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HIGHLIGHTS OF INTERIM REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT'S
ADVISORY COMMISSION
ON ASIAN
AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
Background on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders
Ø
As
of July 1999, there were 10.9 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or
4.0% of the U.S. population.
Ø
Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders remain the fastest growing racial/ethnic
population in the U.S., increasing 95% from 1980 to 1990 and another 43% from
1990 to July 1999.
Ø
80%
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders reside in ten states (California, New
York, Hawaii, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, Florida, Virginia and
Massachusetts). The fastest growing
Asian American and Pacific Islander populations are in states such as Georgia,
Nevada, North Carolina, Nebraska, Arizona, Delaware and New Mexico.
Ø
The
Asian American and Pacific Islander population in the U.S. is expected to
continue to grow, to 37.6 million persons, or 9% of the U.S. population, by the
year 2050.
Ø
Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders can be found at the extreme spectrums of almost
every socioeconomic indicator: from wealth to poverty, from advanced education
to illiteracy, from entrepreneurial success to marginal daily survival.
Ø
35%
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders live in linguistically isolated
households, where no one aged 14 or older speaks English “very well.” Sixty-one percent of Hmong American
households, 56% of Cambodian American households, 52% of Laotian American
households, 44% of Vietnamese American households, 41% of Korean American
households and 40% of Chinese American households are linguistically isolated.
Ø
1.4
million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or 13% of the population, were
at or below the Federal poverty level in 1998; the 1989 poverty rates for Hmong
Americans was 66%, 43% for Cambodian Americans and 35% for Laotian Americans.
Ø Asian American and Pacific
Islander children living in Minnesota were three times as likely to live in
poverty (37%), compared to all children in Minnesota. Asian American and Pacific Islander children in Massachusetts
were twice as likely to live in poverty (24%) compared to all children in
Massachusetts.
Ø Self-employed Vietnamese
Americans only earned an average of $14,000 a year.
Ø Less than 6% of Tongan
Americans, Cambodian Americans, Laotian Americans and Hmong Americans have
completed college.
Ø Filipino youth have one of
the highest high school dropout rates and one of the highest rates of teen
suicide ideation and attempts.
Ø 30% of the Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders living in New York City live in overcrowded housing.
Ø The age-adjusted death rate
for Native Hawaiians is 901 per 100,000, compared to 524 per 100,000 for the
total U.S. population.
Ø Two million Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders do not have health insurance, with Korean Americans have
the highest rate of uninsurance among all racial/ethnic groups (40%).
Ø Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders have some of the highest rates of tuberculosis and hepatitis B in the
U.S.
Ø The cervical cancer rate for
Vietnamese American women is nearly five times higher than that of White women.
Ø The rate of liver cancer
among Vietnamese Americans is eleven times higher than for Whites.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau,
1999 and 2000; Department of Health and Human Services, 1999; Urban Institute
Metropolitan Housing and Communities Center, 2000.
Four Themes for the
President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Ø
Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders have been “MIH” - "Missing In History" as taught in
classrooms, as reflected in the media and the arts and as understood by
government policymakers and program planners.
In much of the data used by the federal government, Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders are invisible, relegated to a residual category of
“Other.” Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders are challenged to reclaim and re-insert their history, their stories,
their faces, their voices and their lives, into American history and America's
future.
Ø
Native Hawaiians and
Pacific Islanders often remain a footnote or asterisk as part of the broad
“Asian American and Pacific Islander” category, ignoring their importance and
dignity as diverse, indigenous peoples.
Barely ever noted is the manner in which the United States acquired
Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American
Samoa.
Ø
Asian Americans are
stereotyped as a “model minority”: passive, compliant, overachieving and
without problems or needs.
Ø
Asian Americans
continue to be viewed as perpetual foreigners, forever “aliens” whose loyalty
and place in America is always questioned.
The focus on Asian Americans for violations of campaign finance laws
after the 1996 presidential campaign and the alleged racial stereotyping underlying
the investigation and criminal prosecution of nuclear scientist Dr. Wen Ho Lee
are cited as the most recent examples of such stereotyping. Until Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
are viewed and accepted as an integral part of America, continued exclusion and
discrimination will occur.
