percent for Japanese to 14.7 percent for
$51,500 for Japanese and $49,309 for Asian
Koreans.25
Indians to $27,228 for Samoans and $14,327
for Hmong. The more established the APIA
An overview of the Asian and Pacific Islander
communities were, the higher was their
Americans' socioeconomic status reveals that
median family income.23
APIA people are far from homogeneous or
monolithic. They are at different stages of
The APIA population's high-median family
maturity, acculturation and assimilation,
income may be attributed to two factors.
economic development, educational
First, the Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
attainment, and political participation. In
generally have better educational backgrounds
educating APIA children, teachers need to
than does the national average. Second, APIA
understand and become sensitive to their
families usually include more workers than
particular cultural backgrounds with a view to
average American families. In 1989, 19.8
maximizing their academic potential.
percent of APIA families derived income from
21 Bureau of the Census, We, the American Asians, PP. #8-9, Table 3.
14 Ibid.
15 lbid.
STATE AMERICA MERICANE
PAGE in DEPARTMENT
WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
TO:
FROM:
NAME:
NAME:
Sam
Shamina Singh
ORGANIZATION:
White House Initiative on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders
White House
Parklawn Building, Room 10-42
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
PHONE:
PHONE:
301-443-2492
FAX:
FAX:
456- 5709
301-443-0259
DATE:
Number of pages
(including cover page)
REMARKS:
5600 FISHERS LANE, ROOM 10-42 . ROCKVILLE, MD 20857 P: (301) 443-2492 F: (301) 443-0259 . [email protected] WWW.AAPI.GOV
STATE
AMERICA
STATE
WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
Update to President's Advisory Commission
Community Activities
May 15, 2000
Overview
Over the past seven months, staff of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders has met with local, state and national groups from a diverse array of AAPI ethnic
populations, to raise awareness about the mandates of the Executive Order, and to establish
relationships with key stakeholders on behalf of the Commission. Initial meetings with key
stakeholders and media attention have resulted in an ever-increasing number of invitations to
speak and participate in AAPI community events, conferences and meetings.
Community participation and involvement has been a cornerstone of this Initiative from Its
beginnings at the Department of Health and Human Services, and continues to be essential to
the ultimate success of the Initiative. In order to maximize opportunities for community input
and participation in the development of agency plans and other activities of the Initiative, the
Community and Commissioner Liaisons will work continuously with the Commissioners and key
community stakeholders to develop a community input infrastructure that will strive for broad
representation of various sectors and ethnic groups.
National Activities
The Initiative staff has met with a number of national organizations such as the National Asian
Pacific American Legal Consortium, the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum and the
Organization of Chinese Americans, just to name a few. The Initiative has also participated in a
number of conferences, most recently at the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American
Community Development inaugural conference in DC in the beginning of May 2000. In the
Pacific Island jurisdictions, information about the Initiative has been disseminated to governors
of the Pacific Islands, and to organizations such as the Pacific Islander Health Officers
Association. The Executive Director has also met with the Governor of American Samoa and
has conducted a briefing for Congressman Underwood who represents the Island of Guam.
Asian Pacific American Census Week National Kick-Off Event
"The Census How American knows what America needs"
During the third week of March, Shamina Singh, the Executive Director spoke at the Asian and Pacific Islander
National Census Week Kick-Off at the Chinatown Service Center in Washington, D.C. The event was sponsored by
the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortlum, and was the first in a series of community-based activities
across the country to promote AAPI participation in the 2000 Census.
State and Local Activities
The Office will facilitate partnerships between community groups and local and state
governments to solve problems and develop concrete plans and strategies to improve quality of
life for AAPIs.
5600 FISHERS LANE, ROOM 10-42 ROCKVILLE, MD 20857 P: (301) 443-2492 F: (301) 443-0259 [email protected] WWW.AAPI.GOV
Nearly three quarters of the AAPI population in the U.S. resides in 7 States including California
(40%), New York (9.3%), Hawaii, (8.3%), Texas (4.7%), New Jersey (3.9%). Illinois (3.8%) and
Washington (3.0%). AAPI communities in other regions are experiencing tremendous growth:
(139% in the northeast and south, 97% in the midwest), and there has been an emergence of
strong community leadership to bring attention to the needs of AAPIs in states where they
comprise a relatively smaller percentage of the overall population.
Thus far, Initiative staff has visited California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Massachusetts,
New York and Texas. A visit to Washington is being planned. Several states have
governmental or community-based statewide infrastructures that we have used as a basis to
reach broadly across ethnic groups and sectors. For example, the site visit to California was
facilitated by collaboration with the statewide Asian Pacific Islander California Action Network.
