Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Derek Mong
Potomac, Md. – Congressman Chris Van Hollen (MD-08) joined the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) and other Asian American community leaders the morning of Nov. 16 at the house of Michael Lin, Preesident of AAPA, to share his thoughts on a handful of important public policy issues facing the Asian American community.
Van Hollen represents Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District, which, after the recent redistricting process, stretches from the northern Washington, D.C. suburbs north towards the Pennsylvania border. As the incumbent representative from the district—which covers large portions of Montgomery County and smaller portions of Prince George’s County, Van Hollen is among a handful of top Democratic leaders in Congress and has previously served as assistant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the political body responsible for bringing Democratic leaders to Congress.
After acknowledging the efforts of the U.S. military to provide aid to those in the Philippines affected by the recent typhoon, Van Hollen went on to address three major issues on many American’s minds: the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the national deficit, and immigration reform.
Van Hollen acknowledged the complexity of the Affordable Care Act, calling some of the challenges from the implementation of the Maryland Health Insurance Exchange “disastrous”—and how he was continuing to push the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on its failed implementation. Nonetheless, he was an ardent defender of the ACA, underscoring how it afforded youth the opportunity to stay on a parent’s healthcare plan until age 26 and how the legislation closed the prescription drug loophole. Most significantly, he highlighted how individuals who never had the opportunity to purchase healthcare in the past were now able to purchase healthcare for the first time in their lives.
On the issue of the national deficit, Van Hollen highlighted how his advocacy of the Budget-Conference Committee will likely allow for more bipartisan approaches to resolving issues surrounding the national budget as to prevent the occurrence of another government shutdown. Since many members of the audience worked for federal government agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), this message was met with nods of affirmation.
Finally, Van Hollen discussed an issue on the minds of many minority communities: immigration reform. Acknowledging the Senate’s passage of an immigration bill that was admittedly “less than perfect,” he asserted that the bill would pass the House if it were put up for a vote. Van Hollen then continued to explain that the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, would not consider putting the immigration bill up for a vote and that it would be unlikely for any traction to made on immigration reform in the near-term, or, at the very least, until the next election cycle. At fault, he said, was likely the political restructuring caused by the last round of redistricting, which put little political pressure on conservative representatives from Congressional districts with a smaller minority population.
The event was an opportunity for Asian Americans to engage first-hand with their elected officials and highlighted the importance of having a political forum for Asian Americans in Montgomery County. The Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA), which was founded in 1999, has hosted numerous candidate forums with political figures including Senator Ben Cardin, Representatives Donna Edwards and John Delaney (before he was elected), Gubernatorial Candidate Doug Gansler, County Executives Doug Duncan and Ike Leggett, State Senators and Delegates, and members of the County Council.
