LIVE: CAPAC Members and House Democrat Leader Celebrate Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us. I'm Congressmember Judy Chu and I serve as chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus or what we call CAPAC. I want to thank all the CAPAC members who are here with us today to kick off Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander or AANHPI Heritage Month. During this press conference you will hear from many of our CAPAC leaders who work tirelessly every day in the halls of Congress to advance the needs of AANHPIs across the country. Today AANHPIs represent over 23 million people and we are the fastest growing racial or ethnic group nationwide over this past decade. We strengthen this nation every day as healthcare workers, entrepreneurs, teachers, scientists, artists, athletes, military service members, public servants, and more. Let me be clear, America has always been made stronger by the contributions of our AANHPI communities and our histories, cultures, and experiences are deeply woven into the fabric and history of our nation. Over 150 years ago Chinese railroad workers built our nation's first continental railroad. A hundred years ago Native Hawaiian women such as Wilhelmina Dowsett and Emma Nakuina led the way for women's suffrage in Hawaii. And over 50 years ago Indian American farmer and county judge Dalip Singh Sound became the first Asian American ever elected to Congress. And Filipino American organizer Larry Itliong and Philip Veracruz fought to ensure that all American farm workers have labor rights and Asian American families in San Francisco successfully secured expanded rights for students with limited English proficiency in the Supreme Court's Lau versus Nickel decision. We in CAPAC stand on the shoulders of all these extraordinary trailblazers who highlight how AANHPI history truly is American history. As chair of CAPAC, I'm thrilled that again we have a historic 21 AANHPI members in the 180th Congress and in total we have 76 members of CAPAC advocating for our communities across the nation. And I'm so proud to follow in the footsteps of leaders like Norm Mineta, Robert Underwood, and Patsy Mink in leading this caucus. This has been able enabled us to leverage the power of our AANHPI community on Capitol Hill for 30 years. And in fact our 30th anniversary is in just a few weeks on May 16th. And our power has grown immensely since CAPAC's inception. Just in the past few years we have achieved many major accomplishments to address the scourge of anti-Asian hate. We not only got past the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and the AAPI Museum Study Bill, but got them signed into law by President Biden. We pushed back against the racial profiling of Chinese scientists and ended the China Initiative, a Trump-era Department of Justice program that was targeting Chinese researchers. And just this year we successfully stopped Republican efforts to revive it. Our members will always use a seat at the table to push for the rights and needs of our community. The AANHPI community is comprised of over 70 racial and ethnic groups that speak over 100 languages, each with our unique stories. So our community's needs are also remarkably diverse. And that is why it was such a major win for our caucus and indeed all of our AANHPI communities last month when the Office of Management and Budget published revisions to the Federal Minimum Data Standards for Race and Ethnicity that increases the disaggregation of AANHPI data across every single federal government for their collection and reporting. This is a once-in-a-generation breakthrough for our communities earned after years of tireless advocacy by community organizations and we look forward to working with our partners in the Biden-Harris administration to ensure timely compliance. KPAC was only able to deliver these wins because AANHPIs have a seat at the table in Congress where these decisions are being made and with the steadfast partnerships of our community advocates. At the same time, there's so much more work left to be done. We must remain vigilant in combating ongoing anti-Asian hate and rhetoric, protecting diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives and affirmative action, achieving health equity, advancing economic justice, addressing unique challenges faced by the NHPI communities, and expanding language access in federal programs, just to name a few of the issues. So today as we kick off AANHPI Heritage Month, I encourage you to hear from our members about the most pressing issues that our communities are facing. So now I'd like to introduce our KPAC's Healthcare Task Force Co-Chair. He has to run off to a hearing so I want him to go first and that is Congress Member Ami Berra. Happy AANHPI Heritage Month. That's a mouthful but it's important because that just demonstrates the broad diversity of our community. I'm proud to be one of the executive members of KPAC and also serve on the Healthcare Task Force as Co-Chair. As a doctor, this is a time for us to celebrate the rich diversity but to understand, as Chairwoman Chu said, how diverse the AANHPI community is. 70 different languages, cultures, traditions, and in the healthcare space when we see these patients, we need to understand that diversity. We need to make sure we're culturally sensitive, that we're providing information and data and meeting our patients where they are. That's why I want to applaud the Department of Health and Human Services and our good friend Secretary Becerra for releasing an updated department-wide language access plan that seeks to address these language barriers and continues to strengthen language access. We all look forward to working with the department to implement this plan to ensure our communities are being served regardless of their level of English proficiency. We know that there's much more to do in terms of including the diverse AANHPI community in clinical trials and making sure that we're meeting them where they are in addressing the unique healthcare concerns of those communities. And we look forward to working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Biden administration to continue to make sure all of our community has access to healthcare that is affordable and culturally sensitive. So thank you. Thank you for your leadership, Congresswoman Chu. Thank you. Thank you, Congressmember Berra. And now I'd like to welcome our House Democratic Caucus Chair and KPAC Associate Member Pete Aguilar. