Thank you, Attorney General, for hosting us here today and bringing us
together to really mark this important event.
On behalf of Secretary Becerra and our
colleagues at the Department of Health and Human Services,
it really is my pleasure and honor to join you in commemorating the one year
anniversary of the signing of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.
I also want to acknowledge,
as the Attorney General did, the representatives of Mr.
Khalid Jabara and Ms.
Heather Heyer's families who are with us here today.
We recognize them.
But again, thank you so much for your efforts in the passage of this law
and to the incorporation of the COVID Hate Crimes Act into the legislation.
The Jabara-Heyer No Hate Act will help us address the underreporting of hate crimes
and improve police response to hate crimes.
We've seen what hate can do if it remains unchecked.
We saw it last year in the fatal shootings
of eight people, including six Asian women in the Atlanta Metro area.
We saw it last Saturday when ten black Americans were murdered in Buffalo.
And we saw it once again in the deadly
attack on Taiwanese Church parishioners in Laguna Woods, California, one day later.
While we can't change the past,
we can honor victims memories by working to prevent more suffering moving forward.
And that is what today is about.
Last year, when President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law,
he left no doubt that we stand together as a nation to fight hate and racism.
Because hate doesn't just kill,
it leaves scars on individuals, on entire communities,
not only in the immediate aftermath, but sometimes through generations.
And it's not just a matter of law enforcement.
It is a matter of public health.
That is why, on today's anniversary of the signing of the COVID-19
Hate Crimes Act, DOJ and HHS are releasing joint guidance that the Attorney General
referenced to help our communities raise awareness about hate crimes that have
occurred throughout the time of this pandemic.
The guidance is based on the expertise and experiences of DOJ and HHS,
a review of the available resources about the rise of hate crimes and hate
incidents, the input of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.
And this guidance is highly informed
by community input. Communities shared and we listened. Through the joint guidance, DOJ
and HHS aim not only to raise
awareness about hate crimes and hate incidents, but also to propel action,
response and prevention to really address this urgent crisis.
In it, we provide eleven recommended methods to better address hate crimes
and hate incidents, and I will highlight just a couple.
We focus a lot on engaging healthcare
providers, clinics, health systems, and others in the healthcare community
to really address hate crimes and hate incidents.
We prioritize cultural competence
and language access so that we can address unlawful acts of hate as well as
xenophobia stemming from this public health crisis.
And as the Attorney General also
mentioned, we really prioritize community outreach and engagement in this guidance.
Through our actions, we can both prevent and respond to acts
of hate, and we can empower law enforcement, government officials,
public health systems, and community based organizations
to protect and support communities most frequently impacted.
In all, the guidance is an important tool
to prevent and respond to hate crimes and hate incidents.
Beyond this guidance,
I can tell you that at HHS, we are committed to doing our part
to protect the health and wellbeing of all communities from bias.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began,
we've launched campaigns to advance vaccine equity.
We've launched an equity technical assistance center at HHS to provide
training, tools, to do equity assessments that really focus on the way we make
policy, the way we deliver programs, the way we do our research and analysis
at HHS, so that we as an institution, as an organization are more equitable
moving forward.
And through the White House Initiative
on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders,
which is housed within HHS, we're working every day to address
the immediate impacts of the pandemic on a AANHPI communities,
from the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, to the health and economic disparities
that have been exacerbated over the last couple of years.
We are committed to continue building
on this work and we are grateful to have stalwart partners in this effort.
In closing, I really do want to thank our partners.
I want to recognize also Senator Hirono, author of the COVID Hate Crimes Act,
Congressman Don Beyer, Congressman Mark Takano,
and Congressman Andy Kim, who I think are also here with us today.
Again, my appreciation to the Attorney General,
to Deputy Attorney General Monaco, Associate Attorney General Gupta,
who have all been such tremendous partners to us in this effort,
and a variety of others that we have undertaken as part of this administration,
and of course, to our community partners across the nation who are really critical
to driving this work and helping us embed it in communities moving forward.
So today we have a chance really, to chart a new course to fight hate in all forms.
To everyone who's watching, please, we invite you to join us.
We will never learn to live with hate,
and we will never stop working until we eradicate hate from our communities.
So now I would like to turn it over
to the Deputy Attorney General, Lisa Monaco, for a few additional remarks.
Thank you so much for having me today.