[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 200 (Monday, October 19, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 53635-53638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25268]



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Part IV





The President





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Executive Order 13515--Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and 
Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 200 / Monday, October 19, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 53635]]

                Executive Order 13515 of October 14, 2009

                
Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and 
                Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. The more than 16 million Asian 
                Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) across our 
                country have helped build a strong and vibrant America. 
                The AAPI communities represent many ethnicities and 
                languages that span generations, and their shared 
                achievements are an important part of the American 
                experience. They have started businesses and generated 
                jobs, including founding some of our Nation's most 
                successful and innovative enterprises. The AAPI 
                communities have made important contributions to 
                science and technology, culture and the arts, and the 
                professions, including business, law, medicine, 
                education, and politics.

                While we acknowledge the many contributions of the AAPI 
                communities to our Nation, we also recognize the 
                challenges still faced by many AAPIs. Of the more than 
                a million AAPI-owned businesses, many firms are small 
                sole-proprietorships that continue to need assistance 
                to access available resources such as business 
                development counseling and small business loans. The 
                AAPI community also continues to face barriers to 
                employment and workplace advancement. Specific 
                challenges experienced by AAPI subgroups include lower 
                college-enrollment rates by Pacific Islanders than 
                other ethnic groups and high poverty rates among Hmong 
                Americans, Cambodian Americans, Malaysian Americans, 
                and other individual AAPI communities. Additionally, 
                one in five non-elderly AAPIs lacks health insurance.

                The purpose of this order is to establish a President's 
                Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific 
                Islanders and a White House Initiative on Asian 
                Americans and Pacific Islanders. Each will work to 
                improve the quality of life and opportunities for Asian 
                Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased 
                access to, and participation in, Federal programs in 
                which they may be underserved. In addition, each will 
                work to advance relevant evidence-based research, data 
                collection, and analysis for AAPI populations and 
                subpopulations.

                Sec. 2. President's Advisory Commission on Asian 
                Americans and Pacific Islanders. There is established 
                in the Department of Education the President's Advisory 
                Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 
                (Commission).

                (a) Mission and Function of the Commission. The 
                Commission shall provide advice to the President, 
                through the Secretaries of Education and Commerce, as 
                Co-Chairs of the Initiative described in section 3 of 
                this order, on: (i) the development, monitoring, and 
                coordination of executive branch efforts to improve the 
                quality of life of AAPIs through increased 
                participation in Federal programs in which such persons 
                may be underserved; (ii) the compilation of research 
                and data related to AAPI populations and 
                subpopulations; (iii) the development, monitoring, and 
                coordination of Federal efforts to improve the economic 
                and community development of AAPI businesses; and (iv) 
                strategies to increase public and private-sector 
                collaboration, and community involvement in improving 
                the health, education, environment, and well-being of 
                AAPIs.

[[Page 53636]]

                (b) Membership of the Commission. The Commission shall 
                consist of not more than 20 members appointed by the 
                President. The Commission shall include members who: 
                (i) have a history of involvement with the AAPI 
                communities; (ii) are from the fields of education, 
                commerce, business, health, human services, housing, 
                environment, arts, agriculture, labor and employment, 
                transportation, justice, veterans affairs, and economic 
                and community development; (iii) are from civic 
                associations representing one or more of the diverse 
                AAPI communities; or (iv) have such other experience as 
                the President deems appropriate. The President shall 
                designate one member of the Commission to serve as 
                Chair, who shall convene regular meetings of the 
                Commission, determine its agenda, and direct its work.

                (c) Administration of the Commission. The Secretary of 
                Education, in consultation with the Secretary of 
                Commerce, shall designate an Executive Director for the 
                Commission. The Department of Education shall provide 
                funding and administrative support for the Commission 
                to the extent permitted by law and within existing 
                appropriations. 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). Insofar as 
                the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 
                U.S.C. App.) (the ``Act''), may apply to the 
                administration of the Commission, any functions of the 
                President under the Act, except that of reporting to 
                the Congress, shall be performed by the Secretary of 
                Education, in accordance with the guidelines issued by 
                the Administrator of General Services.

                (d) Termination Date. The Commission shall terminate 2 
                years from the date of this order, unless renewed by 
                the President.

                Sec. 3. White House Initiative on Asian Americans and 
                Pacific Islanders. There is established the White House 
                Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 
                (Initiative), a Federal interagency working group whose 
                members shall be selected by their respective agencies. 
                The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of 
                Education shall serve as the Co-Chairs of the 
                Initiative. The Executive Director of the Commission 
                established in section 2 of this order shall also serve 
                as the Executive Director of the Initiative and shall 
                report to the Secretaries on Initiative matters.