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I want to acknowledge and welcome everyone to the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month. It's an honor to be here and to also lift up Judy Chu's leadership as such an important member of the Democratic Caucus in her role as KPAC Chair. She's a dedicated public servant who brings wisdom and knowledge on these issues and the passion that we know it takes in order to lead an organization like this. And she's joined by the Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, Ted Lieu, who are always amazing advocates for the caucus and our communities. The theme of AANHPI Heritage Month is Advancing Leaders Through Innovation. It inspires us to continue elevating members from communities, their voices and perspectives, and the decisions that are made being made here in the Capitol. Today, I'm proud to stand by the largest coalition of AANHPI members of Congress in our history. As a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I'm also excited to celebrate KPAC's 30th anniversary as well. Since its creation, KPAC has successfully fought to increase the members and the numbers of AANHPI representation in Congress, reaching the record numbers that we have today. But we know our work is not done. We still need to work to keep our communities safe, to forge a more equitable and inclusive future across the country, and to make sure that these halls of Congress look like the communities in which we serve. We have an amazing lineup of speakers for you to hear from today who are all delivering on this promise. Thank you so much. Thank you, Judy. Thank you. And now I'd like to introduce KPAC's first Vice Chair, Congressmember Grace Meng. Happy AANHPI Heritage Month, everyone. I also want to thank our awesome Chairwoman Judy Chu for her steadfast leadership, and also recognize and applaud all of my KPAC colleagues for their tremendous work on behalf of our collective community. Every year during the month of May, we celebrate the many ways in which Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have helped make the U.S. into the country it is today. Although many of us also commemorate this month outside of the month of May, I'm grateful to take this time to highlight our many achievements and contributions. I'm proud to be leading the effort to create a national museum in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the history, cultures, and accomplishments of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The process to establish this museum began in 2015 when I first introduced legislation to establish a commission to study the creation of a museum. In 2022, I stood by President Biden's side with many of my colleagues here today, and of course our Senate sponsor, Mazie Hirono, to sign our National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Study Bill into law. And this was our first step to creating this first ever national museum as part of the Smithsonian Institution that will preserve and celebrate all of our histories and cultures. I look forward to the day when we can take our kids and grandkids to a Smithsonian Museum that celebrates our cultures and heritage, because AANHPI history is American history also. Thank you. Please join me in welcoming CAPAC's Immigration Task Force Co-Chair, Congressmember Pramila Jayapal. Thank you so much to our wonderful CAPAC Chair, Judy Chu, for your incredible leadership, and happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We are just so delighted to be here. I'm so proud to be an executive member of CAPAC and also to serve as CAPAC's Immigration Task Force Co-Chair, as well as the top Democrat, the ranking member on the House Immigration Subcommittee, the first naturalized citizen to serve as either ranking member or chair of that subcommittee. For many of us here today, myself included, our stories, our grandparents' stories began with a search for a better life in the United States, and America has thrived with thanks to the hard work, the ingenuity, the entrepreneurship, and the patriotism of AANHPI and immigrant families. From Chinese laborers who helped build the first transcontinental railroad, to Filipino farm workers who revolutionized the labor movement, to Southeast Asian refugees who fled genocide and war-torn countries to seek a better life, to the Indian American, now Indian American woman in Congress who came here at 16 because the opportunities and the education were so tremendous here in this country. The rich heritage of Asian immigrants is inextricably woven into the fabric of our nation, but instead of embracing that rich heritage of immigrants or recognizing the tremendous contributions of immigrants every single day, strengthening our economy, politicians continue to demonize immigrants, for Asian immigrants in particular, treating us like eternal foreigners, using us as political pawns to gain votes through fear-mongering and anti-Asian hate. At the same time, ongoing visa family backlogs continue to keep millions of families apart, and massive green card backlogs bar immigrants, in particular Indian and Chinese immigrants, from getting on a roadmap to citizenship. That terrible reality will continue unless the immigration system, which has not seen meaningful change in 30 years, is comprehensively reformed. Democrats have a plan to do that. We have passed many bipartisan bills that focus on comprehensive humane immigration reform, and the reality is we will not let up until we get those bills passed. That's why I'm proud to join members of CAPAC in taking important steps to bring dignity to immigrant families and children through legislation, and to work with our president, President Biden, to address as much as possible, including the visa backlogs that keep families apart. We have a responsibility to treat all people with dignity and fairness, and family reunification is a key part of comprehensive immigration reform, reform that CAPAC will continue to champion. