A national advocacy group pressed President Joe Biden to revamp the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) by executive order on Wednesday, citing urgency around numerous crises that continue to ravage AAPI communities.
- Proposed reforms: In a five-page memo addressed to senior administration staff and reviewed by The Yappie, AAPI Progressive Action called on Biden to recognize AAPIs’ diverse needs and made recommendations to strengthen the office, which is charged with improving AAPI access to and participation in federal programs.
- Expanded priorities: The memo asks the White House to broaden WHIAAPI’s scope to “meet the needs and challenges facing the AAPI community today,” including health and economic disparities, discrimination, poverty, unempoyment, and racism. The changes would build upon a previous Obama-era executive order and represent a departure from the Trump administration, which narrowed the initiative’s focus to mainly business and economic issues in 2019.
- "The pandemic has had a significant health and economic impact on Asian Americans and led to a disturbing increase in violence directed at our community," said Chris Lu, a former WHIAAPI co-chair and White House Cabinet secretary. "A reinvigorated WHIAAPI is needed to highlight and address these critical issues."
- Structural changes: The memo recommends that WHIAAPI be co-chaired by the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and a “key agency secretary.” Neera Tanden, a prominent Indian American political consultant, would serve as OMB director if confirmed by the Senate. 20 commissioners would also make up the initiative under AAPI Progressive Action’s proposal “with the ability to add more as needed.”
- Staff: The memo further pushes for the placement of staff within a “centrally delegated authority” inside the White House or Eisenhower Executive Office Building to “ensure effective coordination.” WHIAAPI has previously been housed within the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Commerce.
- Bottom line: “We urge a deeper and bolder commitment to elevating AAPI success, issues, and racial disparities than in past Administrations,” the document reads.
- Why this matters: During the 2020 campaign, Biden pledged to build upon the work of President Obama's WHIAAPI and the Pacific Island Task Force "to ensure that federal agencies are considering the AAPI community in the design and implementation of federal programs."
- But Biden faced early criticism from activists in January after his administration became the first in 20 years without an AAPI Cabinet secretary. The AAPI community has played pivotal roles in the last year, working on the front lines as essential workers and swinging elections—all while facing anti-Asian harassment and violence.
- AAPI Progressive Action was founded in 2017 by Tung Nguyen, who led Obama’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs, along with other former WHIAAPI commissioners. The memo received input from former executive directors and co-chairs of WHIAAPI from previous Democratic administrations.
