On June 6, 2001, President Bush signed an Executive
Order that reaffirmed the first ever directive for the Federal Government to be
systematically inclusive of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
THE
WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release June 6, 2001
Executive Order 13216
INCREASING
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), and in order to
improve the quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through
increased participation in Federal programs where they may be underserved
(e.g., health, human services, education, housing, labor, transportation, and
economic and community development), it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. (a) There is established in the Department of Health
and Human Services the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders (Commission). The Commission shall consist of not more than
15 members appointed by the President, one of which shall be designated by the
President as Chair. The Commission shall include members who: (i) have a history of involvement with the Asian American
and Pacific Islander communities; (ii) are from the fields of health, human
services, education, housing, labor, transportation, economic and community
development, civil rights, and the business community; (iii) are from civic
associations representing one or more of the diverse Asian American and Pacific
Islander communities; and (iv) have such other experience as the President
deems appropriate.
(b) The Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services (Secretary) shall appoint an Executive Director for the
Commission. Sec. 2. The Commission shall provide
advice to the President, through the Secretary, on: (a) the development,
monitoring, and coordination of Federal efforts to improve the quality of life
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased participation in
Federal programs where such persons may be underserved and the collection of
data related to Asian American and Pacific Islander populations and
sub-populations; (b) ways to increase public-sector, private-sector, and
community involvement in improving the health and well-being of Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders; and © ways to foster research and data on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders, including research and data on public health.
Sec. 3. The Department of Health and Human Services shall
establish the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
(Initiative), an interagency working group (working group) whose members shall
be appointed by their respective agencies. The Executive Director of the
Commission shall also serve as the Director of the Initiative, and shall report
to the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee. The working group shall include
both career and noncareer civil service staff and
commissioned officers of the Public Health Service with expertise in health,
human services, education, housing, labor, transportation, economic and
community development, and other relevant issues. The working group shall
advise the Secretary on the implementation and coordination of Federal programs
as they relate to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across executive
departments and agencies.
Sec. 4. The head of each executive department and each agency
designated by the Secretary shall appoint a senior Federal official responsible
for management or program administration to report directly to the agency head
on activity under this Executive order, and to serve as a liaison to the
Initiative. The Secretary also may designate additional Federal Government
officials, with the agreement of the relevant agency head, to carry out the
functions of the Initiative. To the extent permitted by law and to the extent
practicable, each executive department and designated agency shall provide any
appropriate information requested by the working group, including data relating
to the eligibility for and participation of Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders in Federal programs. Where adequate data are not available, the
Initiative shall suggest the means of collecting such data.
Sec. 5. Each executive department and designated agency
(collectively, the "agency") shall prepare a plan for, and shall
document, its efforts to improve the quality of life of Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders through increased participation in Federal programs where
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders may be underserved. This plan shall
address, among other things, Federal efforts to: (a) improve the quality of
life for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased participation
in Federal programs where they may be underserved and the collection of data
related to Asian American and Pacific Islander populations and sub-populations;
(b) increase public-sector, private-sector, and community involvement in
improving the health and well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders;
and © foster research and data on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,
including research and data on public health. Each agency’s plan shall provide
appropriate measurable objectives and, after the first year, shall assess that
agency’s performance on the goals set in the previous year’s plan. Each plan
shall be submitted at a date to be established by the Secretary.
Sec. 6. The Secretary shall review the agency plans and
develop for submission to the President an integrated Federal plan (Federal
Plan) to improve the quality of life of Asian American and Pacific Islanders
through increased participation in Federal programs where such persons may be
underserved. Actions described in the Federal Plan shall address improving
access by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to Federal programs and
fostering advances in relevant research and data. The Secretary shall ensure
that the working group is given the opportunity to comment on the proposed
Federal Plan prior to its submission to the President. The Secretary shall
disseminate the Federal Plan to appropriate members of the executive branch.
The findings and recommendations in the Federal Plan shall be considered by the
agencies in their policies and activities.
Sec. 7. Notwithstanding any other Executive order, the
responsibilities of the President that are applicable to the Commission under
the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, except that of reporting to the
Congress, shall be performed by the Secretary in accordance with the guidelines
and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.
Sec. 8. Members of the Commission shall serve without
compensation, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu
of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the
Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707). To the extent permitted by law and
appropriations, and where practicable, agencies shall, upon request by the
Secretary, provide assistance to the Commission and to the Initiative. The
Department of Health and Human Services shall provide administrative support
and funding for the Commission.
Sec. 9. The Commission shall terminate on June 7, 2003,
unless renewed by the President prior to that date.
Sec. 10. For the purposes of this order, the terms: (a)
"Asian American" includes persons having origins in any of the
original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent;
and (b) "Pacific Islander" includes the aboriginal, indigenous, native
peoples of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands within the jurisdiction of the
United States.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 6, 2001
# # #
Executive Order 13216 is an amended version of Executive Order 13125, signed by President William Jefferson Clinton on
June 7, 1999. This amendment gave the Executive Order a new title and a new
date for the termination of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders.