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Remarks as Prepared
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Celebration
Frances Perkins Building
U.S. Department of Labor
May 7,
2003
Good morning.
Welcome to the Department of Labor’s Salute to Liberty: Many
Journeys. One Dream.
Today we celebrate the rich traditions of Asian Pacific
Americans—one of the many diverse communities that make up our
nation’s mosaic of freedom.
40 years ago, there were 1 million Asian Americans in the United
States—or less than one half of one percent of the population.
Today, there are more than 13 million Asian-Americas… and they live
in every major community and work in every occupational and professional
sector.
President George W. Bush has recognized the talent and ability of this
community by appointing more Asian Americans to top federal government jobs
than any other President in history. That includes two members of his Cabinet,
Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and myself.
At the Labor Department, we have followed the President’s lead and
are fortunate to have many talented Asian Americans among our ranks. They
include:
Sam Mok… the first Asian American to ever hold the post of CFO at
the DOL.
Shinae Chun… the highest ranking Korean American in government, and
the first Asian Pacific American to direct the Women’s Bureau.
And Mina Nguyen… Director of the Office of Public Liaison.
Asian American and Pacific Islanders represent about 4.3 percent of the
federal workforce. And while this exceeds our representation in the civilian
workforce, this Administration recognizes that we can do better.
That’s why next week, the Department of Labor and the U.S. Office
of Personnel Management will host the second annual Asian Pacific American
Federal Career Advancement Summit.
Through workshops, training sessions, and networking, we are giving
qualified Asian Pacific American candidates the tools they need to successfully
compete for positions of leadership. I am proud of the contributions that Asian
Pacific American employees are making to the Department of Labor. I want to
ensure that pathways to opportunity remain open to them.
The Department is also encouraging young people of Asian Pacific
American heritage—as well as all others—to apply for the DOL
Internship Program. We want to reach out to all communities, so that the
Department’s future leadership reflects the diversity of the American
experience.
Now it is my great pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker, Ambassador
Sichan Siv.
Ambassador Siv comes to government from a distinguished private sector
career in international development and human services. His remarkable personal
story is a perfect example of the freedom, diversity and opportunity we
celebrate today.
Born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Ambassador Siv was a Colombo Plan Scholar
at the Teachers Training College of Singapore. He went on to earn a degree from
the University of Phnom Penh. In 1979, he fled Cambodia for Thailand after
being imprisoned in forced labor camps and twice marked for death by the
communist government of Cambodia. He was resettled in Connecticut, where he
became a high school teacher and then a program associate for CARE. He served
as managing director of the Commonwealth Associates investment bank, a
financial advisor at Prudential Securities and managing director of Hayes and
Company.
From 1989 to 1993, Ambassador Siv served President George Herbert Walker
Bush as Deputy Assistant to the President for Public Liaison and as a Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.
He now serves President George W. Bush as U.S. Representative to the UN
Economic and Social Council. And just recently, Ambassador Siv returned from
Geneva where he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Human
Rights Commission.
So please join me in welcoming Ambassador Siv.
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