FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: APAICS (202) 296-9200
APAICS-CAPAC WELCOME RECEPTION
Part of the Welcoming committee of the APAICS-CAPAC Reception March 3, 2009, in the new US Capitol's Visitors Center, are (l-r) Congressman Xavier Becerra (CA), Congressman Bobby Scott (VA), APAICS Board Member Neil Horikoshi (APIASF), APAICS Board Member David T. Lin (AT&T), Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (HI), Chair of CAPAC Congressman Mike Honda (CA), APAICS Board Member Howard Moon (AMGEN), APAICS Board Member Christine Shimizu and APAICS Board Secretary Fred Underwood (NAR). (Photo by Ramon Talusan)
Washington—Tuesday, March 3, 2009, was an evening of “first-evers.” It was the first time that the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) sponsored a welcome reception for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). It was the first time that an Asian Pacific American event was held in the U.S. Capitol’s new VisitorsCenter. It was the first time that the CAPAC had a record number of APAs as members of Congress. It was the first time that the emcee Ruby G. Moy, welcomed the guests by announcing that she was the Interim Executive Director of APAICS. She began the program by announcing that everyone in the Visitors Center Congressional Atrium was part of a historic “first-ever” APA gathering. After the trooping of the Colors by the Department of the District of Columbia, Veterans of Foreign Wars, USA, which was also the first time for these Filipino veterans to present the Colors in the marble room, the audience was led in saying the Pledge of Allegiance by the current class of APAICS Fellows: Mark Beyersdorf, Rommel Calderwood, Gloria Mak, Lan Nguyen, and Gregg Orton.
APAICS Secretary Fred Underwood, who is Director of Diversity Programs at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), introduced former Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta. Mineta was instrumental in establishing both APAICS and CAPAC. He founded APAICS in 1994 to be a non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization. Based in Washington, D.C., APAICS encourages the APA community to fill the political pipeline for APAs to enter and advance into elected office, and to be a resource to Congress about the APA community. When Mineta was in Congress (1975-1995), he established CAPAC also in 1994. CAPAC members of Congress “have a strong interest in promoting Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) issues and advocating the concerns of AAPIs. CAPAC is non-partisan and bi-cameral.” CAPAC is part of the Tri-Caucus of ethnic minority members of Congress with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). APAICS works with the staff caucuses of CBCF and CHCI.
Mineta stated, “When CAPAC was first formed, all of its members could have met in a phone booth. It is truly rewarding to see how far our community has come in the past few years.” Then he mentioned in addition to the new APA members of Congress that the Obama Administration has two Cabinet secretaries and one waiting for confirmation.
APAICS Chair David L. Kim thanked the co-hosts of the evening’s successful event: The National Association of Realtors, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund, the H Street Group, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, the Japanese American Citizen League, OCA, and Frances Nam.
Congressman Mike Honda, who is Chair of CAPAC, said that this is the first time that CAPAC was truly bi-partisan. The two newest members Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA) and Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan (D-CMNI) were given an opportunity to speak to the more than 200 guests. In addition to recognizing the Ambassador from Japan Ichiro Fujisaki, Congressman Honda also recognized the following members of Congress in the audience: Xavier Becerra (CA), Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), Mazie Hirono (HI), Barbara Lee (CA), Bobby Scott (VA), and Lynn Woolsey (CA).
At the “first-ever” event, there were a dozen members of the press covering this important historical event. It seems as though every one in attendance knew that.
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**We would like to thank our co-sponsors for their support for our APAICS-CAPAC 2009 Reception.