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The Commission
focused on five cross-cutting issues, with interim recommendations:
IMPROVE DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND DISSEMINATION
FOR ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
·
In order to meet the 2003
deadline, immediately formulate a plan to implement the 1997 Office of
Management and Budget Standards in all federal data collection, analyses and
dissemination.
·
Conduct systematic review of
all federal data collection instruments, sampling and analytical methods in
order to maximize inclusion of disaggregated Asian American and Pacific
Islander populations.
·
Increase data collection,
analyses and dissemination about underrepresented Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders.
·
Develop and implement ongoing
mechanisms for identifying, training and funding Asian American and Pacific
Islander researchers working with the Asian American and Pacific Islander
communities, including researchers at non-academic institutions.
ENSURE ACCESS, ESPECIALLY LINGUISTIC ACCESS AND CULTURAL
COMPETENCE,
FOR ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
·
Commit specific program and
personnel resources to the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of
Executive Order 13166 increasing access for individuals with Limited English
Proficiency.
·
Identify and maximize the
utilization of coordinated federal and community resources for culturally
competent translation and interpretation.
·
Develop and use multiple
formats and media to increase linguistic access.
·
Increase utilization of Asian
and Pacific Islander language radio, print, and television media for community
outreach and education.
·
Commit research and
programmatic resources to develop standards and implement cultural competence
in all programs and services.
·
Include consideration of
linguistic access and cultural competence in all federal funding and reviews of
funding applications.
·
Increase the participation of
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on all federal grant review panels.
·
Proactively seek and create
opportunities to integrate and preserve Asian and Pacific Islander cultures in
all programs and services where appropriate.
PROTECT CIVIL RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ASIAN
AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS
·
Address issues of racial
profiling against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by law enforcement;
provide full disclosure and accounting of the investigations and prosecutions
of Asian American employees at the Department of Energy and in other national
security positions.
·
Support enforcement and
strengthening of hate crimes legislation and ensure vigorous monitoring and
prosecution of violations of federal civil rights laws.
·
Support domestic violence
prevention and service programs focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander
women, children and elders.
·
Proactively enforce equal
employment opportunity, wage and hour and occupational health and safety laws.
·
Increase access to federal
education and training programs and increase federal support for bilingual and
other educational programs that support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
·
Ensure that Asian American
and Pacific Islander women are included in all relevant programs and services
and have equal opportunities for access and participation.
·
Proactively reduce barriers
to participation in federal programs and services by persons with disabilities.
·
Include issues of sexual
orientation and gender identity in diversity activities and nondiscrimination
efforts as well as in the administration of federal programs and services.
·
Improve customer service,
reduce delays and address inequities in the administration of U.S. immigration
laws.
·
Analyze the impacts of the
welfare and immigration reform laws of 1996.
·
Ensure the provision of full
and equitable benefits to Filipino American World War II veterans.
·
Support the provision of
bilingual ballots and other methods for increasing civic participation among
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
STRENGTHEN AND SUSTAIN ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER
COMMUNITY CAPACITY
·
Increase outreach, education
and funded partnership agreements with Asian American and Pacific Islander
community-based organizations and businesses.
·
Increase coordination of
Asian American and Pacific Islander programs for minorities, women, the
disabled, veterans, and small business interests.
·
Fund targeted technical
assistance programs that increase the participation of Asian American and
Pacific Islander community-based organizations in federal grant programs.
·
Support the organizational
development and sustainability of Asian American and Pacific Islander
community-based organizations and businesses.
·
Support housing development
and promotion of home ownership in Asian American and Pacific Islander
communities.
·
Reduce the “digital divide”
for underrepresented Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, especially
individuals with lower incomes, lower literacy and Limited English Proficiency.
·
Establish a designation of
“Asian American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions and Organizations” as
the focus for outreach, recruitment, research and program development,
implementation and evaluation activities.
RECOGNIZE AND INCLUDE NATIVE HAWAIIANS AND PACIFIC
ISLANDERS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
·
Continue coordination of this
Initiative with other federal initiatives and activities focused on Native
Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
·
Support reconciliation with
Native Hawaiians.