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And now let's hear from our CAPAC Health Care Task Force Co-Chair, Congressmember Barbara Lee. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Let me first say thank you to our Chair, Representative Judy Chu, for her tremendous leadership of this caucus on so many issues of importance to not only the AA and NHPI community, but to the entire country. And I just want to say to Congresswoman Chu and to our members here, I had the privilege of working for a great member of Congress, Ron Dellums, for many years. I got a chance to know Chairman Norm Mineta very well. And I just have to say to all of you that not only do I see the goals of CAPAC being achieved, but his vision and his dreams and his aspirations. And so just congratulations. It is just an honor to serve as Co-Chair Health Task Force with Ami Barra. And I'm so proud to join my colleagues today across the country celebrating AA and NHPI Heritage Month. Every day I see the critical role that this community plays in building and enriching my community back home in the East Bay and right here in Congress. But this month is just not about lifting up AA and NHPI contributions and culture. It's elevating the disparities and the needs and the aspirations faced by the AA and NHPI community so that we can better address them. The AA and NHPI community still face high barriers to affordable quality health care. And I think we saw this during the height of COVID. And I want to thank this caucus for joining with myself in the Tri-Caucus and leading the effort to target resources into community clinics, into the AA and NHPI community. And it truly made a difference. As Co-Chair Health Task Force of the Health Task Force, I want to just mention our bill. We're advancing equity and it's a cornerstone of this caucus as it relates to also working with the Tri-Caucus. It's a health equity amendment and ensure low-income women and women of color can access abortions. And also I just want to recognize our chair who is the author, the principal sponsor of the Women's Health Protection Act, which would put into federal law the right to an abortion and much more. These are just a few of the policies that would change lives in AA and NHPI communities and across the nation. And with the help of our advocates and partners, and I want to thank them so much for being the wind beneath our wings, have been phenomenal in working with our caucus on the inside and providing the strategic alliance and necessary push from the outside. I know that together we can create a truly just health care system and all. So I just want to thank everyone and a happy AA and NHPI Heritage Month. And I'll turn now over, back over to our phenomenal chair. Thank you so much, Congressman Lee. And now we would want to hear from our KPAC whip and also the co-chair of the Democratic Caucus, oh actually the vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, and our chair of the Task Force on Veterans and Armed Services. That's Ted Lieu. Thank you, Chairwoman Chu, for your leadership and happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. When we look at the AA and NHPI community, there's both good news and bad news. So I'm going to start with the bad news first. During the pandemic, there was a shocking rise in hate crimes against the AA and NHPI community. That certainly was not helped when the former President Donald Trump made racist phrases like Kung Flu. He also told minority members of Congress to go back to our countries. And he continues to mock the community by making fun of Elaine Chao's name. When Donald Trump makes fun of the name of an AA and NHPI member, he is mocking and disrespecting the community. We're all Americans, even though some of us may have unusual names. And I urge Donald Trump to stop disrespecting the AA and NHPI community. Now the good news is President Biden respects all Americans, including the AA and NHPI community. He signed the bill authored by Grace Meng and co-authored by Judy Hsu and many others to combat hate crimes during COVID-19 against the AA and NHPI community. He has also issued executive orders to combat hate crimes against all Americans, including the AA and NHPI community. And on another note, the U.S. Census reports that the AA and NHPI community is the fastest growing community in the United States. The population has more than doubled in size since 2000. Now back to my script. I just want to note that as a veteran, I'm pleased to serve as CAPAC's chair of the Veterans and Armed Services Task Force. And I note that during World War II, over 100,000 Japanese Americans were wrongfully interned because of their ethnicity. And at the same time, none of them served in our military. For example, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team fought in World War II. They became the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of the U.S. military. That's one example of the bravery of the AA and NHPI community. They and all veterans deserve the benefits that our VA can offer them. And I want to, again, wish everybody a happy AA and NHPI Heritage Month. Thank you, Congressmember Liu. And now, please welcome CAPAC's freshman representative and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Task