The Initiative has also made linkages with the governor appointed AAPI commissions and
councils in Minnesota and Massachusetts.
Spotlight on California - Home to nearly 40% of AAPIs in the U.S.
Given the size of the AAPI population in California, a four day site visit of AAPI community groups in this state kicked
off the Initiative's community outreach efforts. Highlights of the visit included:
Community forums at the City of Carson, Asian Health Services In Oakland and the Lao Khmu Association In
Stockton
A meeting with Pacific Islander and Cambodian organizations in Long Beach at the Guam Communications
Network
Site visits to Asian Neighborhood Design and Little Tokyo Service Center community development programs in
San Francisco and Los Angeles
Tour of Self Help for the Elderly's living facilities in San Francisco's Chinatown and reception with residents
Driving tours of Orange County's Little Saigon and Los Angeles' Korea Town
Community receptions in San Francisco and Los Angeles attended by over 500 individuals
A visit to the Union of Pan Asian Communities API Small Business Development program in San Diego and site
visit to a local poultry shop
Visits to a Khmu owned family farm and a housing development for the Lao community in Stockton
Reception hosted by the national Aslan Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Institute and Narika, a domestic
violence program working in the South Asian community in northern California
Outcomes
As follow up to the community input gathered at these visits, several outcomes emerged.
Initiative staff developed a matrix of activities to follow up with the issues raised during the
California visits (See Attachment A). This matrix will be provided to the Commission along with
additional sets of community recommendations for their consideration in framing their
recommendations to the President and giving feedback to agencies on their short and long term
plans. The recommendations of the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans presented to the
Deputy Secretary and the Executive Director during their site visit to Minnesota are enclosed.
(See Attachment B).
We have actively linked individuals and organizations we have met with to federal agencies.
This facilitation has resulted In increased AAPI participation in federal activities and greater
accessibility of federal programs. The National Council on Disabilities Involved several AAPIs in
their first Think Tank on Minorities with Disabilities as a direct result of working with the Initiative
Office to identify appropriate representatives.
It has also resulted in increased federal participation in AAPI community activities. For
example, in addition to HUD, Interagency Working Group and Coordinating Committee
members representing the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of
Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Small Business Administration, the Equal
Employment and Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
participated in the upcoming Conference of the National Coalition of Asian Pacific American
Community Development.
Medla Coverage and Outreach
The White House Initiative on AAPIs has worked predominantly with ethnic media to publicize
the Initiative. A selection of the media coverage the Initiative received from the Minnesota and
California site visits is included (See Attachment C). The Executive Director of the Initiative also
met with the national president of the Asian American Journalists Association to brief the
organization about the Executive Order and to discuss potential collaboration in working with
mainstream and ethnic media to garner national attention for the Initiative and AAPI issues.
Changing the national perception and deepening the understanding of AAPI communities is
critical for real change to be institutionalized at the federal level.
- The Record, Stockton Callfornia, December 1999
"Singh's visit was a rare opportunity to express concerns directly to federal officials."
Community Testimonies at Federal Interagency Working Group Meetings
IWG members heard testimonies of community leaders Bill Watanabe, Executive Director of the
Little Tokyo Service Center in Los Angeles and KaYing Yang, Executive Director of the
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center. Mr. Watanabe provided an overview of how federal
programs, policies and funding Impact services and capacity of AAPI community based
organizations. Ms. Yang described the history, challenges and strengths of the Southeast Asian
American communities (See Attachment D).
First Interagency Working Group Meeting: Focus on Southeast Aslan Americans
"No one language, other than perhaps English, unifies the groups: the main languages used include Vietnamese,
Khmer (or Cambodian), Hmong and Lao; and dozens of minority languages as well."
- KaYing Yang
"The starting point In working with AAPI communities is different for each group and requires the ability of
bureaucracies to develop positive partnerships with community groups who are developing their own linkages in the
community.. Some of the greatest challenges we face is this issue-how do you provide services to 50 many
groups, languages, needs and cultural differences?"
- Bill
Watanabe
Ongoing Community Communications
The major vehicle to communicate with the general public and AAPI communities will be
through the Initiative website and electronic mail listservs. The website will house the
transcripts of all Interagency Work Group meetings, formal testimony delivered by Initiative staff
or Commissioner, schedules for upcoming town hall meetings, and Initiative updates. The
Department Snapshots document developed by the Interagency Work Group and the
Coordinating Committee will also be available shortly on our website at www.hrsa.gov/aapi.