·
Support the
self-determination of Chamorros and Samoans.
·
Support the return of lands held by the U.S. government and
military to Native Hawaiians and the people of Guam.
·
Improve the collection,
analyses and dissemination of data about Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
while respecting Pacific Islander cultures.
·
Reduce the housing, health,
education and economic disparities among Native Hawaiians and Pacific
Islanders.
·
Support capacity-building
activities for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities both in the
Pacific Islands and in the continental U.S.
·
Support the perpetuation and
integration of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander cultures in all relevant
federal programs and services.
·
Reduce the “digital divide”
for Pacific Islanders.
Federal Agency Activities
32
participating federal departments and agencies have prepared a) a Departmental
Snapshot summarizing their mission, primary programs and services and their
initial relevance for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; b) an extensive
Inventory of their programs and services for Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders, including specific grants, loans and other funding focused on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders as well as detailed employment data; and c) a
fiscal year 2001 Plan that implements the goals of this White House Initiative.
Among the numerous
activities highlighted in the agency responses are:
+
The Department of Health and Human Services has funded national and local Asian
American and Pacific Islander community-based organizations, developed Asian
and Pacific Islander language materials, developed materials on cultural
competency, and continued to implement its Departmental Asian American and
Pacific Islander Initiative.
+
The Small Business Administration has conducted outreach activities that
involved over 24,000 Asian American and Pacific Islanders in order to increase
the amount of financing, technical assistance and government contracting
assistance available. The SBA provided an unprecedented amount of financial
assistance to Asian American and Pacific Islander small business in fiscal year
1999, totaling $1.2 billion.
+
The Department of Agriculture has provided over $26.5 million in loans and loan
guarantees to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and has conducted
successful outreach programs dealing with land and natural resource
conservation, farming, and fishing.
+
The Environmental Protection Agency has undertaken numerous studies that assess
the needs of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and has
developed extensive outreach strategies for informing these communities about
environmental hazards, such as pesticides, air pollutants, and tainted
fish.
+
The Department of Justice has established a National Origin Working Group that
promoted outreach and enforcement actions against discrimination based on
national origin, including primary language.
+
The U.S. Postal Service has conducted needs assessment studies, developed
products and services for Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and provided
financial sponsorship for partnerships with Asian American and Pacific Islander
community organizations.
+
The Department of Energy has implemented significant outreach efforts to Asian
American and Pacific Islander employees in order to address concerns based on
the findings of the Task Force on Racial Profiling convened by Secretary
Richardson.
In reviewing the
federal responses, the Commission makes the following Interim Findings:
·
Many of the federal agencies have engaged in outreach
efforts to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
·
Federal agencies have developed many types of partnerships
with Asian American community-based organizations and businesses.
·
Half of the federal agencies have an internal infrastructure
to address Asian American and Pacific Islander-specific issues and needs.
Seventeen
of the 32 departments and agencies (53%) have at least one Full Time Equivalent
staff position that focuses specifically on Asian American and Pacific Islander
issues. Nine departments and nine agencies (56%) have ongoing mechanisms for
focusing on Asian American and Pacific Islander issues, such as advisory bodies
and workgroups.
·
Few federal agencies have implemented the 1997 Office of
Management and Budget Standards for Maintaining, Collecting and Presenting
Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity in their data collection and reporting about
their programs and services.
Only
six departments and six agencies (36%) collect program data on Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders.
·
Most federal agencies do not have national or strategic plans
to address the needs and issues of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Prior
to the current inventory, less than half of the agencies had conducted any
needs assessments or studies within the last five years to identify, quantify
or evaluate Asian American and Pacific Islander needs.
·
Federal funding for Asian American and Pacific
Islander-specific projects and initiatives is inadequate relative to their
needs and numbers in the general population.
Only
four departments and three agencies (22%) had grant programs in fiscal year
1999 for which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were a funding priority.
·
A significant number of federal agencies do not provide
consumer and program materials in Asian or Pacific Islander languages and do
not collect data on the number of bilingual or multilingual employees in public
contact positions.
