OAKLAND, Calif. –– Completing an exhausting fact-finding tour of the country, the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) prepared for its final session last week at a pre-meeting cocktail reception in Oakland Chinatown. The commission was created and charged by President Bush to gather and organize information on the Asian American community, with an emphasis on economic development potential, and present a report to him and the nation.
The advisory board’s 14 members were appointed by President Bush in July 2004. Their mission by executive order is to develop, monitor and coordinate federal efforts to improve APA participation in government programs; foster research and data on APA businesses; and increase APA levels of participation in the national and local economies. For the past half year, the commission has been holding hearings throughout the United States to gather such information and has visited many different cities.
“We’re tired but very satisfied after a very long road trip,” said Commissioner Nina Collier, “but extraordinarily excited at the prospect of being on the cusp of being able to roll out the first draft of this important report on our community. It covers a wide variety of topics about our community, with an emphasis on business development, but something about putting it on paper gives it more value.”
In addition to economic development, the report will also have a small but very significant sub-chapter on APA health issues.
“Clearly the President wants to unleash the vitality and dynamism of our community on all levels, particularly in the field of business,” said Board member Dr. A.K. Desai of Florida, “but the report will also show that in certain areas of health, the country needs to respond with the same amount of vigor to our community as it does with mainstream America. For example, the number of APAs with depression, diabetes and heart disease is growing, but because it is not considered a traditional illness for our country, we’re not getting the same amount of resources to combat them.”
The report is planned to be presented to the President and the country early next year.