Schatz Co-Chairs Senate Leadership Meeting With National AAPI Leaders

WASHINGTON –Senator Brian Schatz co-chaired today’s Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee meeting with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders for a discussion on immigration reform, ensuring fairness for Native Hawaiians, and economic opportunity for the community.

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders greatly impacted the history and culture of America, by shaping our military, political, and industrial history,” said Senator Brian Schatz. “With nearly 19 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders throughout the United States, today’s meeting focused on key community issues such as immigration reform, family reunification, Native Hawaiian justice, and addressing economic disparities. I will continue to work with Senate Democratic Leadership and my constituents to find ways to advance these priorities, and we will continue to have an open dialogue on ways Congress can best assist the community.”

Many organizations who participated in this discussion are part of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), which was founded in 1996.  NCAPA is a coalition of thirty Asian Pacific American organizations around the country. Based in Washington D.C, NCAPA represents the interests of the greater Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities and provides a national voice for on policy issues and priorities.

Among those at the meeting were Gregory Cendana, Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO; Ben de Guzman, Co-Director, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance; Michelle Kauhane, Senior Vice President, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; Mee Moua, President and Executive Director, Asian American Justice Center and many others from the AAPI community.

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