                (a) Mission and Function of the Initiative. The 
                Initiative shall work to improve the quality of life of 
                AAPIs through increased participation in Federal 
                programs in which AAPIs may be underserved. The 
                Initiative shall advise the Co-Chairs on the 
                implementation and coordination of Federal programs as 
                they relate to AAPIs across executive departments and 
                agencies.

                (b) Membership of the Initiative. In addition to the 
                Co-Chairs, the Initiative shall consist of senior 
                officials from the following executive branch 
                departments, agencies, and offices:

(i) the Department of State;

(ii) the Department of the Treasury;

(iii) the Department of Defense;

(iv) the Department of Justice;

(v) the Department of the Interior;

(vi) the Department of Agriculture;

(vii) the Department of Labor;

(viii) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(ix) the Department of Transportation;

(x) the Department of Energy;

(xi) the Department of Health and Human Services;

(xii) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

(xiii) the Department of Homeland Security;

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(xiv) the Office of Management and Budget;

(xv) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(xvi) the Small Business Administration;

(xvii) the Office of Personnel Management;

(xviii) the Social Security Administration;

(xix) the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs;

(xx) the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public 
Engagement;

(xxi) the National Economic Council;

(xxii) the Domestic Policy Council;

(xxiii) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and

(xxiv) other executive branch departments, agencies, and offices as the 
President may, from time to time, designate.

                At the direction of the Co-Chairs, the Initiative may 
                establish subgroups consisting exclusively of 
                Initiative members or their designees under this 
                section, as appropriate.

                (c) Administration of the Initiative. The Department of 
                Education shall provide funding and administrative 
                support for the Initiative to the extent permitted by 
                law and within existing appropriations. The Co-Chairs 
                shall convene regular meetings of the Initiative, 
                determine its agenda, and direct its work.

                (d) Federal Agency Plans and Interagency Plan. Each 
                executive department and agency designated by the 
                Initiative shall prepare a plan (agency 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 in which 
                Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders may be 
                underserved. Where appropriate, this agency plan shall 
                address, among other things, the agency's efforts to:

(i) identify Federal programs in which AAPIs may be underserved and improve 
the quality of life for AAPIs through increased participation in these 
programs;

(ii) identify ways to foster the recruitment, career development, and 
advancement of AAPIs in the Federal Government;

(iii) identify high-priority action items for which measurable progress may 
be achieved within 2 years to improve the health, environment, opportunity, 
and well-being of AAPIs, and implement those action items;

(iv) increase public-sector, private-sector, and community involvement in 
improving the health, environment, opportunity, and well-being of AAPIs;

(v) foster evidence-based research, data-collection, and analysis on AAPI 
populations and subpopulations, including research and data on public 
health, environment, education, housing, employment, and other economic 
indicators of AAPI community well-being; and

(vi) solicit public input from AAPI communities on ways to increase and 
improve opportunities for public participation in Federal programs 
considering a number of factors, including language barriers.

                Each agency, in its plan, shall provide appropriate 
                measurable objectives and, after the first year, shall 
                provide for the assessment of that agency's performance 
                on the goals set in the previous year's plan. Each 
                agency plan shall be submitted to the Co-Chairs by a 
                date to be established by the Co-Chairs. The Co-Chairs 
                shall review the agency plans and develop for 
                submission to the President a Federal interagency plan 
                to improve the quality of life of AAPIs through 
                increased participation in Federal programs in which 
                such persons may be underserved. Actions described in 
                the Federal interagency plan shall address improving 
                access by AAPIs to Federal programs and fostering 
                advances in relevant research and data.

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                Sec. 4. General Provisions.

                (a) This order supersedes Executive Order 13125 of June 
                7, 1999, and Executive Order 13339 of May 13, 2004.

                (b) The heads of executive departments and agencies 
                shall assist and provide information to the Commission, 
                consistent with applicable law, as may be necessary to 
                carry out the functions of the Commission. Each 
                executive department and agency shall bear its own 
                expenses of participating in the Commission.

                (c) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair 
                or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the 
head thereof; or

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                (d) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

                (e) For purposes of this order, the term ``Asian 
                American and Pacific Islander'' includes persons within 
                the jurisdiction of the United States having ancestry 
                of any of the original peoples of East Asia, Southeast 
                Asia, or South Asia, or any of the aboriginal, 
                indigenous, or native peoples of Hawaii and other 
                Pacific Islands.

                (f) This order is not intended to, and does not, create 
                any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    October 14, 2009.

[FR Doc. E9-25268
Filed 10-16-09; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P