Meng Secures Millions Beneficial To The AANHPI Community

December 23, 2022
Press Release

Congresswoman helped secure millions in federal funds from the annual federal spending bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), New York's senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced today that she helped secure millions for several projects and programs that are crucial to the AANHPI community.
"I am delighted to have directed millions of dollars in the Fiscal Year 2023 federal budget to strengthen and advance the interests of the AANHPI community across our country," said Congresswoman Meng, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. "Our priorities are reflected in what programs we are willing to spend our budget on. As the only Asian American member of the House Appropriations Committee, I consider it the highest honor to advocate for our AANHPI community throughout the appropriations process. The federal directives in this bill will go a long way to empowering and uplifting our community toward a brighter tomorrow. I extend my deepest gratitude to my colleagues for their support of these programs and I look forward to continuing the fight for AANHPI priorities in the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations cycle."
These critical projects and programs were included in the new government spending package for fiscal year 2023, which passed the House today after being approved by the Senate on Thursday. The legislation is now expected to be signed into law by President Biden. The items that Meng helped obtain include:
  • $10 million for DOJ's Community-Based Approaches to Advancing Justice program, a $5 million increase from Fiscal Year 2022. Funds will be granted to community-based organizations engaging in conflict resolution, combatting hate crimes, and community empowerment. These groups can facilitate culturally educational classes and community services aimed at supporting communities of color and other vulnerable and historically disadvantaged communities.
  • Over $2.5 million for the Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific Center and Asian Pacific Pool, a $40,000 increase from Fiscal Year 2022. Funds will be used to strengthen the Smithsonian's programming to commemorate Asian Pacific history and to continue the center's efforts to acquire new materials for its collection.
  • Over $18.5 million to strengthen Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, a $7,653,000 increase from Fiscal Year 2022. Funds may be used to support and expand services to Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander and low-come students that such institutions offer. The Department of Education administers this program.
  • $1 million for the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health to research, develop, and test methods of informing limited English proficient individuals about the availability of language services. Funding would help researchers develop methods to ensure health services are available in non-English languages.
  • A report on the creation of an Office of Translation Services in the U.S. Congress to assist Members of Congress in translating official materials, including necessary resource requirements to create such an office. Currently, Members of Congress rely on bilingual staff—or even unpaid interns—to translate government documents and resources into additional languages constituents may need. Creation of such an office would ensure all people—regardless of English language proficiency—would be able to access government information and resources.
  • Improve language access at the Small Business Administration (SBA) by urging the agency to make online grant application forms available in at least the top 20 most commonly spoken languages based on the latest Census data. This is in response to the difficulty limited English proficient communities have had with accessing SBA relief programs, especially during COVID-19. Translating government documents into additional languages would minimize barriers to relief.
  • Strategic planning for Hepatitis B vaccination and screening for all adults, and additional research on treatments and cures by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This comes in response to the 2021 Advisory Committee Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation that all adults between 19 and 59 be vaccinated for hepatitis B.
  • A report by NIH on research projects focused on the health and wellbeing of AANHPI communities, including specific racial and ethnic subgroups; the report will also document barriers to participation and language access issues. In the last decade, less than one percent of the NIH's total budget went to research centered on AANHPI health outcomes. This would help combat misleading narratives and conclusions drawn from the lack of available research.
  • Prioritization of funding for disaggregation of AANHPI data at the Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition to support additional racial and ethnic subgroup data collection and reporting. This will help policymakers understand which subgroups may be struggling academically and may provide targeted opportunities for assistance.
  • Language addressing bias in research security, specifically directing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to coordinate and collaborate with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on its disclosure requirements to set a high bar for when cases should be referred from science agencies to the FBI. With NSF leading the way on disclosure requirements and helping researchers understand their responsibilities, coordination between NSF and the FBI will help combat bias against those of Asian American ancestry when it comes to research security.
  • NSF research on addressing bias and xenophobia against AANHPI communities and an update on how the NSF plans to disseminate its studies and what additional funds it may need. In March of 2021, President Biden announced additional actions to combat anti-Asian hate which included NSF projects to understand the scope and severity of the issue. Meng's language requests an urgent update to understand what policymakers can do.
  • Support for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, an initiative led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to advance health, equity, and economic justice for AANHPI communities.
  • $27 million for the Native Hawaiian Health Care Program, a $5 million increase from Fiscal Year 2022. This program improves the physical and mental health services for Native Hawaiians by initiating and maintaining culturally appropriate strategic health actions.