Force co-chair, Congressmember Jill Takuda. Thank you, Judy. Aloha. Konnichiwa, mensore and haitai. Happy AA and NHPI Heritage Month, or Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Month. That is a mouthful, but we are worth absolutely every single breath you have to take to say our name and to recognize us. And again, also, as you've heard over and over, congratulations to CAPAC on 30 amazing, amazing years. As a yonsei of Okinawan descent and the representative of a district that has the most NHPI population in the country, every single month for me is AA and NHPI Heritage Month. We are the fastest growing population, as you've heard today, in the United States, 7% and growing. Total population of the United States, 7% look like us. We represent 70 ethnicities. We speak over 100 different languages and dialects. We are a diverse diaspora. And while that diversity is our strength, it's our superpower, I would say, it has also been, quite frankly, one of our greatest challenges. Too often, as you've heard today and we've talked about time and time again, we are lumped together as one monolithic group, forced to choose on a piece of paper, on a survey, Asian or Pacific Islander, or even worse, other. We are more than other. That's why CAPAC, as you've heard today, has pushed so hard to make sure that the data that government receives is disaggregated so our people and our communities can truly be seen. Without disaggregated data, our people have been and will be left behind. When you look at the persistent inequities we face, economic and health disparities that we live with, income and, you know, opportunities, gaps that we experience, these are all the devastating byproducts of being all lumped together, failing to see us for who we truly are and address our unique needs and challenges, as Ami said, meeting us where we are at. And so it was a great accomplishment for us to finally get OMB to pass the data disaggregation it did in SPD 15. And while that's an amazing start, it is just not a start. We have to do more so that at the end of the day, we can all truly be seen. I want to close with a little personal, you know, aside and story. Just last week, I was able to go to Maui High School, where in front of hundreds of young Maui High School students, I was able to sit and present to them one of our newest quarters in our collection. And who knows who's on that quarter? Patsy Takemoto Mink. Hundreds of students for the first time will now be able to get change at a store, pull something out of their wallet and see themselves, see a champion. You know, I reminded them when I was growing up, no one on our currency, definitely no one in these buildings here look like us. Now, thanks to K-PAC's amazing advocacy, the strength of so many leaders, we have changed that tide. And now when our children look down at the no small change in their hands, when they look to the halls of Congress, they look at the people that are making life and death decisions for them, they see themselves. So congratulations again to K-PAC for 30 amazing years and I cannot wait to see where we go in the next 30. Mahalo everyone. And now our K-PAC's Housing Task Force Chair, Congressmember Al Green. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. It is a preeminent privilege to be with you at any time. And this is a special occasion, the AANHPI Heritage Month. And it is also a special time because it affords us an opportunity to explain some things that people don't have an opportunity to comprehend in what we will call our everyday lives. Let me start with this. Our chairwoman has served us with dignity, respect, and she has made a difference in the lives of people. And for this, I think we should give her a very special expression of appreciation. Madam Chair, thank you, thank you, thank you. I would also like to thank all of the other members who are here. This entity, our caucus, is probably as diversified as any caucus in Congress. Looking at me, you might think that I am Asian American, or you might think that I'm Native American, or you might think that I'm from Pakistan. Well, the truth is, nobody knows. So I get to belong to all of the various caucuses. But in being the housing chairperson, it is important for us to recognize that housing is an issue for Asian Americans. Beyond the typical issues that we think of, the issues associated with affordability, issues associated with having the opportunity to have the job so that you can acquire the funds to purchase a home. It's also a concern for Asian Americans, because in Texas and other states, there have been efforts to pass laws, and in some states have succeeded, laws that would not allow persons to purchase property because of a lack of citizenship. These citizenship laws related to the purchase of property are absolutely discriminatory. They are invidiously discriminatory, I mean, very harmful with their discrimination. And we in Texas fought this. We were very fortunate to have a chairwoman who would traverse some great distance to come to Texas and be a part of the fight in Texas. And I want you to know that with her help, we were able to thwart the efforts in the statehouse in Texas of passing a law that would require land to be purchased based upon one's citizenship, which I think merits another expression of appreciation for my chairwoman. Would you give her another hand, please? Finally, Chairwoman, I want to acknowledge you and the organization for what happened when we went to Georgia. Many of you can recall that in March of 2021, a dastardly deed was perpetrated upon eight people, six of whom were Asian women, lost their lives. Our chairwoman traversed some great distance to make sure that she was there to get a firsthand account, firsthand accounting of what actually happened to those persons in Georgia. And it was very sad. It was heart-wrenching. It was something that shouldn't have happened. And