05/09/00 TUE 13:54 FAX 202 690 7318
DHHS/ASPA
01002
Thank you Mike [Maroof] for you gracious introduction - and for inviting me to
participate in this year's National Leadership Training Conference for the Federal Asian
Pacific American Council.
It's a great honor to join so many federal employees - from so many agencies -
all dedicated to improving the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
I want to thank you- not only for being here and serving the cause of better
health for our Asian American and Pacific Islanders citizens,
...
...
but for the work you do every day making life better for all Americans.
It's also a great honor to be standing here with Shamina Singh.
Shamina and I have been traveling around the country like mixed doubles
partners in tennis challenging audiences to get in the game,
...
...
work as a team,
...
...
and hit nothing but winners for Asian American and Pacific Islander families.
It's no coincidence that I'm speaking first.
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This great challenge belongs to all of us.
We need nothing less than a national commitment to the health and well being of
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
We must have one team - made up of government, local communities, health care
providers, the private sector and individuals.
all working hard every day,
...
and all accountable - accountable to the cause of equality of outcomes for
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
I'm going to spend at least a few minutes today talking about the Executive Order
the President signed almost one year ago to increase the participation of Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders in federal programs.
Increasing Asian American participation in federal programs means that we have
to look at the entire spectrum of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - whose roots
span two oceans. We must ask ourselves: Have we achieved equality of opportunity,
...
and just as important, have we achieved equality of outcomes.
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The fact is we haven't. The numbers tell the story.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders still suffer disproportionately high rates of
Hepatitis B, diabetes, cancer and tuberculosis.
We are also troubled by the high rate of suicide among older Asian American
women.
To make matters worse, 2 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders have no
health insurance.
These gaps are simply unacceptable. They also highlight the danger of focusing
exclusively on opportunities.
Yes, we must improve access to health care for Asian Americans and Pacific
too fours
Islanders.
alto
Yes, we must ensure that more young AAPI's enter the health professions.
Yes, we must stop lumping together data collected on AAPI's because that
distorts the specific needs of subpopulations.
LA
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And yes. we need to be more culturally and linguistically sensitive, so that Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders are encouraged to get early health screenings and
W
appropriate and high quality services.
But that is not enough - because in the end, we will be- and must be- judged by
results we achieve.
That means closing the gaps in health outcomes- and making sure that Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders fully benefit from the positive changes we've made in
health care prevention, treatment and research.
Unfortunately, we have not yet reached these goals.
So we have a lot of work ahead of us. Making sure that work gets donc is what
our Administration is all about- and what this conference is all about.
***
Before I talk about the road that lies ahead - I want to take a few minutes to look
back, ...
- - -
because while it's true that we still have a long way to go - we have made
significant progress over the last seven years.
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In 1997, at HHS we began developing a comprehensive Asian American and
Pacific Islander Initiative.
The Initiative is a blueprint for reaching our most important goals.
These goals include improving our data collection; expanding access to health
insurance; increasing training opportunities in the health professions; and making sure
that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are sitting at the table when decisions are
made.
At the start, Dennis Hayashi, former director of our OCR and recently named to the
White House Commission on AAPI, and Kathy Buto from HCFA co-chaired the
departmental working group.
In February 1998, President Clinton and Secretary Shalala announced their goal
of eliminating health disparities in six major areas: Childhood immunizations, infant
mortality, cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS
Less than a month later, I attended a meeting sponsored by the Health Resources
and Services Administration. Some of you may have been there.
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At that meeting, members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community
asked me to work with them in making progress on HHS's agenda in by seeking an
Executive Order. And I asked them to hold me and my colleagues accountable
to , wowe rel agencies in
This was a challenge that could not be allowed to fall through the cracks.
And it didn't.
On June 7, 1999, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13125, called
"Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs."
That's only the second executive order issued concerning the AAPI population.
And the first, the internment order, is a dark chapter in this country's history.
But last June was a great moment. But it would never have happened without the
hard work, ingenuity, determination and leadership of the Asian American and Pacific
Islander community.
The Executive Order called for a Interagency Working Group - which I now
chair.
The Working Group includes Deputy Secretaries from several departments and
agencies and national AAPI leaders such as Paul Igaskai, Vice-Chair of the EEOC.
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The Executive Order also called for the appointment of an outside Advisory
Commission.
Just last Thursday Friday, President Clinton named the 15 members of the Commission-
including its Chair, the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta.
These internal and external mechanisms for increasing Asian American and
Pacific Islander participation in federal programs are one reason we needed the Executive
Order.
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But there is an even more important purpose for the Executive Order.
It is an explicit statement of commitment by the federal government to improve
the health and well being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The issues that affect your community have now been brought to the highest
levels of government - and we intend to keep them there.
