June 7, 1999

EXECUTIVE ORDER

                              THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                              June 7, 1999


                               EXECUTIVE ORDER

                                - - - - - - -

                 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 com-munity
  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 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 per-formance 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

     (b)  "Pacific Islander" includes the aboriginal, indigenous, native
  peoples of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands within the jurisdiction of
  the United States.



                                   WILLIAM J. CLINTON



  THE WHITE HOUSE,
      June 7, 1999.