Legislative Summary of the 1st Session of the 111th Congress in Regards to Filipino American Issues

To date, the Democratic-led 111th Congress has passed several pieces of legislation regarding Filipino and Filipino American issues.  They are as follows:

1. Public Law 111-2, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (A bill that clarifies the legal time limits for employees to fight pay discrimination.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2007, Asian American women earned 89.5 cents for every dollar that men earned.) – Signed into law on January 29, 2009
2. Public Law 111-3, Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Including provisions to waive the five-year waiting period for Medicaid and SCHIP imposed on pregnant women and children legally residing in the US) – Signed into law on February 4, 2009
3. Public Law 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Including the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2008, a payment of $15,000 to Filipino WWII veterans with American citizenship and $9,000 to Filipino WWII veterans with Filipino citizenship) – Signed into law on February 17, 2009
4. H.R. 3081, Making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes (Including provisions to limit Foreign Military Financing to the Philippines contingent on the Government of the Philippines taking effective steps against human rights abuses and to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions) – Passed the House on July 13, 2009
5. S. Res. 298, A resolution recognizing Filipino American History Month in October 2009 – Passed by the Senate on October 1, 2009

U.S. House Resolution Offers Sympathies to Massacre in Maguindanao, Mindanao, Philippines

On Tuesday, December 8, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution expressing sympathies to the Philippines in regards to the recent election-related massacre in Maguindanao, Mindanao.  Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA-28) introduced House Concurrent Resolution 218, Expressing sympathy for the 57 civilians who were killed in the southern Philippines on November 23, 2009.

Rep. Berman, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, has been a longstanding ally of the Filipino American community.  The district he represents encompasses the northern San Fernando Valley of California.

Our thoughts and prayers also go out to the families of the victims in this senseless crimes.  Their legacies are a reminder of how much more work our community in the Philippines, and symbolically here in the United States, has yet to do. Kaya hopes to honor them through our commitment to helping to bring our community together in support of democratic ideals.

The text of the H. Con. Res. 218 can be found here.

White House Financial Reform and Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Conference Call

On Wednesday, December 9, Obama Administration officials held a conference call policy briefing on financial reform and an update on the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency and its impacts on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with Diana Farrell with the National Economic Council.

“Too many responsible Asian American and Pacific Islander families have paid the price for an outdated regulatory  system that left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and left consumers without adequate protections.  The Obama Administration’s plan will promote financial stability and protect Asian American and Pacific Islander families from the unfair practices that contributed to this crisis.  The plan will establish a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which will set clear rules of the road and ensure that financial providers are held to high standards.”

For more information, attached is a fact sheet, Obama Financial Regulatory Reform Plan Fights for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Enforcing Common-Sense Rules of the Road for Consumers, Investors.

Nominate Filipino American Community Leaders for this year’s top APA Progressives

To commemorate the first year of the Obama Administration and what can arguably be an era of progressive politics, APAP is rolling out with another Top 10 list! To close out 2009 APAP is giving a shout out and much needed accolades to the “top Asian Pacific American progressives” of 2009. This is a call-out to community leaders, workers, students, college grads, faculty, staff, government officials, Hollywood, the private sector, etc. who are working tirelessly in advancing progressive values and representing our communities.

Deadline for nominations is December 14, 2009, 11:59 PST.

Click on link to nominate:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/a/apaforprogress.org/viewform?formkey=dFNwTmNjdUZpR0VLR2dSWnRFYnBjbmc6MA

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Needed to Apply for California’s New Redistricting Commission

Deadline to Apply Is February 12, 2010

Every ten years, we draw new district maps for Congress, the California legislature, county boards of supervisors, and city councils.  These maps show the boundaries of each district.  When we redraw the maps every ten years, we change the boundaries so that each district contains the same number of people.  This process is called redistricting.

The next time redistricting will happen is in 2011, and because California voters passed Proposition 11 in 2008, there will be a major change in who draws the maps.

Obama Financial Regulatory Reform Plan Fights for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

The Obama Administration released a fact sheet on the Obama Financial Regulatory Reform Plan with details on how it relates to the AAPI community.

“Too many responsible Asian American and Pacific Islander families have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and left consumers without adequate protections. The Obama Administration’s plan will promote financial stability and protect Asian American and Pacific Islander families from the unfair practices that contributed to this crisis. The plan will establish a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which will set clear rules of the road and ensure that financial providers are held to high standards.”

Download the plan here:

Obama Financial Reform Plan Fights For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

DC/VA Events…Holiday Bash, Film Screening, Toy Drive…

Thursday, December 10 from 7:00pm-12:0am
Mixer from 7:00pm-9:00pm & Party from 9:00pm-12:00am
Class of Change Holiday Bash
Hosts- Chris Vaeth 0 Alex Flores – Amy Castellano – Alyson Palmer – Angela Rye – April Harley – Bonnie Kwon – Brian Wang – Caren Street – Carrol Chang – Chris Cassidy – Christian Oh – Christina Hollenback – Dy Brown – Emanuel Pleitez – Esther Morales – Felix Sorgho – Hallie Montoya Tansey – Jill Raney – John Brougher – Juan Gonzalez – Keo Chea – Kety Esquivel – Maria Urbina – Mark Rutledge – Melody Gonzales – Nina Kahori Fallenbaum – Ryan Seashore – Seiji Carpenter – Stacey Vaeth Gonzalez – Teddy Miller – Tiffani St.Cloud – Tsehay Abebe – Waiching Wong
Lima – 1401 K St. NW
(McPherson Square Metro – Orange/Blue lines)
Last month, our launch event brought together hundreds of diverse people who are ushering in the era of change.  This month, join us at..  The CLASS OF CHANGE Holiday Bash!  (OPTIONAL) IF YOU’RE FEELING IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT, BRING A NEW, UNWRAPPED TOY AND WE’LL DONATE IT TO ‘TOYS FOR TOTS’!
Free before 10:30pm

Come celebrate the holidays and the end of the year with Hyphen and community partner KAYA!

Join HYPHEN Magazine and community partner KAYA in celebrating the release of HYPHEN’s Issue 19. When and where? 5pm today at Lot 46 in San Francisco!

Multi-lingual Foreclosure Rescue Fair in the San Gabriel Valley – December 5, 2009 (and other resources)

With the support of Bank of America, National CAPACD has partnered with the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), and the National Urban League to conduct a series of education and outreach event for communities of color who are facing foreclosure.  The Alliance for Stabilizing our Communities, as the partnership is formally named, will hold a multi-lingual Foreclosure Rescue Fair in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California this weekend.  The fair is one of the 40 rescue fairs in 27 communities nationwide.  HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and attorneys will be on site to provide one-on-one foreclosure counseling sessions and foreclosure prevention workshops.  Services will available in Chinese, Korean, Tagolog, Thai, English and Spanish.

EVENT INFORMATION
Date: December 5, 2009
Time: 10AM – 2PM
Location: South El Monte High School in El Monte, CA

For more information, please contact Jane Duong, National AAPI Housing Program Manager at jane@nationalcapacd.org.

Dance for a Cause

Cheryl Burke, in collaboration with the Philippine Disaster Relief Coalition, the Philippine Consulate General, Alaya Foundation USA, and ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya Foundation, are pleased to invite you to