This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
REMARKS BY: TOMMY G. THOMPSON,SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Washington, D.C. DATE: Nov. 28, 2001
Secretary Mineta, Secretary Chao, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen. good morning. I thank you all for joining us as we formally install the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Let me begin by congratulating the 13 individuals we are here to honor today. All of you are accomplished leaders, in both the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and in your professional fields. You have accepted a great responsibility from the President, and I applaud your willingness to serve.
Your achievements, your experiences and your backgrounds do so much to make your communities stronger, and to make America stronger.
Now is time when the United States must stand strong, as we battle the evils of terrorism in Afghanistan and around the world.
When the terrorists attacked the Pentagon, when they destroyed the World Trade Center, and when they crashed the plane in the fields of Pennsylvania, they targeted Americans.
Their murderous evil made no exceptions for religion, citizenship, or heritage. They did not see the individual faces of Arab-Americans or Asian-Americans or Pacific-Islanders. They saw only Americans..Americans whose freedoms and democratic institutions they hate.
As a nation, we have responded not with hate, but with resolve and unity. Dr. Zachariah, you put it well, after the attacks of September 11. In a statement by the Advisory Commission - and I am grateful the commission spoke up - you said, and I quote, "America has been a beacon to refugees and immigrants for over two centuries because we are a society that values tolerance as a cornerstone of democracy. It is imperative that the events of recent days make all of us reaffirm our commitment to those values of compassion."
Today, that beacon shines right here. You are reaffirming America's commitment to the values of compassion by accepting appointment to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
In that role, you will help us in the Administration make sure our compassion is matched by effective outreach and services. Twelve million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders live in the United States and Pacific Island jurisdictions, building communities that are contributing great things to this nation in culture, science, technology, business and education.
Yet we know that some in your communities face very real challenges. They may find it difficult to locate good-paying jobs, or provide the care they need for their children or elderly parents. The availability of quality healthcare is always an issue.
We must do more to address these needs, to expand opportunity, and increase access to essential services for all Asian and Pacific Americans. We must help people fulfill their potential.
It is this potential that President Bush's Executive Order 13216 seeks to unleash - it is this ideal that exists in the mandates of this Commission - to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
I take great pride that this landmark executive order builds on work in the Department of Health and Human Services, work that aims to address health-care disparities within your communities' populations. Thanks to dedicated public health officials and persistent community advocates, H-H-S took the lead in this field by establishing an Asian American and Pacific Islander Action Agenda.
We realized is that it is not enough to immunize children if their housing is inadequate. We saw that we could help a family receive care at their local community health clinic - but they also needed education and employment opportunities to sustain themselves in the long run. And in the twilight of life, the elderly in this community had just as much need for responsive, high-quality care as we would expect in any other community.
And so, we looked beyond our own programs and services and paved the way for an effort across the entire federal government. The result was creation of a White House Initiative, a President's Advisory Commission, and a federal Interagency Working Group to provide structure, recommendations, and practical plans on how to change the way the federal government reaches out to these diverse communities.
Once again, the Department of Health and Human Services is proud of our role in this effort. We will maintain our commitment to:
improving the quality of research and data collection;
increasing the availability of translation and interpretation services;
providing technical assistance to community-based organizations; and
continuing support for public health education.
But we also assume a greater responsibility as the lead federal agency in coordinating this effort.
Under the chairmanship of Deputy Secretary Claude Allen, the federal Working Group will coordinate with thirty-four departments and agencies to meet the goals of the Executive Order. The Working Group will engage in the comprehensive task of finding out how each agency can better meet the needs of this community.
The Health Resources and Services Administration and its Acting Administrator, Dr. Betty Duke, have provided support and guidance for the Office of the White House Initiative, which will continue to be housed in that agency.
We are enthusiastic about the contributions that office will make to this effort under the able direction of its executive director, John Duong.
And today, I have the honor of adding the final piece of the puzzle with the swearing-in of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and repeat after me:
I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely; without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
Congratulations, Commissioners..Chairman Tsu. Today I am reminded of President Bush's inaugural address, where he offered his vision for this nation. On that blustery January day, the President spoke of "the story of America - a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals. The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant person was ever born."
And today, with all of you, sharing a commitment to service, we are seeing that story told again, the story of the unfolding American promise, and grand enduring ideals.
Once again, I sincerely thank you for your accepting the responsibilities of public service. I am very enthusiastic about the partnership we will forge in the years ahead, and I look forward to working with each of you as we continue making strides for our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.