NCAPA Calls for Inclusion of AAPI Community in Biden-Harris Policy Agenda
Washington, DC—The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans issued the following statement on its letter sent to the incoming Biden-Harris Administration outlining top policy priorities for the AAPI community. A copy of the letter submitted to the Biden-Harris Administration can be found here.
Last month, in one of the most pivotal elections of our lifetimes, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders came out in record-breaking numbers, securing the margin of victory in several key battleground states and making a mark on our democracy. This past year has proved both how AAPIs are an increasingly powerful electorate and how our communities’ unique needs must be heard and addressed.
AAPI communities this year have faced a two-fold pandemic of COVID-19 and racism—both scapegoated for the spread of the virus and disproportionately vulnerable to its economic and health impacts. This dual pandemic has exposed and exacerbated inequities that have impacted our communities for decades and that will likely continue to impact us even after the public health crisis ends.
This moment requires bold leadership and decisive action. The Biden-Harris Administration has promised to be—and has the mandate to be—the leaders for this moment, and the Administration has committed to making racial equity a day one priority. We are encouraged by the historic precedents set by Senator Kamala Harris’s election as the first Black and South Asian Vice President and by appointments that begin to better reflect our country’s diversity. However, AAPI communities need not only representation at the highest levels of government but also concrete policy actions that create real, meaningful change.
To that end, building on the Policy Platform that we released earlier this year, NCAPA and our coalition members have delivered a letter detailing top policy priorities for the AAPI community in regards to civil rights, immigration, education, health, housing and economic justice, and tech and telecom policy. We urge the Biden-Harris Administration to adopt the suggested policy priorities in order to support and uplift Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
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