Hirono Visits White House, Meets with President Biden, Vice President Harris to Discuss CAPAC, AAPI Community Priorities

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, along with Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) leadership. 

President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the CAPAC members discussed critical issues facing the country during a productive meeting, among them President Biden’s infrastructure package, presidential appointments of AAPI candidates, and immigration.

During the visit, Senator Hirono thanked President Biden for his appointment of Erika Moritsugu to be Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison.

The Senator discussed the importance of President Biden standing with the AAPI community at a time when community is under attack, and voiced her approval for the initiatives he has already taken to support AAPIs. Senator Hirono also discussed her COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, legislation she introduced with Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y) to address the rise in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic. President Biden said he was surprised at how bipartisan the vote to consider the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was. Senator Hirono noted that while the bill has a few steps to go before a vote on passage, she is working hard to make the bill bipartisan while still retaining the intent of the bill.

###