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The Biden administration is taking several new measures in response to the increasing violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders following the mass shooting in Atlanta earlier this month. The Atlanta shooting incident left 8 people dead including 6 women of Asian descent. On Tuesday, the Biden administration said it is reinstating the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The new measures would expand the initiative’s original mandate to include coordination across federal agencies to respond to anti-Asian bias and violence, with a particular focus on gender-based violence against Asian Americans. The White House said that new actions from President Biden will also appoint a permanent Director to lead the Initiative in the coordination of policies across the federal government impacting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

Point to be noted that the initiative was first established during the Clinton administration. It has been reinstated and expanded by subsequent presidents. Before the recent measures, the White House hadn’t taken action to revitalize the Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders, which currently has no direct staff at either the MBDA (Minority Business Development Agency) or other agencies that are supposed to designate liaisons. Many AAPI activists have argued that the initiative should be moved to a better-equipped agency to address the health and public safety issues experienced by Asian Americans. The current page for the initiative on the MBDA website hasn’t been updated since Biden took office. It features a picture of former President Donald Trump and his picks for the group.

It raised some concern that the current White House administration hasn’t been fully interested in reshaping it. The Department of Health and Human Services will also allocate $49.5 million from the American Rescue Plan for community-based, culturally specific services, and programs under the Tuesday announced actions. It will aid AAPI survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, who may face additional hurdles to receiving aid, such as language barriers. Point to be noted that the Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force was established by President Biden in January. The White House said that it has also established a subcommittee on Structural Drivers of Health Inequity and Xenophobia. This subcommittee will be specifically focused on combating the rise in anti-Asian bias during the pandemic.