[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 111 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 31105-31107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14901]
                        Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 111 / Thursday, June 10, 1999 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 31105]]
                Executive Order 13125 of June 7, 1999
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, 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 (c) 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
[[Page 31106]]
                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 (c) 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 2 years after
                the date of this Executive order unless the Commission
                is renewed by the President prior to the end of that 2-
                year period.
                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
[[Page 31107]]
                    (b) ``Pacific Islander'' includes the aboriginal,
                indigenous, native peoples of Hawaii and other Pacific
                Islands within the jurisdiction of the United States.
                    (Presidential Sig.)
                THE WHITE HOUSE,
                    June 7, 1999.
[FR Doc. 99-14901
Filed 6-9-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P