Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Presidential Documents 67049 

Proclamation 10629 of September 22, 2023 

Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week, 2023 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

During National Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) Week, we celebrate all the possibilities that 

these institutions unlock for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 

Islander (AA and NHPI) students, particularly those from low-income, firstgeneration, and underrepresented backgrounds. Every generation of Americans has benefited by opening the doors of opportunity to include those 

who have been left behind. By putting higher education within reach of 

AA and NHPI students, our Nation’s nearly 200 AANAPISIs embody my 

belief that diversity is our strength as a Nation. 

For so many, higher education is a ticket to a better life. But while talent, 

creativity, and determination are found in people all across this country, 

not everyone has an equal shot at higher education. AA and NHPI communities encompass more than 50 ethnicities with a variety of identities, cultures, histories, and backgrounds—many come from lower-income backgrounds, or are the first in their family to graduate college, indigenous, 

or recent immigrants, or have faced a legacy of discrimination in our Nation. 

That is why the work of our AANAPISIs is so critical for broadening the 

opportunity of higher education to more Americans and realizing the full 

potential of AA and NHPI communities. 

AANAPISIs enroll nearly half of all AA and NHPI undergraduates, and 

they confer almost 50 percent of associate degrees and nearly 30 percent 

of baccalaureate degrees of all AA and NHPI students. These vital institutions 

empower students to earn degrees and reach their full potential while providing culturally responsive services and culturally sustaining programs that 

include tutoring, advising, career development and counseling, and more. 

With the Supreme Court’s recent decision to effectively end affirmative 

action in college admissions, the work to make higher education accessible 

to all is as essential as ever. We need to keep open the doors of opportunities 

and ensure that the promise of America is big enough for everyone to 

succeed. 

My Administration is committed to strengthening these critical institutions 

and supporting our Nation’s AA and NHPI communities. Through the American Rescue Plan, we have invested $5 billion in AANAPISIs. Further, 

I re-established the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, and I released a National Strategy to Advance 

Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities—addressing 

everything from combating anti-Asian hate to making Government services 

more accessible. 

We are also fighting to make higher education more affordable for students 

across the country. My Administration has increased Pell Grants for lowincome families by the largest amount in over a decade and fixed the 

Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so borrowers who become teachers, 

police officers, social workers, service members, and other public servants 

get the debt relief they are entitled to under the law. When the Supreme 

Court wrongly struck down our most ambitious student debt relief plan 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PRESDOC-D1
67050 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Presidential Documents 

ever, we moved immediately to open an alternative path to debt relief 

that could further reduce costs for many AA and NHPI borrowers. My 

Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan will cut payments on undergraduate loans in half, bring many low-income borrowers’ loan payments 

to $0 per month, and provide early forgiveness for borrowers with low 

balances. 

This generation of students is the most gifted, talented, and tolerant in 

American history—and it is up to all of us to give them the resources 

and opportunity they need to reach their full potential. During Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week, may 

we recommit to supporting these institutions as they raise the next generation 

of AA and NHPI dreamers and doers. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 25 through 

October 1, 2023, as Asian American and Native American Pacific IslanderServing Institutions Week. I call on public officials, educators, and all the 

people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs, 

ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the many ways these institutions 

and their graduates contribute to our country. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second 

day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, 

and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 

and forty-eighth. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21638 

Filed 9–27–23; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3395–F3–P 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PRESDOC-D1BIDEN.EPS</GPH>