Stronger Together: Hillary Clinton’s Plan to

Break Down Barriers for AAPIs

   Hillary Clinton believes that we are stronger together and that's why she is fighting for an America where all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) can succeed, regardless of their background or where they came from. The AAPI community is standing with Hillary because they know she’s had a career-long record of defending their best interests: from advocating for the Children's Health Insurance Program while she was First Lady to fighting for comprehensive immigration reform as a U.S. Senator to making the Asia-Pacific region a top foreign policy priority as Secretary of State. As President, Hillary has plans to break down barriers and improve the lives of AAPIs by:

1. Raising Incomes and Creating Good-Paying Jobs

• Fight for an economy that works for all AAPIs, not just those at the top. As President, Hillary will give AAPI working families a raise, and tax relief that helps them manage rising costs.  She will create good-paying jobs and raise incomes by investing in infrastructure, clean energy, and scientific and medical research to strengthen and grow our economy.  
• Help AAPI small businesses thrive. Hillary will fight to level the playing field for AAPI small business owners by cutting red tape, expanding access to capital, providing tax relief, expanding access to new markets and fighting discrimination in the lending market.
• Close the gender wage gap. On average, AAPI women earn 86 cents for every dollar earned by a white male, and the gap is even larger for specific segments of the AAPI community. Hillary will fight to break down barriers that AAPI women face in achieving pay equity and ensure that all women are on equal footing with men. 
• Raise the minimum wage. Hillary will also push to raise the minimum wage, provide incentives for companies to share profits with their employees, and boost apprenticeships to help more people move into the workforce.  

2. Providing Quality and Affordable Education

• Make college debt-free, and help AAPI graduates with their current debt.  About half of Asian Americans graduate from college with debt, with the average indebted 4-year college graduate owing more than $20,000 in student loan debt. Hillary will enable all borrowers to refinance their loans, offer a 3-month moratorium on federal loan payments, and propose a new measure to eliminate college tuition for working families.
• Invest in Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs).  Nearly half of all AAPI undergraduates are enrolled in community college, and certain AAPI communities face low levels of educational attainment. Hillary will strengthen AANAPISIs and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) by making historic new investments to keep costs down and provide a quality education.
• Provide every child with a world-class education. Hillary will ensure all four-year-olds have access to preschool, launch a national campaign to modernize and elevate the teaching profession, and provide every student in America an opportunity to learn computer science.

3. Improving Health and Expanding Access to Health Care

• Defend and expand the Affordable Care Act. Prior to the ACA, one in every six AAPIs did not have access to health insurance, surpassing the average national uninsured rate. Twenty million uninsured adults have gained health insurance coverage under the ACA, including more than 2 million AAPIs. Hillary will stand up to Republican attempts to roll back the law and will allow all families to purchase health insurance through an ACA exchange, no matter their immigration status.
• Address the lack of access to primary health care, dental care, mental health care and affordable prescription drugs. Today, 25 million people in the United States get their care from community health centers each year, and more than 60% are people of color. Hillary will significantly expand that coverage so that every American, regardless of where they live or what their background is, has good quality primary health care available to them at a cost they can afford. 

4. Protecting Social Security and Medicare

• Defend and strengthen Social Security so that AAPI families can retire with dignity. Social Security has provided Americans with financial security over the past 80 years. As president, Hillary will fight to defend Social Security and expand benefits for widows and those who took time out of the paid workforce to care for a child or sick family member.
• Drive down drug costs for seniors and other Americans. A typical senior spends over $500 per year out of pocket on prescription drugs. Hillary’s plan will drive down drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prices with manufacturers, demanding higher rebates, and allowing Americans to import lower-cost drugs from countries with approved safety standards.

5. Keep Us Safe Here at Home

• Address gun violence. More than 33,000 Americans are killed by guns each year: that’s nearly 100 Americans a day. Hillary will take common sense steps to reduce gun violence, including comprehensive background checks, cracking down on illegal gun traffickers, holding dealers and manufacturers accountable when they endanger Americans, and keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and stalkers.
• Keep our homeland secure. Hillary has laid out a comprehensive plan to harden our defenses at home. Her plan includes supporting first responders, law enforcement, and intelligence officers with the right tools, resources, intelligence, and training to prevent attacks before they happen; launching an intelligence surge to get security officials the tools they need to prevent attacks; and supporting law enforcement to build trustful and strong relationships with American Muslim communities.

6. Fighting for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

• Introduce comprehensive immigration reform within her first 100 days. Asian immigrants make up 11% of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, the vast majority of whom have lived in the U.S. for over a decade. Instead of breaking up law-abiding immigrant families who have enriched America, Hillary will offer them a path to full and equal citizenship. Further, Hillary understands that applicants from the Asia-Pacific region make up about 40% of the family visa backlog. She will address the backlog for those waiting for visas, which will help to reunite immigrant families.
• Attract and retain top talent from around the world. As part of a comprehensive immigration solution, Hillary would “staple” a green card to STEM master’s degrees and PhDs from accredited institutions—enabling international students who complete degrees in these fields to move to green card status.
• Keep immigrant families together. As president, Hillary will continue to defend DAPA and DACA and do everything possible under the law to go further to protect families.
• Create a national Office of Immigrant Affairs.  Hillary will create the first ever White House Office of Immigrant Affairs to ensure there is a dedicated place where integration policies and services for immigrants and refugees are managed.

7. Breaking Down Barriers and Bringing AAPIs Together

• Reauthorize the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Initially created by President Bill Clinton in 1999 under Executive Order 13125, the White House Initiative on AAPIs was created to improve the quality of life of AAPIs through increased participation in federal programs where they may be underserved. Hillary will reauthorize the White House Initiative on AAPIs and enhance its regional networks in an effort to better connect local AAPI communities to federal services. 
• Increase AAPI representation in government. As President, Hillary will build on President Obama’s progress of appointing AAPIs throughout the executive branch. From special assistants to cabinet members, AAPIs will play a key role in helping to shape her administration and its policy priorities.