Highlights of Senator Boxer's Record on Asian-American Community
Asian-Americans have long been a rich and vibrant part of California's history and culture. However, as a minority group, they have often faced barriers and obstacles to achieving the American dream. Senator Boxer is committed to breaking down those barriers and fighting discrimination.
- Increasing Educational Opportunities: In American society, education is the great equalizer, if everyone has the opportunity for a high-quality education.
- Senator Boxer wrote the 2007 law allowing colleges and universities to be designated as Asian American and Pacific Island (AAPI) Higher Education Serving Institutions. AAPI colleges can receive grants and other federal assistance to help the colleges meet their educational missions in serving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
- Senator Boxer has supported increasing the maximum Pell Grant — the program that provides college assistance to low-income students — and she introduced legislation to ensure that students are not penalized with a reduction in their Pell Grants because they attend low-cost colleges, primarily community colleges.
- Senator Boxer is the leading Senate advocate and champion for after school programs — so that children have a safe and enriching place to go at the end of the school day. She wrote the provision of the No Child Left Behind law that authorizes federal funding for after school programs — the first such law of its kind. And she continues to fight to see that the program is fully funded.
- Protecting Civil Rights: Unfortunately, prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry still persist in American society. While a member of the House, Senator Boxer cosponsored the Civil Liberties Act of 1987, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988, and the Civil Rights Acts of 1990 and 1991. She has continued that strong commitment to civil rights in the Senate. Senator Boxer has supported the Hate Crimes Prevention Act — to expand and enhance enforcement of the federal hate crimes law — as well as legislation to assist local law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.
- She cosponsored and strongly supported the Civil Rights Act of 2008, to strengthen the nation's civil rights statutes by, among other things, making it easier to show that an employer's policies have had a discriminatory impact on minorities.
- Senator Boxer fought for passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pact Act to ensure that victims of wage discrimination can seek justice. The act was the first signed into law by President Obama on January 21, 2009.
- Redressing the Injustice of Japanese American Internment: One of the most shameful episodes of American history was the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Since her days as a member of the House of Representatives, Senator Boxer has been working to rectify this gross injustice.
- She cosponsored legislation apologizing to Japanese Americans interned during World War II and authorizing payments to internment survivors to compensate for wartime losses.
- Senator Boxer wrote the bill to make Manzanar a national historic site — so that future generations will never forget. Manzanar was an internment camp near Bishop, California that held tens of thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry. She has also fought for federal funding to develop interpretive programs and facilities at the site.
- Senator Boxer has spoken out against the bigotry and misinformation that continues to this day. For example, in 2003, she issued a statement criticizing Congressman Howard Coble's comments that internment was justified because some Japanese Americans “probably were intent on doing harm to us, just as some of these Arab Americans are probably intent on doing harm to us.” Boxer called Coble's comments “hurtful, inflammatory, ill-informed, and unacceptable.”
- Fighting for Filipino Veterans: Senator Boxer has long supported righting the injustices suffered by Filipino veterans who served the United States during World War II. She supported making them eligible for veterans benefits and for providing a one-time payment to Filipino veterans as compensation for them having been denied benefits for over 50 years.
- Helping Hmong Veterans: In 2000, Senator Boxer called on Congress to help Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War obtain U.S. citizenship. She cosponsored the law that eased naturalization requirements for thousands of Hmong veterans.
- Hmong Refugees: Senator Boxer has helped bring attention to the plight of Hmong refugees in Thailand and called on the U.S. to ensure that they are not forcibly repatriated to Laos where they may face persecution.
- Ensuring an Accurate Census Count: As the 2000 census began, Senator Boxer called attention to the disproportionate undercount of ethnic minorities in the 1990 census and worked with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center to ensure a more accurate count of California's population. As we approach another census year in 2010, she will be watching the process closely to ensure that minorities are fully counted.
- Supporting the White House Initiative: In 1999, Senator Boxer supported President's Clinton's White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders — a working group that coordinated efforts to reach out to the community to address areas where it is underserved by federal programs, including health, education, housing, and transportation services.
