Clinton/Gore '96 The Briefing Room
Bill Clinton & Al Gore on the Issues



Strengthening America’s Families:
Asian and Pacific Americans
Our national character has been enhanced by citizens who maintain and honor cultural values and customs brought from other lands. Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry have long been a part of that tradition, enriching the fabric of our society with their unique talents and abilities....Asian and Pacific Americans have worked to overcome challenges, often in the face of discrimination and prejudice, and have successfully embraced the opportunities of the American Dream.”

—President Bill Clinton

President Clinton is committed to bringing people together.His policies are helping Asian and Pacific Americans get jobs, start new businesses, strengthen families, and gain greater access to quality education.

President Clinton has taken the lead on issues important to Asian and Pacific Americans by:

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Winning enactment of the largest deficit-cutting plan in history with his 1993 economic package. The President's policies have cut the deficit by more than half and the economy has created 10.5 million new jobs. We have the lowest combined rate of unemployment, inflation, and mortgage rates since 1968 and the highest level of home ownership in 15 years.
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Making it easier for Asian and Pacific Americans to start their own businesses. The Clinton Administration has approved nearly 8,500 Small Business Administration (SBA) loans worth nearly $2 billion to businesses owned by Asian and Pacific Americans. We have made new tax cuts available to 90 percent of small businesses.
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Funding a Small Business Administration program that provides training and counseling to hundreds of Asian and Pacific American women in New York City.
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Appointing the most diverse Cabinet and Administration in history. One hundred and ninety-five Asian and Pacific Americans serve in the Clinton Administration -- three times more than the previous Administration.
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Nominating more Asian and Pacific Americans to the federal bench than any other Administration. The Clinton Administration's first Asian Pacific American nomination to a federal court was the first in almost 15 years.
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Making naturalization a top priority of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in order to continue fostering legal immigration while combating illegal immigration.
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Launching Citizenship USA to ensure that by September 1996, eligible persons who apply for citizenship will be approved by the Immigration and Naturalization Service within six months. Citizenship USA has been implemented in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Miami and Chicago -- cities that represent more than 75 percent of all pending citizenship applications.
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Increasing access to college by reforming student loans, expanding work study and Pell Grants. By establishing AmeriCorps, President Clinton is giving young people the opportunity to serve their communities while earning money for college.
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Increasing funding for Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs. The office is helping local schools to establish programs in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean by restructuring the Foreign Language Assistance Program.
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Hosting two Asian Pacific American Education Forums to address the needs of Asian and Pacific American students and their teachers.
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Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to provide tax relief for 15 million working families so working parents do not have to raise their children in poverty.
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Signing the Family and Medical Leave Act so workers can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for an ill family members without fear of losing their jobs.
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Signing the Health Insurance Reform Act (Kassebaum-Kennedy Bill) that expands and protects access to health insurance by limiting exclusions for pre-existing conditions and allowing individuals to take their health insurance with them when they change or lose their jobs.
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Fighting for and signing into law the first increase in the minimum wage in five years to reward work and responsibility.
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Increasing adoption and foster care funds by nearly $600 million from 1994 to 1995.
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Making voting easier for more than 11 million Americans by creating more accessible "motor-voter" registration locations.
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Signing into law the toughest, most comprehensive Crime Bill ever, putting 100,000 new police on the street and banning 19 different kinds of assault weapons. The Brady Bill has kept more than 60,000 fugitives, felons, and other criminals from buying guns.
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Establishing the Office of Minority Health Research and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.
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Creating nine Economic Empowerment Zones and 95 Enterprise Communities. The Clinton Administration is providing more grants and tax incentives to urban and rural communities to spur economic growth, attract businesses, and create jobs for millions of Americans.
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Creating a network of community development banks and financial institutions in low and moderate income communities which leverages $10 of private investments for every $1 of federal investment which will help help low-income families buy homes and start their own businesses.
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Reforming the Community Reinvestment Act to focus on performance -- actual lending, investments and basic banking services -- rather than paperwork. The reforms will unleash billions in new credit to low- to moderate-income communities.


Building on Our Progress

Asian and Pacific Americans understand the challenge of taking on the responsibility to build a new life in new and difficult circumstances. The Clinton Administration has made it easier to apply and get loans for small businesses and is increasing business opportunities with Asia by expanding trade.

President Clinton will continue to work to help Asian and Pacific Americans succeed by:

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Supporting the development of standards of excellence while encouraging grassroots reform to improve our schools through Goals 2000.
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Launching an Educational Technology Initiative to connect every classroom in America to the Information Superhighway and provide all students with access to computers by the year 2000.
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Proposing America's Hope Scholarships to make access to two years of college universal by providing students with a $1,500 refundable tax credit for full time tuition in their first year and another $1,500 in the second year if they work hard, stay off drugs, and earn at least a B average in their first year. This $1,500 tax credit will pay for more than the full cost of tuition at the national average-priced community colleges.
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Proposing his “America Reads” Challenge to ensure that every child in American can read independently by the end of the third grade. The President’s new initiative helps parents, as their children’s first teachers, and the entire community, to invest in reading success. The President and his Administration will mobilize 1 million community volunteer tutors, expand Head Start, and challenge both the non-profit and private sectors to help our children read
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Working with communities and schools to enforce a “zero tolerance” gun policy in schools and develop community policing programs.
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Helping to increase exports to Asia, which now account for over 2 million American jobs.
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Securing commitments from Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders to eliminate barriers to open trade in the Asia Pacific region in 2020.

Meeting Our Challenges * Protecting Our Values



Paid for by Clinton/Gore ’96 General Committee, Inc.