Support the Strengthening Asian American & Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) Program

*ADD YOUR BOSS HERE*

FY19 cosigners: Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Raul M. Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Jackey Rosen, Ruben J. Kihuen, Danny K. Davis, Sheila Jackson Lee, Judy Chu, Barbara Lee, Al Green, Mark
DeSaulnier, Jerrold Nadler, Ro Khanna, Scott H. Peters, Zoe Lofgren, Colleen Hanabusa, Tulsi Gabbard, Eric Swalwell, Ami Bera, Grace F. Napolitano, Alma Adams, Jamie Raskin

Dear Colleague,

We urge you to join in signing the letter below asking the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee to provide $30 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2020 LHHS Appropriations bill for the Strengthening
Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) program.

The AANAPISI program provides grants and other supports to build the capacity and effectiveness of institutions that serve considerable numbers of low-income and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students. Twelve years after its founding, the AANAPISI
program provides culturally-sensitive tutoring and counseling services, improves retention, graduation, and outreach strategies, and increases the reflection of AAPI history and culture in the classroom, for 75 percent of all low-income AAPI students and 40
percent of all AAPI students in the nation.

Past funding levels have limited the number of institutions able to receive support from this program to a fraction of the eligible institutions. In fact, according to the National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE),
it would require an additional $22.8 million per year to provide grants to all designated AANAPISIs. This request would bring the AANAPISI program funding up to at least its fully authorized level.

To sign the letter, please add your name HERE. If you have any questions, please contact Adrienne Castro (Takano) at
Adrienne.Castro@mail.house.gov, Ngoc Nguyen (Lowenthal) at
ngoc.nguyen@mail.house.gov, Maria Martirosyan (Gomez) at
Maria.Martirosyan@mail.house.gov, by 6:00pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.

Sincerely,

Mark Takano
Member of Congress

Alan Lowenthal
Member of Congress

Jimmy Gomez
Member of Congress

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro

Chairwoman

Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies

House Committee on Appropriations

H-305, The Capitol

Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Tom Cole

Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies

House Committee on Appropriations

1016 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairwoman DeLauro and Ranking Member Cole,

We are writing to request $30 million for the Strengthening Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) program for fiscal year 2020. This crucial Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) program—first established by the
College Cost Reduction and Access Act (P.L. 110-84)—provides competitive grants to eligible colleges and universities that serve considerable numbers of low-income and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students to help the institutions improve and
expand their services for all students.

By establishing and funding the AANAPISI program, Congress has taken a significant step to reject the “model minority” myth, a misperception that inaccurately portrays the diverse AAPI population as a homogenous, academically successful unit. According to
a July 2007 GAO report on AAPIs in higher education, “viewing Asian American and Pacific Islanders as a homogenous group may mask differences in educational attainment and income among Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups.” In reality, a large portion
of the AAPI community falls well below national averages with respect to both income and education. As of 2013, only 14 percent of Cambodians, 12 percent of Laotians, and 14 percent of Hmong people had a bachelor’s degree or higher—as compared to 28.8 percent
of the national population. Furthermore, approximately 27 percent of Hmong Americans and 22 percent of Pacific Islanders live below the poverty line, which far exceeds the national poverty rate of 13.2 percent.

Current AANAPISI grant recipients—from community colleges to four-year institutions—are implementing important programs to promote student success, including providing tutoring and counseling services, improving retention, graduation, and outreach strategies,
and increasing the reflection of AAPI history and culture in the classroom, for AAPI and low-income students. Twelve years after its founding, the AANAPISI program serves 75 percent of all low-income AAPI students and 40 percent of all AAPI students in the
nation.

We strongly believe that robust funding for the AANAPISI program is critical if our nation is to provide equitable opportunities for educational achievement and global competitiveness. Therefore, we respectfully ask that you fund the Strengthening Asian
American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions program at $30 million for FY20 so that we can continue to increase college accessibility and success for all students.

Thank you for your time and consideration in offering opportunities for success to a more diverse group of students and families.

Sincerely,