National AAPI Leaders Denounce Gutting of Historic Executive Order
Community Leaders Call on President Bush to Retain Focus on Improving the Quality of Life of Underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2004
Christine Chen
(202) 223-5500
[email protected]

Washington, D.C. ---Today national leaders in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community criticized the "Increasing Economic Opportunity and Business Participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders" Executive Order issued by President Bush on Thursday, May 13th. Fully one year late, the Executive Order renews the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, but drastically reframes and restricts the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, both originally established under Executive Order 13125, issued in 1999.

The original Executive Order issued by President Clinton and renewed for two years at the beginning of President Bush's term, had a broad mandate to "improve the quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased participation in Federal programs where they may be underserved (e.g., health, human services, education, housing, labor, transportation, and economic and community development)." The White House let that Executive Order expire a year ago, terminating the Commission then chaired by Dr. John Tsu, a well respected educator from California.

The May 13th Executive Order moves the Initiative from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Department of Commerce and drastically narrows the mission of the Initiative and the Commission from broadly helping underserved AAPI communities to solely focusing on the development of AAPI small businesses. Specifically the new Executive Order instructs the Commission to "improve the economic and community development of Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses through ensuring equal opportunity to participate in Federal programs, and public-sector, private-sector partnerships, and through the collection of data related to Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses" and "increase the business diversification of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including ways to foster research and data on Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses including their level of participation in the national economy and their economic and community development."

"The quality of life of the AAPI community cannot be adequately improved by limiting the improvements of one facet of AAPI policy priorities," said Christine Chen, Executive Director of the Organization of Chinese Americans. "Limiting the purpose of the Executive Order ends any advances in education policy, for example."