WASHINGTON — Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) and Executive Member Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) led seven other colleagues in a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young on Statistical Policy Directive 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15), urging OMB to take additional action to assist federal agencies in effectively incorporating its revised standards to SPD 15.
Previously, members of CAPAC have applauded OMB’s recent updates that incorporated many of their 2017 and 2023 recommendations, such as increased data disaggregation, so that federal agencies can better understand the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities that encompass over 70 different ethnicities.
“Federal data on race and ethnicity is a crucial resource for identifying and addressing inequity,” wrote the members. “While SPD 15 could be a tremendous asset to our communities, we are concerned with how federal agencies will implement the revised standards.”
The letter urges OMB to work directly with federal agencies to provide them with the necessary resources and guidance to produce detailed inventories on their data collections, and to share these data inventories in a centralized manner, as recommended by over 100 AANHPI advocacy groups that have weighed in on the issue.
The letter further requests clarification on what a “sufficient justification” would be to exclude an agency from detailed demographic reporting requirements.
“OMB plays a critical role in ensuring both the quality and consistency of federal datasets, and the updated SPD 15 is a significant step in improving federal data collection processes,” they conclude. “In all, greater transparency and stronger guidance will help federal agencies fulfill the ideals of SPD 15 while providing greater opportunity for community accountability.”
The letter was also signed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Reps. Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Mark Takano (D-Riverside).