U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao

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As Delivered

Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD) Awards Dinner
Washington, D.C.
September 30, 2003

Thank you Hyepin [Hyepin Im, President of KCCD] for the kind introduction and for this prestigious Legacy Award. I also want to thank Jin Kim, the Executive Director of the KCCD and the Board for the invitation to join you.

Let me also congratulate tonight’s other Legacy award winners for their outstanding service to the Korean and Asian Pacific American community.

I am delighted to be able join you this evening to celebrate the centennial of Korean immigration to the United States and the establishment of the first Korean American church.

It’s a tribute to the Korean Churches for Community Development that so many outstanding Korean Americans from around the country have gathered for this conference and dinner.

The Korean Churches for Community Development is a shining example of President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative. The purpose of that initiative is to help others through creative government partnerships with faith-based organizations.

Giving and serving comes naturally to church leaders and pastors. This Administration recognizes that places of worship and religious organizations can play a valuable role in assisting the government’s efforts to help people reach their full potential.

Your ancestors, who first came to the United States one hundred years ago, would be so proud of the progress Korean Americans have made!

Like so many Asian newcomers to this country, the first Korean Americans were willing to take the most humble jobs to build a better life for their families. Today, their descendents are leaders in every profession. One out of every eight Korean American owns his or her own business, the highest rate of any group.

And for those in the audience from Los Angeles, I saw your entrepreneurial spirit first hand last year during my visit to “Korea Town.” Your resilience and optimism is an inspiration to all of us.

Korean Americans, like all Asian Pacific Americans, are also advancing to the highest levels of government.

President George W. Bush has appointed more Asian Pacific Americans to top-level positions in the federal government than any other President in history. For the first time, two Asian Pacific Americans serve in the Cabinet.

Following the President’s lead, there are more Asian Pacific Americans in leadership positions at the Department of Labor than any other government agency—like Shinae Chun, the first Asian American Director of the Women’s Bureau.

At the Department of Labor, we continue to seek new ways to reach out and assist Korean and other Asian Pacific American communities.

We all know how important the Korean American church is to the vitality and success of Korean American neighborhoods and businesses. The Los Angeles Times, for example, recently reported that 70 percent of Korean immigrants regularly attend church.

The President believes in the transforming power of faith. Under the President’s Faith Based and Community Initiatives, the Department is moving forward with two regulatory changes that would eliminate barriers to faith-based contracting and training.

First, the Department is proposing a change in the publicly funded $12 billion workforce investment system with over 3,800 local one-stop resource centers. It will allow individual training vouchers, provided by local workforce investment boards, to be used by men and women pursuing faith-based careers.

Second, as many of you know, faith-based institutions can be barred from competing for federal contracts if they hire staff of their own religious affiliation. The Department is now revising that regulation so that faith-based institutions that secure government contracts will no longer be prevented from hiring members of their own faith.

These changes are part of this Administration’s ongoing efforts to remove barriers for faith-based organizations. Korean American and other churches play such a vital role in helping workers and others find new job opportunities. The Department’s new Center for Faith Based and Community Initiatives will do all it can to help you succeed in this task. Visit our Website at www.dol.gov for more information.

The Department is also making it easier for Korean American and other Asian Pacific Americans to access our agencies and programs.

We are translating our publications and Web sites on health, safety and fair compensation into multiple languages. For instance, the reference guide to our country’s employment law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, is now translated into Korean. We have also hired interpreters to assist non-English speakers who call the Labor Department’s telephone center to reach our agencies and programs.

The Department also has a number of on-going initiatives targeted to help entrepreneurs in your communities. We recently launched a $9 million pilot program: Project GATE—Growing America Through Entrepreneurship. This program promotes small business development in urban and rural communities—particularly historically underserved Asian-Pacific American and other ethnic populations.

And to help build the next generation of Asian Pacific leaders, the Labor Department has established a special Summer internship program for young people. This is a unique opportunity to acquaint young people with functions of the federal government. If you have some young people who may be interested in this program, we welcome you to encourage them to apply. Being the Department of Labor, we, of course, offer attractive pay for those internships.

As you can tell, I care deeply about our community. As Secretary of Labor, I want to help others achieve the American dream. As an immigrant to this country—I came from Taiwan when I was eight years old—I can still remember the challenges my family and I faced building a new life and adapting to a new culture.

Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of Korean Americans and build on the great legacy that you have already created for your families and our country.

Thank you again for choosing me to receive the Legacy Award. I deeply appreciate the invitation to join you this evening.

God bless you and God bless America.

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