Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Blog

  • Helping AAPI Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners Create Jobs and Win the Future

    Posted by Ana Ma on May 13, 2011 at 10:10 AM EDT

    My parents emigrated from China, to Mexico, to the U.S.  They started a restaurant in Arizona where I worked when I was growing up.  So, I come from a small-business family, and I consider it to be a great privilege and responsibility to serve as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Small Business Administration. 

    Over the past two years, I have met many small business owners throughout America’s AAPI communities.  Some have received help from the SBA when they needed a business loan, or one-on-one business counseling, or information about how to compete for federal contracts.

    Cecilia Mata, a fellow Chinese-American from Arizona, is a great example.  She started AllSource Global Management in 2005 and – with the help of the SBA’s Arizona District Office and our 8(a) business development program – has grown AllSource Global to employ hundreds of workers with projects in five states.

    This Administration understands the needs of small businesses like hers.  That’s why the Recovery Act and the Small Business Jobs Act contained key provisions that helped thousands of small businesses, including those owned by Asian-Americans.

    For example, we strengthened SBA lending at a time when traditional bank lending was frozen.  As a result, the SBA was able to step in where the market wasn’t working.  Altogether, we helped provide Asian-American-owned businesses with billions of dollars in lending support during that critical time.  Today, the SBA continues to reach out to underserved communities with new loan initiatives that are targeted at reaching those who have been hard-hit by the recession, including small business owners who need smaller loans under $250,000.

    And, for businesses like Cecilia’s, we’re working to make sure that small businesses have more opportunities and are treated more fairly in the federal contracting arena.

    So, when my family asks me what I do and why I’m proud to work for this Administration, I tell them about these important steps that we’re taking to foster small business growth and to strengthen local economies in the AAPI community. 

    If you or someone you know is interested in starting or growing a small business, go to www.sba.gov/direct where you can quickly get connected to an SBA staffer or counseling partner in your community.  We’re ready to help in whatever way we can.

    Have a great AAPI Heritage Month, everyone!

    Ana Ma is Chief of Staff at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

     

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  • Let’s Put an End to Housing Discrimination

    Posted by John Trasviña on May 12, 2011 at 10:58 AM EDT

    May, as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, immediately follows April which is Fair Housing Month.  In tandem, these months highlight the real work ahead of us at HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), and across governmental agencies to ensure that the promise of civil rights for all Americans is fulfilled equally among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).  

    Our job at FHEO can be described as enforcing the Fair Housing Act's prohibition on rental, sales and lending discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, religion, disability, family status or color.  It includes our partnerships with organizations to educate the AAPI community's housing consumers and providers about their rights and responsibilities under the Act.

    But it is more than that.  Our job is to create and support inclusive communities for all people.

    It is about moving away from the typical follow up question too often asked of members of the community:  "No, where are you REALLY from?"

    Discrimination should have no place in America.  For decades, Asians were kept from the United States by discriminatory immigration laws and, when here, from mainstream neighborhoods by racially restrictive housing covenants.

    Our mission to ensure that every community is open cannot be accomplished without the active involvement of AAPI community leaders and organizations.  That is why we have translated over 100 vital HUD documentsinto many Asian languages and have used our bilingual hiring authority to ensure we can serve all members of our communities.

    For a variety of reasons, the Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity receives relatively few discrimination complaints from AAPI community members.  But we do not kid ourselves into believing that this means that the discrimination does not exist.  Our own studies reflect that in about one in five instances in which AAPIs seek housing, they face less favorable treatment than others.  Together, we have the resources and remedies to confront discrimination where it exists, prevent it before it occurs, and ensure equal treatment in housing for AAPIs. 

    HUD's overall mission of better housing is incomplete unless we have fairer housing.  Fair housing cannot be achieved if AAPIs are left out.  Let us recommit ourselves this AAPI Heritage month to end housing discrimination facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across America, and carry this mandate moving forward for this year and years beyond.   Join us at www.hud.gov/fairhousing or on Facebook.

    John Trasviña is the Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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  • Working Together to Reduce Drug Use in America

    Posted by David Mineta on May 11, 2011 at 11:21 AM EDT

    The Bible on which I took the oath of office for Deputy Director of Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was my grandfather’s.  He was a faithful man to his family, his community, and his new country.  Yet after December 7, 1941, my grandfather, who was born in Japan, was branded unworthy of the most basic trust and imprisoned because of where he was from, how he looked, and the accent with which he spoke.  Federal agents took him to an undisclosed prison in North Dakota.  Now, two generations later, it is the same executive branch in which his grandson now serves our Nation.

