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Remarks Prepared for Delivery By
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L.
Chao
International Leadership Foundation Awards Dinner
Washington,
D.C.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
Chiling [Tong], thank you so
much for that very warm welcome.
I also want to thank you, Joe. I know how hard you’ve worked to
make this evening such a success. I also know that you believe deeply, in your
heart, in the importance of offering leadership opportunities to young Asian
Americans from all over the country. We want to thank you for that vision, as
well.
I also want to recognize Dr. John Tsu, Chairperson Emeritus. Dr. Tsu,
it’s nice to see you here! As you have heard, Joel Szabet is also the ILF
Founder. We also have President C.C. Yen, whom you met earlier as well and Ms.
Sou Wong Lee, the chair for tonight’s event, the dinner chair—she
deserves a round of applause. We also have Judy Coffman, advisor to the ILF as
well and Judy, we thank you. We also have a number of other guests here. I
can’t name everyone, but if you’ll just indulge me I just have to
mention a few and you’ll see why soon.
First, Shinea Chun, is here—she’s the first Asian-Pacific
American director of the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor. And
Shinea, if you could stand so people can meet you. We also have from the
administration Marie Tse, who’s Deputy Undersecretary of Education. And
then we also have Susan L. Allen, who is a member of the President’s
Advisory Council on the 21st Century Workforce.
Tonight we are gathered for a very special occasion to celebrate and
salute Asian-Pacific American veterans. In the current war on terror, I think
all of us are particularly aware of the sacrifices made by our veterans and by
the men and women currently serving in our armed forces around the world. I am
also pleased to recognize the veterans who are here with us tonight: members of
the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans, the Japanese American Veteran
Association, and the National Council of Americans of Japanese Ancestry
Veterans. Let us salute these veterans and also our Asian-Pacific American
soldiers.
In the most recent conflict in Iraq, so many of us remember seeing U.S.
troops pull into Baghdad. And we saw a lone soldier, Sergeant Edward Chin, an
American soldier of Asian-American descent, climb up and place the American
flag on the soon-to-be toppled giant statue of Saddam Hussein. What a wonderful
statement about diversity in America and about the sacrifices and contributions
that Asian-Pacific Americans are making to this great country. Thank you all,
veterans, for protecting our freedom and also all the opportunities that go
with it.
This President, this Administration and I are deeply committed to
expanding opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans. I am proud to work for a
leader like President George W. Bush who has reached out to our community.
He’s a leader who has brought a record number of Asian Pacific Americans
into the highest levels of government service.
When I first started out in the federal government, there were very few
non-career Asian Pacific American appointees. Today, I am so pleased that
President Bush has appointed Asian Pacific Americans to more than 150
high-level positions in our government, including—obviously-- two
Asian-Americans to his Cabinet, for the very first time in American
history.
Following his lead, I am proud of the fact that there have been 18 Asian
Pacific Americans appointed at the Department of Labor – the highest
number of any other government department.
To keep the momentum going, last May I once again hosted an annual Asian
Pacific American Federal Career Advancement Summit. And we welcomed over 600
Asian Pacific American Federal employees to this managerial skills training
seminar. Because one of the things that I have been hearing is that there are
difficulties in climbing the ladder and advancing with the federal government.
So the Department of Labor and the Office of Personnel Management hosted a
skills management summit open to all federal career employees of Asian-American
descent, so that they could have the opportunity to acquire the skills
necessary to prepare themselves for leadership positions. We hold this kind of
summit for African Americans and for Hispanic Americans, so when I came into
the Department we thought there was an opportunity to assist the Asian-American
community with this kind of training, as well.
To also help create the next generation of leaders, the Labor Department
has launched an internship program that is reaching out to outstanding Asian
Pacific American youth. Given my own experience, I feel a special
responsibility to give young Asian Pacific Americans a helping hand.
And we want to ensure that they are able to see for themselves the
vastness of opportunities that is truly America and to have access to the
wonderful experience of working at a high-level within the federal government
so they can see how the government works.
I think we have had two very successful summers, with interns from all
walks of life, from all across the country and from many different groups. But
I’m particularly proud that our Asian-American interns have the
opportunity to see a slice of life that they ordinarily would not have seen.
And at the Department of Labor we’re also doing a number of other things
to continue to strengthen our community.
First, we are aggressively enforcing our nation’s employment laws
to ensure that workers—including vulnerable new arrivals, Asian
immigrants—are safe and fairly compensated.
