Good morning, and welcome to The Yappie’s AAPI politics briefing — your guide to the policy news and activism affecting Asian Americans + Pacific Islanders. Send tips and feedback to [email protected] and support our work by making a donation.
— Edited by Shawna Chen
The Biden Era
WHITE HOUSE PURSUES NATIONAL STRATEGY TO COUNTER ISLAMOPHOBIA: The Biden administration announced last week that it will collaborate with lawmakers, community leaders, and advocacy groups to develop the nation’s first-ever federal initiative to combat Islamophobia.
- A joint effort by the U.S. Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council, the strategy will aim to develop tangible steps for combating violence and discrimination against Muslims as well as people racialized as Muslim.
- The announcement—part of President Joe Biden’s directive to establish an interagency group to better coordinate government efforts against Islamophobia, antisemitism, and related forms of bias—comes amid a surge in hate incidents following the Israel-Hamas war, including the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian American boy in the Chicago area.
- “For too long, Muslims in America, and those perceived to be Muslim, such as Arabs and Sikhs, have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks and other discriminatory incidents,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a release.
- Many Muslim Americans, however, have expressed skepticism and even anger at the news, pointing to the U.S.’s military assistance to the Israeli government despite an increasing number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza.
- “Ending U.S. support for the Israeli government’s bombardment of Gaza is critical to both saving lives there and reducing the threat of Islamophobia here at home,” Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. “Nothing is more important to the American Muslim community at this moment than a ceasefire, and nothing will be more impactful in the fight against surging Islamophobia.”
DEVELOPING—BOYCOTTING WHITE HOUSE’S DIWALI PARTY: Sikh Canadian poet Rupi Kaur said Monday that she has rejected the Biden administration’s invite to its high-profile Diwali celebration out of protest over the U.S.’s role in “funding the bombardment of Gaza.”
- In her words: “I'm surprised this administration finds it acceptable to celebrate Diwali, when their support of the current atrocities against Palestinians represent the exact opposite of what this holiday means to many of us," she wrote in a statement posted on social media.
- “I refuse any invitation from an institution that supports the collective punishment of a trapped civilian population,” she added, urging other South Asians to do the same.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO PRIVATE MEDICARE PLANS AIM TO STREAMLINE USE OF BENEFITS: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is soliciting comment on proposed rule changes which it says bolster access to health services for people who get coverage through private Medicare insurance plans, especially seniors.
- The changes are designed to give seniors faster access to some lower-cost drugs, require networks to include behavioral health providers, and tighten limits around broker compensation so brokers aren’t as easily incentivized to simply promote large plans.
- The rule, if finalized, would also increase transparency around how to use extra benefits, such as eye exams and dental care, according to HHS officials. It’s now subject to a 60-day comment period.
- Of note: Asian, Black, and Latino beneficiaries overall are significantly more likely than white beneficiaries to choose Medicare Advantage plans, according to research published earlier this year by the health insurer-funded nonprofit Better Medicare Alliance. Some of these plans have taken a culturally targeted approach by offering coverage for Eastern medicines and treatments, Stephanie Stephens reports for California Healthline.
On The Hill
DISAGGREGATING A MONOLITH OF DATA: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) have reintroduced the All Students Count Act, which aims to disaggregate data collection for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students to better address disparities—including issues like graduation rates, school discipline, and special education.
- The legislation would require the U.S. Department of Education, school districts, and state agencies to collect and report disaggregated data from at least 15 distinct Asian American subgroups and six Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander subgroups. All 21 subgroups are outlined in the bill.
- “In Hawai‘i, we especially understand the importance of diversity and how it impacts the experiences of our communities,” Hirono said in a statement. “Without data disaggregation, it’s harder for our schools to address the unique needs of our students. Every keiki deserves to be seen and supported by our education system.”
- The bill will help “close the education gap in our communities,” Jayapal added. “Our students deserve visibility at all levels.”
PARITY IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION: A new bill sponsored by Hirono and Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i) aims to expand opportunities for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students in disciplines related to food and agriculture sciences.
- The legislation would allow a five-year reauthorization of a federal program that supports food and agriculture sciences at Alaska Native-serving and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.
- The program, which operates out of the Department of Agriculture, would also receive a $5 million increase in authorized funding, which the bill ensures may be used in multi-year grants to reduce administrative burdens.
- A growing necessity: The bill is “especially important for rural and remote areas like Hawaiʻi and Alaska where food costs are higher and fresh produce and food are hard to access,” Tokuda said in a statement. “By increasing educational equity and investing in our students, we are promoting indigenous and traditional farming techniques and systems and providing economic opportunities for the next generation.”
CAUCUSES UNITE TO DENOUNCE “BAD BORDER POLICY”: Rep. Judy Chu (D-California) released a joint statement last week on behalf of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, expressing “strong opposition” to any effort to “appease Republicans with bad border policy attached to critical emergency spending or a continuing resolution.”
- “Republicans cannot move their extreme, cruel, unworkable anti-immigrant agenda through the regular legislative process, so they’re trying to make an end-run around Congress and exploit two foreign wars to force it into law,” the statement read.
- The condemnation—issued with the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Congressional Progressive Caucus—comes after reports of negotiations involving a possible border enforcement add to the Senate’s spending package, which faces an uncertain path in the GOP-controlled House.
Campaign Watch
PROGRESSIVE NATIONAL AAPI GROUP ZEROES IN ON ALASKA: The AAPI Victory Alliance is partnering with local group Rise AAPI Alaska to boost voter turnout in Alaska, whose 40,000 AAPI voters—7.5% of the state’s electorate—could be key in the 2024 elections. AAPI Victory Alliance, a political organization that advocates for progressive values, will provide mentorship, coaching, and technical support for Rise AAPI Alaska to initiate civic engagement activities among local AAPI communities.
- Worth noting: Filipinos in particular have a long history in the state. They first arrived in Alaska on merchant ship crews in 1788, then in waves of permanent and seasonal laborers after 1898, when the U.S. annexed the Philippines. Filipino Alaskan cannery workers later formed the first Filipino-led labor union in the U.S. in 1933.
- Today, Filipinos are the second-largest minority group in the state after Indigenous Alaskans. Even so, the state elected its second Filipino legislator just last year—almost 50 years after Thelma Buchholdt became the U.S.’s first-ever Filipina American state legislator.
- “Our AAPI communities are at an inflection point, and this is the kind of investment that has been needed for years to support civic engagement here,” Alaska state Sen. Scott Kawasaki (D) said in a statement.
BANGLADESH IMMIGRANT EXPECTED TO CLAIM VICTORY IN VIRGINIA SENATE RACE: The odds are in Saddam Salim’s favor. The Democratic candidate has a strong chance of winning the seat to represent the Virginia Senate’s 37th district tonight after scoring an upset in the primary against longtime incumbent J. Chapman Petersen in June.
- First-gen experience: On the campaign trail, Salim spoke about his family’s experience relying on public housing and transit after moving to Virginia due to flooding and drought in Bangladesh in 2000. He campaigned on progressive issues like gun control, reproductive rights, and affordable housing, contrasting with Petersen’s more centrist profile.
- All but confirmed: Salim faces Republican contender Ken Reid in the general election. It’s the first election in the district following rezoning in 2020, but District 34—Petersen’s current district, encompassing Fairfax City and other areas now in District 37—was heavily blue.
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