|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Remarks Delivered by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Asian American Engineer of the Year Award Reception/Dinner
Washington, D.C.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thank you, Dr. Chang [Francis H. Chang, PhD PEng, Chairman, CIE-USA National Council].
It's also good to see Mr. Ben Cheng here. I enjoyed participating in the Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE) event in September 2006 in New York.
Let me also acknowledge Susan Au Allen, President of the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce.
And congratulations to the 2007 Distinguished Science and Technology Awards recipients, Dr. Taylor Wang, the first Asian American astronaut scientist; and Dr. James Wei, former Dean of Engineering at Princeton University. Congratulations to the Lifetime Achievement Awards recipients, Mr. Norm Mineta, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation; and Mr. Sam Araki, retired President of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Company.
Congratulations also to the recipient of the Distinguished International Services Award, Dr. Hwa-Nien Yu and to the 12 recipients of the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award.
And, finally, it is wonderful to see the middle school students from Kutztown Area Middle School — our future engineers — here with your parents and teachers! These students are National Finalists of the 2007 Future City Competition. Congratulations!
Tonight, I'd like to talk a little about the state of our nation's economy, what the Department of Labor has done to advance opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans, and then share some observations about opportunities in our country today.
Today, America's economy is healthy and resilient. It is one of the fastest growing among the large industrialized nations, with a 3.1 percent GDP growth rate in 2006. Recently, we saw the rippling effects of the growing integration of the worldwide economy and the strong resiliency of United States financial markets and economy.
Our country's unemployment rate remains low at 4.5 percent. That's more than a full percentage point lower than the average 5.7 percent unemployment rate of the 1990s. You can contrast this with Europe, where France and Germany have unemployment rates near 9 percent. And their long-term unemployment is three times higher than the United States.
Our economy has created 7.6 million net new jobs since August 2003. That's more jobs than the European Union and Japan combined have created. Furthermore, recent revisions to the payroll employment survey show that our country actually created one million more jobs over the past two years than had previously been estimated.
America's workforce is also characterized by its flexibility and mobility. That's important because our country is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy.
But the challenge facing our country is a skills gap. Two-thirds of all the new jobs being created require higher skills and more education. By definition, these jobs pay above-average wages. But workers will require postsecondary education to access these opportunities. Over the decade ending 2014, for example, the U.S. will need over 900,000 engineers, including aerospace, biomedical, civil, computer software, and environmental engineers. And according to the latest National Science Foundation report, fewer than 5 percent of all undergraduate degrees awarded in the U.S. each year are engineering degrees. This compares to almost 20 percent in Germany and Japan, over 25 percent in South Korea, and almost 40 percent in China.
Other high-growth fields include geospatial technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and advanced manufacturing.
These trends represent a promising opportunity for the Asian Pacific American community, which places tremendous value on education. President George W. Bush appreciates and shares the values of our community. He has appointed a record number of more than 400 Asian Americans to the senior most positions in the federal government.
The President has assembled one of the most diverse Cabinets in our nation's history. And in an historic move at the beginning of his Administration, he appointed two Asian Pacific Americans to serve in his Cabinet at the same time, including one of your distinguished awardees, the Hon. Norm Mineta, as U.S. Transportation Secretary.
And the Department of Labor has the highest number of Asian Pacific American appointees of the federal Cabinets. Since 2001, the Labor Department has been committed to helping the Asian American community — and other traditionally underserved communities — access opportunity in mainstream America. Let me mention just a few of the initiatives that we have launched.
For the first time, in 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is a part of the U. S. Department of Labor, began to track the employment patterns of Asian Pacific American in separate categories. That's how we now know that the unemployment rate for Asian Pacific Americans is 2.7 percent.
This Administration has also made a special effort to target enforcement of our nation's wage and hour laws on industries that employ large numbers of vulnerable, immigrant workers. In 2006, the Department recovered nearly $172 million for over 246,000 employees who did not receive the wages they were due. This represents a 30 percent increase since 2001.
The Department has also posted record results in enforcing equal opportunity rights for employees of federal contractors — with an increase in financial recoveries of nearly 80% since 2001.
And since FY 2001, the Department achieved monetary results of more than $7.8 billion for employee benefit plans, workers, and retirees.
Also, because the labor laws of our country are complex and often difficult to understand, the Department has translated labor law materials into multiple languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.
To help Asian Pacific Americans to access mainstream opportunities, the Department launched an annual Opportunity Conference in 2002. This year, the event was in Philadelphia in October with over 1,000 people participating. These conferences are free. They include workshops on small business development, accessing capital — an important concern for budding entrepreneurs — as well as government grant and contracting opportunities, and networking and communications.
To help Asian Pacific Americans advance in executive positions within the federal government, the Department has hosted for five years now an annual Asian Pacific American Federal Career Advancement Summit with many workshops and outside speakers.
And the Department also started a summer internship program, which many Asian American young people have attended. These internships are paid positions that can help develop the next generation of young people for our community.
These are just a few examples of the programs the Department has launched to help the Asian Pacific American community access greater opportunities in mainstream America. As Secretary of Labor, helping the Asian Pacific American community advance within mainstream America is one of my highest priorities.
When my family and I arrived in New York City in 1960's, there were very few Americans of Asian descent in our community. Today, Asian Pacific Americans are one of the fastest growing segments of our society. And America is much more diverse. Diversity is a core strength of our country and much sought after by employers who want to successfully compete in the worldwide economy.
There are so many opportunities in this country, especially for the young people in our community. So many Asian Pacific American parents have sacrificed so much for their family to give their children a better life in this country. Many have endured much suffering to come to a new country, find new occupations, and start new lives — all with the hope and determination of ensuring that their children will have better opportunities in America.
Each generation builds upon the accomplishments and sacrifices of the previous generation. Previous generations have laid the foundation for us; we need to lay the foundation for the next generation.
America today can benefit from our strong family values and our emphasis on quality education. We have much to contribute to America. We should feel confident that we can!
Thank you so much for inviting me to be with you tonight, and congratulations to all tonight's honorees!
# # #
| 
