White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

EXECUTIVE ORDER
INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF ASIAN AMERICANS
AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS

By the authority vested in me as President by theConstitution and the laws of the United States of America,it is hereby ordered as follows:

The more than 16 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) across our country havehelped build a strong and vibrant America. The AAPI communities represent many ethnicities and languages that span generations,and their shared achievements are an important part of theAmerican experience. They have started businesses and generatedjobs, including founding some of our Nation’s most successfuland innovative enterprises. The AAPI communities have made important contributions to science and technology, cultureand the arts, and the professions, including business, law,medicine, education, and politics.

While we acknowledge the many contributions of the AAPIcommunities to our Nation, we also recognize the challengesstill faced by many AAPIs. Of the more than a million AAPI-owned businesses, many firms are small sole-proprietorshipsthat continue to need assistance to access available resources such as business development counseling and small businessloans. The AAPI community also continues to face barriers toemployment and workplace advancement. Specific challengesexperienced by AAPI subgroups include lower college-enrollmentrates by Pacific Islanders than other ethnic groups and highpoverty rates among Hmong Americans, Cambodian Americans,Malaysian Americans, and other individual AAPI communities.Additionally, one in five non-elderly AAPIs lacks healthinsurance.

The purpose of this order is to establish a President’sAdvisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islandersand a White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Each will work to improve the quality of life andopportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders throughincreased access to, and participation in, Federal programs inwhich they may be underserved. In addition, each will work toadvance relevant evidence-based research, data collection, andanalysis for AAPI populations and subpopulations.

There is established the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (Initiative), a Federal interagency working group whose membersshall be selected by their respective agencies. The Secretaryof Commerce and the Secretary of Education shall serve as theCo-Chairs of the Initiative. The Executive Director of the Commission established in section 2 of this order shall also serve as the Executive Director of the Initiative and shall report to the Secretaries on Initiative matters.

BARACK OBAMA