Not through a narrow reading of the Executive Order - but through a broad
interpretation of the meaning and spirit of the Order,
...
...
an interpretation that focuses on cqualizing both opportunities and outcomes.
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***
I want to talk about the role of federal employees in making that broad
interpretation of the Executive Order a reality.
But before I do, let me repeat what I try to tell all audiences representing under
served populations: This not a zero-sum game.
Neither this Executive Order - nor any other action taken by the federal
government - will come at the expense of other groups.
Our responsibility is to make the pie bigger for everyone - not the pieces smaller.
I don't consider this simply an administrative or legal obligation. This is a moral
obligation - and good government.
Groups that have for too long have been on the outside looking in,
...
...
who for too long have been denied full access to the American dream,
...
...
must not now be asked to compete with each other.
That is unacceptable. We need a new standard that says: We will do what needs
to be done for all Americans.
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As for Asian American and Pacific Islanders, thanks to you and your agencies the
pie is already growing.
The Department of Education is ensuring bilingual education for AAPI children.
The Department of Interior is focusing on managing natural resources in the
Pacific Islands.
The Department of Labor is funding an ambitious program to open up
employment opportunities for elderly Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
And the Small Business Administration set aggressive three-year lending and
outreach goals for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
These kinds of programs work because you are making them work.
Still, I want to emphasize that individual programs are not enough.
To get the outcomes we want require that we meet several important challenges.
First, the needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders must be a core mission
for every agency within your department.
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I'm not talking about one office designated to handle Asian American and Pacific
Islander issues.
I'm talking about a departmental philosophy that runs top to bottom and says:
Everything we do; every goal we set; every budget we write - must take into account the
needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
At HHS, almost every operating division is making a contribution toward closing
gaps in health outcomes.
That means not only HRSA - but also the National Institutes of Health, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the
Agency for Research and Quality - and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration.
Second, as we expand the federal workforce, we must make sure that we hire and
recruit Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
That's both fair and smart.
Fair because for too long Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have not had the
opportunity to fully participate in federal service,
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and smart because in order to achieve our objectives - we must develop the
leadership skills of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - and then put those skills to
use at all levels of government.
Third, creating services only gets us half way to the finish line. The other half is
delivering those services.
Again, I'll use HHS as an example.
We know that a certain number Asian American and Pacific Islander children are
eligible for Head Start
We also know that we are dramatically expanding the budget and enrollment of
Head Start.
In fact President Clinton has set a goal of 1 million children enrolled by 2002.
Similar eligibility issues arise with Medicaid and our new State Children's Health
Insurance Program.
The question for all of these programs is: Have we reached all the Asian
American and Pacific Islander children we necd to reach. And if not - why not?
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getting too long Lere.
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Sometimes the problem is access - which needs to be both easy to do and
culturally and linguistically appropriate.
But there is another potential problem - which is not about the way the service is
delivered. It is about the way WE think about the service.
Again, let me use health disparities as an example.
We view health disparities not simply as 2 problem to be solved - - but as a civil
right to be enforced.
That's why our Office of Civil Rights plays an important role in the Department's
overall effort to eliminated these disparities.
We want to root out and prevent discrimination - and help people whose limited
proficiency in English is a barrier to receiving services.
Thinking about health disparities as a civil right - - ups the ante.
It keeps our minds focused on the importance of closing these gaps - and of not
resting until the job is done.
My fourth and last challenge is to each of you.
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None of us can fulfill the purpose and spirit of the Executive Order by ourselves.
Opening doots of opportunity and getting the outcomes we want will only be
possible through teamwork and partnership.
We need to work together, share success stories, enlist the support and
participation of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, be the eyes and ears
of our agencies, and not rest until the job is done.
I know that in many respects I'm preaching to the choir.
The Federal Asian Pacific American Council has long been in the leadership
Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Much of the progress we have already made is because of your hard work - and
for that both Secretary Shalala and I thank you.
But as I mentioned - we still have long way to go.
So I encourage you to work smart and work together.
And I repeat what I've said at other Asian American and Pacific Islander
meetings and I've attended with Shamina: Hold our feet to the fire. Hold us accountable.
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If the Interagency Working Group isn't producing - or producing quickly enough
- make sure we hear about it.
If the letter and spirit of the Executive Order aren't being enforced - make sure
we hear about it.
And most important if the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders aren't getting
the outcomes to which they are entitled - from health to employment to the environment
- make sure we hear about it.
You are the leaders of this challenge - and today's conference will give you even
more of the tools you need to succeed.
So take what you learn, use it to build a better life for all Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders, and have a great conference.
Thank you.