Eight
departments and nine agencies (53%) have some informational materials
translated in Asian and Pacific Islander languages. Only 25% of the agencies
have regulations, policies or guidance memoranda on compliance with Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act ensuring equal access for individuals with Limited English
Proficiency.
·
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the federal
workforce face a “glass ceiling” limiting promotions to senior, supervisory and
managerial levels.
120,000
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have dedicated their lives to public
service as employees of the Federal government. Nineteen of the 29 departments and agencies (66%) reporting employment
data had Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders in Senior Executive Service (SES)
levels. However, Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders are underrepresented at 28 of those 29 departments and
agencies (97%) reporting SES data. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are
also underrepresented in supervisory levels at 23 of the 25 departments and
agencies (92%) reporting employment data about supervisory positions.
·
As it is not required by law, none of the federal agencies
voluntarily collect employment data disaggregated by Asian American and Pacific
Islander subgroups.
·
Many federal departments and agencies are committed to
increasing the recruitment and supporting the promotion of more Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders in their workforce.
Nearly
half of the departments and agencies (47%) have an Asian American and Pacific
Islander employee organization.
Ø
These
initial responses establish a baseline of federal government programs and
services for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Ø
This
has been a historic undertaking, with an unprecedented amount of data and
information provided about federal programs and services for Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders.
Ø
While
this first attempt is to be commended, it is evident that much more work can
and needs to be done.
Ø
It
is the Commission’s expectation that the participation of Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders in federal programs and services will continue to increase as
a direct result of this White House Initiative.
Commission's
Interim Recommendations to the Federal Agencies
·
Adopt specific, measurable
objectives related to this Initiative as part of each agency’s Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) plans and objectives.
·
Establish specific goals for
increasing funding for Asian American and Pacific Islander programs and
services.
·
Support formalization of
agencies’ Asian American and Pacific Islander advisory bodies.
·
Support formalization of
agencies’ Asian American and Pacific Islander employee organizations.
·
Support designation and funding
of staff positions dedicated to the implementation of this White House
Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
·
Collect and analyze employee
data disaggregated by Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups, pay and
service levels, geographic location and gender; and develop and implement
focused and coordinated recruitment, training, retention and promotion
strategies to increase the number of underrepresented Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders in the federal workforce.
·
Increase interagency
coordination of Asian American and Pacific Islander activities.
·
Institutionalize mechanisms
to improve communication, collaboration and coordination between the
President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the
Office of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,
the Interagency Working Group and the Coordinating Committee.
Conclusion
Ø
The Commission
specifically recognizes some members of our Asian American and Pacific Islander
communities who often have been ignored and marginalized, both by our own
communities as well as general American society:
¨
Indigenous Native
Hawaiian and Pacific Islander brothers and sisters
¨
Immigrant and refugee
Asian American and Pacific Islander sisters and brothers
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander women
¨
Multiracial Asian
American and Pacific Islander sisters and brothers
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander intercountry adoptees
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander brothers and sisters with disabilities
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander survivors and victims of domestic violence
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sisters and brothers
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander elders and seniors
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander youth
¨
Asian American and
Pacific Islander veterans
Ø We call upon our own Asian
American and Pacific Islander communities and the federal departments and
agencies to recognize and include all our sisters and brothers as we all work
together to build a better future for all of America.
Ø We are acutely aware of our
obligations to our families and our communities to translate what we have heard
and learned into recommendations that will result in meaningful, measurable and
sustainable programmatic changes that increase the access and participation of
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in federal government programs and
services.
Ø We will proactively and
aggressively use the platform created by this White House Initiative to inform,
educate and advocate about the critical issues and needs as well as the
valuable assets and resources in our Asian American and Pacific Islander
communities.
Ø We proudly assert our
community strengths and assets, and a sense of community empowerment to share
in the solutions to our needs and issues.
Ø We invite the federal
government to partner with our communities to maximize resources and to
increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of federal government programs
and services.
Ø We will continue to depend on
the assistance, cooperation and partnership of both the federal government and
the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in making the promise of
this Initiative a reality.