We’re also helping small business owners—particularly in
immigrant communities—understand the employment rules and regulations in
this country. These rules and regulations can be very confusing and very
complicated. If we, the government, expect the regulated community to comply,
then we in government have a responsibility to ensure that people understand
what is required. And so we have launched a major compliance assistance program
in which we reach out to ethnic communities and also to Asian-American
communities as well.
We are translating our publications and our Web Sites on health, safety
and fair compensation into multiple languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese,
some Japanese and other languages—and more are on their way.
We have also hired interpreters to assist non-English speakers who call
the Labor Department’s help line. We have a telephone center and we want
to help people with all different kinds of problems. Our population is becoming
more diverse and we want to be able to reach out to these diverse communities,
including Asian Americans.
We have also launched a nine million dollar seed money entrepreneurial
program called Project G.A.T.E. G.A.T.E. stand for Growing
America Through Entrepreneurship. The purpose of this nine
million dollar initial seed money is to promote small business development in
urban and rural communities, particularly the historically underserved
Asian-Pacific American communities and other ethnic populations.
Also, for the first time in history, the monthly employment report
published by the Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics is including
separate data on all Asian Pacific Americans, and expanded information on Asian
American employment.
And this September, the Department of Labor is partnering with the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, The Small Business Administration,
and non-profit organizations to host the first-ever federal government wide
“Opportunities Conference.” This special event—which is open to
everyone—will provide Asian Pacific Americans and Hispanic Americans with
opportunities to find out more about ways to grow and develop, ways to compete
for federal contracts, and other ways in which they can become a part of the
mainstream of America.
We’ve also done lots of other things in the two and a half years
that the President has been in office. I have traveled to so many Asian-Pacific
American communities in this country and the warmth; the outpouring of
affection and hope is something I will never forget. I remember the tremendous
outpouring of support when I first came into the Administration. And people
were so encouraging and I appreciate that so very, very much. I also remember
December of 2000 and December 1st of 2001, when I went to Chinatown
New York, a community that had been devastated by the attacks of September
11th because it was at the edge of Ground Zero. But because it was a
community that did not often speak out, many people did not know the extent of
the problems and the challenges they faced in the aftermath of those attacks.
For example, 70 percent of the telephone lines in Chinatown were not working. I
had a young Asian-American assistant who lived in Chinatown who, upon returning
home, came back to me and said, “We’ve got to do something.” And
indeed we did. We gave a million dollars in training grants to those affected
by the dislocations in the aftermath of September 11th. And this one
million dollars was combined to help this Chinatown community access new
training so that they could find new ways to earn a living.
As you can tell, I hope, I care deeply about the Asian Pacific American
community. And the Administration and I are committed to improving
opportunities for the Asian Pacific American community and to ensuring that we
participate more fully in every aspect of American life.
I am very honored that you have chosen me for the ILF Lifetime
Achievement Award. You also honor me by inviting my parents. We Asian Americans
put a great premium on family. And in fact, when I think about our initial days
here in America, I think about the strength of our family and how that was the
key to our moving ahead. I mentioned my parents and I say that you honor me by
inviting them because they have been such patriots and believers in the promise
of America. During our initial difficult years in this new country, my parents
never gave up hope. They always believed that America was the land of
opportunity and that with hard work and with hope in our hearts we would indeed
find a better tomorrow. They were strong optimists, they were determined and
they imbued their children with a tremendous sense of appreciation and
gratitude for the opportunities that are so abundant in America.
When I cam to America, when we arrived upon these shores when I was only
eight, little did we imagine that we would be where we are today. We’re
very grateful for the opportunities that this country offers. But the Coming to
America story is one that is experienced by so many within our community. The
awardees tonight, each one of them, has a story of trial and tribulation, of
challenges overcome, and of advancement, success and fulfillment. Indeed, it
speaks volumes about the country that we line in that opportunities do abound
for those who have the courage to try, for those who have hope in their hearts,
and for those who never give up. So as I look at these young people who stand
here tonight, I am so proud of them and my heart is so full of hope for them
because they face an ever-brighter future of tremendous opportunities, and we
will take great pride in their progress.
I believe our lives are always a work in progress as well. And I feel
there is more for me to contribute and many more roads ahead of me. But I hope
my appointment as this country’s first Asian American woman Cabinet member
gives others outside our community the hope and the encouragement that there
are no limits to what we can be achieved because we live in a great country
called America. Thank you so much.
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