[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2442-2443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00698]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Announcement of Inaugural Meeting of the President's Advisory 
Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the 
Secretary, Office for Civil Rights, White House Initiative on Asian 
Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is hereby giving notice 
that the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native 
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders will hold a virtual, two-day meeting 
on February 3 and February 4, 2022. The meeting is the first in a 
series of federal advisory committee meetings regarding the development 
of recommendations to promote equity, justice, and opportunity for 
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) 
communities. No registration is required. The meeting is open to the 
public and will be live streamed at

[[Page 2443]]

www.hhs.gov/live. The Commission, co-chaired by HHS Secretary Xavier 
Becerra and the U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai, 
will advise the President on: (i) The development, monitoring, and 
coordination of executive branch efforts to advance equity, justice, 
and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities in the United States, 
including efforts to close gaps in health, socioeconomic, employment, 
and educational outcomes; (ii) policies to address and end anti-Asian 
bias, xenophobia, racism, and nativism, and opportunities for the 
executive branch to advance inclusion, belonging, and public awareness 
of the diversity and accomplishments of AA and NHPI people, cultures, 
and histories; (iii) policies, programs, and initiatives to prevent, 
report, respond to, and track anti-Asian hate crimes and hate 
incidents; (iv) ways in which the Federal Government can build on the 
capacity and contributions of AA and NHPI communities through equitable 
Federal funding, grantmaking, and employment opportunities; (v) 
policies and practices to improve research and equitable data 
disaggregation regarding AA and NHPI communities; (vi) policies and 
practices to improve language access services to ensure AA and NHPI 
communities can access Federal programs and services; and (vii) 
strategies to increase public- and private-sector collaboration, and 
community involvement in improving the safety and socioeconomic, 
health, educational, occupational, and environmental well-being of AA 
and NHPI communities.

DATES: The Commission will meet for two days on February 3, 2022, from 
1:00 p.m. to approximately 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), and February 4, 
2022, from 1:30 p.m. to approximately 5:00 p.m. ET. The confirmed time 
and agenda will be posted on the website for the President's Advisory 
Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: 
https://www.hhs.gov/about/whiaanhpi/commission/index.html when this 
information becomes available.
    Location: The meeting will be live streamed at www.HHS.gov/live.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emmeline Ochiai, Designated Federal 
Officer, President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native 
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, Office of the Secretary, Office for Civil Rights, Hubert H. 
Humphrey Building, Room 515F, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 
20201, (202) 619-0403 (telephone), (202) 619-3818 (fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Information is available on the President's 
Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
Islanders website at https://www.hhs.gov/about/whiaanhpi/commission/index.html. The names of the 25 members of the President's Advisory 
Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders 
are available at https://www.hhs.gov/about/whiaanhpi/commission/commissioners/index.html.
    Purpose of Meeting: During the inaugural meeting of the Commission, 
the commissioners will be sworn into service, receive briefings on the 
immediate and systemic challenges facing AA and NHPI communities, and 
begin to develop recommendations regarding the ways the public, private 
and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity, justice, 
and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities.
    Background: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
individuals and communities have molded the American experience, and 
the contributions and achievements of AA and NHPI communities make the 
United States stronger and more vibrant. The richness of America's 
multicultural democracy is strengthened by the diversity of AA and NHPI 
communities and the many cultures and languages of AA and NHPI 
individuals in the United States, who collectively constitute the 
fastest growing racial group in the Nation and make rich contributions 
to our society, our economy, and our culture.
    Systemic barriers to equity, justice, and opportunity put the 
American dream out of reach of many AA and NHPI communities. Many AA 
and NHPI individuals face persistent disparities in socioeconomic, 
health, and educational outcomes. Linguistic isolation and lack of 
access to language-assistance services continue to lock many AA and 
NHPI individuals out of opportunities. Data collection practices fail 
to measure and reflect the diversity of AA and NHPI populations. 
Failure to disaggregate data contributes to enduring stereotypes about 
Asian Americans as a ``model minority'' and obscures disparities within 
AA and NHPI communities.
    Tragic acts of anti-Asian violence have increased during the COVID-
19 pandemic, casting a shadow of fear and grief over many AA and NHPI 
communities, in particular East Asian communities. Long before this 
pandemic, AA and NHPI communities in the United States, including South 
Asian and Southeast Asian communities, have faced persistent 
xenophobia, religious discrimination, racism, and violence. At the same 
time, AA and NHPI communities are overrepresented in the pandemic's 
essential workforce in healthcare, food supply, education, and 
childcare, with more than four million AA and NHPIs manning the 
frontlines throughout the pandemic. Additionally, while they make up 
just four percent of registered nurses in the U.S., Filipino nurses 
accounted for 32 percent of nurse lives lost to COVID-19 in 2020.
    Many AA and NHPI communities, and in particular Native Hawaiian and 
Pacific Islander communities, have also been disproportionately 
burdened by the COVID-19 public health crisis. Evidence suggests that 
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are three times more likely to 
contract COVID-19 compared to white people and nearly twice as likely 
to die from the disease. On top of these health inequities, many AA and 
NHPI workers, families, and small businesses have faced devastating 
economic losses during this crisis, which must be addressed.
    Public Participation at Meeting: Members of the public are invited 
to view the Commission meeting at www.HHS.gov/live. Registration is not 
needed. Please note that there will be no opportunity for oral public 
comments during the inaugural meeting of the Commission. However, 
written comments are welcomed throughout the development of the 
Commission's recommendations to promote equity, justice, and 
opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
Islanders and may be emailed to [email protected].
    Authority: Executive Order 14031. The President's Advisory 
Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders 
(Commission) is governed by provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), Public Law 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), 
which sets forth standards for the formation and use of federal 
advisory committees.

Krystal Ka`ai,
Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native 
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders and President's Advisory Commission on 
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
[FR Doc. 2022-00698 Filed 1-13-22; 8:45 am]
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