     For 14 years before joining the Obama Administration, I worked for Asian American Recovery Services whose first mission almost three decades ago was to address the tragic impact of prescription drug abuse that ravaged San Francisco’s Asian American community.  At the time, culturally tailored drug treatment services were not readily available for the scores of addicted young adults in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.  Witnessing the tragic impact of this threat on our friends and family, our community came together to create a non-profit organization that would help this vulnerable population. 

     Those of us working at ONDCP continue to work to make America healthier and safer by working with communities like these across the Nation to reduce illegal drug use.  Under the President’s leadership, we’ve outlined a National Drug Control Strategy that connects Federal, state, and local governments with community leaders who are working each day to keep dangerous drugs out of the hands of young people.

     As a former community organizer myself, I’m so proud to be a member of President Obama’s leadership team at ONDCP.   My experience working at the local level has made my contributions to the Federal Government possible, and I am proud of the work we are doing today to help us win the future by preventing and treating substance abuse.

     As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, our office is proud to count the AAPI community as partners in our National Drug Control Strategy and celebrates the legacy and achievements of AAPIs.

     David K. Mineta is the Deputy Director of Demand Reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

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  • To Papa

    Posted by Seiji Hayashi on May 10, 2011 at 11:44 AM EDT

    I dedicate this post to my father, Haruo Hayashi (“Papa”), who in many ways symbolized the contributions, achievements, and sacrifices made by many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

     Within days of arriving in San Francisco from Japan in the summer of 1954, Papa hopped on the back of a pickup truck and headed to the peach orchards of Central California.  Covered in dust and irritating peach fuzz, at each day’s end he counted the number of baskets he filled in the 90-degree heat.  Calculating in his head the meager wage he would earn for each basket, he thought about the orphanage where he grew up in post-war Hiroshima.  In his mind, he thanked the couple that took him in along with a dozen or more children who lost their parents in the War.  When the picking season ended, he returned to San Francisco and washed dishes at a Japanese restaurant where he learned that he had been drafted into the Army.  Barely speaking English, he finished basic training and spent the next 2 years near the 38th Parallel (Korea).  After finishing his service and receiving his U.S. citizenship, he enrolled in San Francisco State University to become an engineer.  While a student, he experienced many hardships, but was able to get through because of the help of others.  This experience led him to find his true calling, and he became a minister.  Papa spent the rest of his life helping others to show his gratitude. 

     Papa instilled in me the importance of community service, and I found my calling in promoting the health of the medically underserved.  After I graduated from medical school in New York, Papa and I decided to drive back to San Francisco.  On a stretch of Interstate 80 between Des Moines and Omaha, I told him about my plans to be a primary care doctor for poor communities. I then asked him what he would have wanted to do if he had more options.  Papa said, “Exactly what you’re doing.”

     I feel fortunate that I am able to work alongside dedicated federal colleagues, primary care providers, and community advocates to improve access to comprehensive, culturally competent health care services through the Federally Qualified Health Centers.  In 2009, Health Centers served roughly 19 million Americans, including nearly 500,000 Asian Americans.  Nearly two-thirds of Asian Americans served by Health Centers had limited English proficiency.  Health Centers serve one in 16 Americans, one in 28 Asian Americans, one in 4 Americans who are poor, and one in 7 uninsured.

     This Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I reflect on the experiences of the individuals who walk into Health Centers everyday and thank Papa, his sacrifice and his inspiration to committing to our most underserved communities – something I hope to instill in my own children.

     Dr. Seiji Hayashi is the Chief Medical Officer, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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  • Achieving Health Equity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

    Posted by Howard Koh on May 9, 2011 at 12:30 PM EDT

    At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we recently issued our plan for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health (AANHPI) Health.  Our plan outlines the Department’s top priorities and strategies for improved health by focusing on critical improvements in the areas of data collection, workforce development, treatment and prevention.

    Our plan was developed as part of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, whose mission is to improve quality of life and opportunities for AANHPI participation in federal programs.  Our plan has four priorities and more than 40 strategies, including:

    • Improve prevention, treatment and control of Hepatitis B (HBV) infections.  AANHPI persons represent nearly half of the 1.25 million Americans with chronic HBV-infections. We intend to develop a national education campaign that will be aired in metro areas where affected populations live.  It will be translated into Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean to increase awareness of HBV and its risk factors and to encourage testing.
    • Improve reporting of data.  Detailed data is critical for identifying which populations are most at risk, and what specific interventions are most effective in attaining improved health care quality for specific populations.
    • Foster workforce diversity.  We hope to transform health care by building on the provisions of the Affordable Care Act related to expanded insurance coverage and increased access to care.  Our plan calls for more opportunities for underrepresented populations to enter the health professions.  It also offers provisions to train more people in medical interpretation to help serve patients with a limited command of English, and to train more community workers to help patients navigate the system.
    • Address critical health issues (including access to care) that impact Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations.  Diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and infant mortality are major health issues among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.  These health disparities are compounded by the lack of culturally competent health professionals with knowledge of Hawaiian or Pacific Islander culture.