we have to do all that we can to prevent it from happening again. Again, Madam Chair, thank you for what you did. I was honored to have the opportunity to serve with you and travel with you. Finally, this, I serve a district that is very diverse. It is a polyglot district. We have more than 80 different languages being spoken in my congressional district. In my congressional district, the ballot is printed in four languages, English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and we say Chinese, but we got it printed in four different languages. Friends, I think that this is America's future. The future of America is what we look like here today. The future of America includes a much larger Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander population. The future of America is going to be one that is polyglot. It's going to be one that allows for people, regardless as to where you're from, to have an opportunity to have a better life in the United States of America. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I thank all of my colleagues. Thank you. And now, let's welcome CAPAC's Economic Development Task Force Chair, Congressmember Ro Khanna. Thank you, Chairwoman Judy Cho, and I want to join all of my colleagues in praising your exceptional leadership. You know, I've been in Congress now eight years, and I've seen under your hard work and your leadership how you have grown CAPAC, made it a stronger caucus, and have it have such a profound impact in the House Democratic Caucus. So, thank you for your leadership. I want to wish everyone a happy AANHPI Heritage Month. You know, they keep adding letters to the month, and here's what I would say. It reflects a fundamental difference in philosophy. You see, we Democrats, we believe in more inclusion. The other side believes in exclusion. We try to include more people, they try to exclude people, and that, in my view, is really the central difference in philosophies in this country. I'm proud to represent the only Asian American majority district in the continental United States, and I'm very proud of my district. We have $10 trillion of value, Apple, Google, Intel, NVIDIA, Tesla, all in the district, an extraordinary amount of startups leading the world in AI and next-generation technology. But we also have divides, and I was very surprised to learn, actually, during COVID, because of CAPAC, that only 53% of Asian Americans are connected to the internet. There is a huge digital divide. This president, President Biden, with CAPAC and others, passed this program. It's called the ACP, the Affordable Connectivity Program. Not many people have heard of it, but it makes a huge difference. For 23 million Americans, they're getting $30 in their wallets to be able to pay to afford internet service, and that program is going to be discontinued this month because of the Republican Congress. We need to extend that program for seniors, for rural Americans, for low-income Americans, for our students. We need to make sure that they continue to get the $30 a month so that they can afford internet services, and I look forward to working on that with you, Chairwoman Chu and CAPAC, to making that a so we can extend the ACP program. Thank you. Thank you so much, Congressmember Kana. And last, but certainly not least, is CAPAC's Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Task Force Co-Chair, Congressmember Kalili Sablan. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. My name is Gregorio Kalili Kamatsu Sablan, and as a delegate for the Northern Marianas, I actually represent the fewer, I represent fewer people than any other member of Congress. I have that distinction. But so when I arrived here 16 years ago, a wise man advised me to join CAPAC. Strength in numbers, he said. The caucus itself was a much smaller number then, but thanks to the leadership of Chairwoman Judy Chu, the number of the caucus has grown and continues to grow. Just as the political engagement and influence of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders nationwide continues to grow. One reason for this growing influence is our focus on empowerment through education, especially by supporting AAN anaposes, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander serving institutions of higher learning. AAN anaposes serve more than 40% of all Asian American Pacific Islander students. It helps ensure that these students, who often come from low income, first generation families, have full access to higher education opportunities. But AAN anaposes are underfunded compared to other minority serving institutions, which is why I introduced the AAN Anaposes Opportunity Act as one step forward toward parity. The bill creates a program, a grant program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support agricultural research and provide scholarships for students at AAN anaposes. I want to thank my CAPAC colleagues and my friends in the Hispanic and Black caucus, too, for their support of the AAN Anaposes Opportunity Act. We're all invested in making sure every American has an opportunity to succeed. Thank you very much. It's been a wonderful 16 years and this is my last year. I'm actually going to go home and spend time with my family, my wife and our dog, and do volunteer work in education primarily. So it's been wonderful. Judy, Madam Chair, Asim, when I got here, none of you were here when I got here, but it's grown. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, thank you, Congressmember Sablan. You've been a member of CAPAC all this time and we just really, really appreciate your loyalty to CAPAC and we will miss you. So this was an amazing group of speakers, but this does end our press conference. So I know that we're all available for individual interviews if you so desire. Thank you and the press conference is now ended. Thank you. Wonderful remarks. We're there to support the next, whoever you say.