    In addition, we continue to work closely with Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander professional and advocacy groups to support health initiatives and research through agencies including NIH, CDC, SAMHSA, and HRSA.  Our Office of Minority Health (OMH) has a long history of working with AANHPI organizations and works closely with Guam and other Pacific jurisdictions on prevention and testing for HIV, sexually transmitted infections and other co-morbidities.  We helped to create and launch a Pacific Resource and Training Center and support community-based projects and social marketing campaigns including the San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign- a successful community-based prevention model.  Through efforts like these, we hope to better understand and address the disparities AANHPI communities experience as we seek to achieve health equity. 

    As an Asian American son of immigrants, I am personally delighted to be part of this effort.  And as a physician and Assistant Secretary for Health, I hope to be part of the solution.  We need better systems of care and wellness that will elevate the public health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, so we can truly eliminate health disparities in this country.

     Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH, is the Assistant Secretary for Health, US Dept. of Health and Human Services

     

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  • Making Government Work Better to Unleash the Ingenuity of the American People

    Posted by Preeta Bansal on May 6, 2011 at 11:08 AM EDT

    As General Counsel & Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) within the Executive Office of the President, I have the privilege of being part of the team charged with implementing a sound fiscal policy for our nation.  The OMB team also plays a central role in the Administration’s efforts to make government work better for people by making it more effective, accountable, efficient, and transparent for the public.  OMB serves as the implementation arm of Presidential policy and priorities government-wide. It’s tasked with overseeing budget development and execution; overseeing agency performance and management goals; coordinating review of all significant Federal regulations; reviewing and clearing all agency communications with Congress (including testimony and draft bills); and coordinating preparation and review of Presidential Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda to agency heads and officials.  

    In addition to my role at OMB, President Obama appointed me to serve as Vice-Chair of the Administrative Conference of the United States, an independent Federal agency designed to leverage the private sector to help make government work better.

    I come to my roles in the Obama Administration with a keen appreciation for the value of effective government, coupled with a strong personal commitment to making sure that government supports, and does not burden, the creativity and ingenuity of the private and nongovernmental sectors so that the talents of all Americans may develop and flourish.  My background has taught me the vices of both unregulated markets (with their health, environmental, and inequitable impacts), and of overly bureaucratic government structures that stifle innovation.  I know that government is at its best when it is effective enough to break down barriers and empower and unleash private energies, without stifling those energies.

    My parents came to this country in the mid-1960s from India and settled in Nebraska.  They sought opportunities that could only be found in this country:  access to remarkable systems of higher education, economic opportunity, and the freedom to imagine their own lives.  They left a society which, at the time, was highly regulated and not terribly innovative.  They were drawn to the American spirit, and with good reason.  Both parents built their careers as dedicated public servants in Nebraska.  And my mother found in this country the freedom to be a professional woman, as well as a devoted wife and mother.

    As the East rises and our global economy continues to evolve, I maintain a strong belief that the world needs America's leadership and values -- its strong commitment to economic mobility and opportunity for all; democracy; freedom of speech, religion and belief and other constitutional freedoms; and the rule of law.  I have worked in the public and private sectors -- in state government (as Solicitor General of the State of New York), in the federal government (as a law clerk to a United States Supreme Court Justice and as an attorney in the Department of Justice), and as a partner at major New York-based law firm -- in support of these American values.  I served on and chaired the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in support of these values abroad.

    And so I am especially pleased to be part of President Obama's team and to have the privilege of participating in key policy initiatives of this Administration.  I and the OMB team worked with the White House Council on Women and Girls and the Department of Commerce to create Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being, the first statistical portrait of the status of American women produced by the White House in many decades (in 1963, Eleanor Roosevelt chaired a commission that produced a report on American women for President Kennedy).  Along with Josh DuBois, I co-chair the Interagency Working Group on Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Partnerships to help ensure that agencies' policies that have implications for faith-based and other neighborhood organizations are consistent with the  fundamental principles set forth by President Obama.  I work on policy initiatives on financial regulatory reform, health care implementation, cybersecurity and privacy, and in the area of national security.  And I helped prepare the Executive Order (among many others) that established the President's Advisory Commission and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

    As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, let us redouble our efforts to make our government work better -- to help America remain the innovative, free, and prosperous nation that drew our families and predecessors.  Together, we can help ensure that America wins the future, and that our nation's values continue to lead the world by example.

    Preeta Bansal is General Counsel & Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Management & Budget.

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