This afternoon in Austin, Texas, President-Elect George W. Bush announced the nomination of the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta to be his Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. If confirmed by the United States Senate, the former California Congressman will serve as the only Asian Pacific American-and the only Democrat-in the incoming Republican President's Cabinet.

Korean American Coalition (KAC) wholeheartedly welcomes today's announcement, and thanks President-Elect Bush for his confidence in this outstanding candidate. "When President Clinton first appointed Norm Mineta to his cabinet last year, that was a high-point in the century and a half of Asian Pacific American history. Today's appointment by President-Elect Bush is another great historic moment for all Asian Pacific Americans," said KAC Chairman, William P. Min.

"By offering Secretary Mineta a place in his inner most circle, President-Elect Bush has demonstrated his willingness to seek bipartisanship in the aftermath of the tough election. More importantly, he has demonstrated the importance of having Americans of all backgrounds participate in our government," said KAC President, Brian S. Kim.

KAC believes that Mr. Mineta is the perfect candidate to head the Transportation Department, not only because of his expertise in this area and his extensive and impressive record as a legislator and public servant for over 40 years, but because of his demonstrated ability to work for the betterment of all Americans.

Mr. Mineta is an American of Japanese ancestry who personally experienced one of the darkest moments in our nation's history when, at the age of 10, he was placed in an internment camp during World War II, simply because of his Japanese heritage. Notwithstanding the blatant injustice that he, along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans, suffered, Mr. Mineta went on to cleanse the conscience of the nation by leading the charge to pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which provided an official apology and redress to the Japanese Americans interned by the U.S. government.

Mr. Mineta has also been a strong leader of the Asian Pacific American communities across the nation. As a distinguished Member of Congress, he co-founded the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus to bring together all Members of Congress of Asian heritage and others who represent significant Asian Pacific American constituencies.

Upon retiring from elected office, Mr. Mineta founded the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) which have become the premiere national groups representing the Asian Pacific American voice in political and public policy-making processes. In all these efforts, Mr. Mineta personally and diligently reached out to every sector of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to be certain that everyone is represented. KAC has worked closely with Mr. Mineta on many of these efforts.

"Norm Mineta is a steadfast and visionary leader. He has been a strong supporter of Korean Americans, and we look forward to continuing to work with him as a cabinet secretary" said Mark L. Keam, KAC's Washington DC Representative.

KAC is a national membership-based nonprofit community service, education and advocacy organization established in 1983 to facilitate the Korean American community's effective participation in civic, legislative, political and community affairs. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, KAC maintains membership chapters in several cities along the West Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii, and affiliated organizations on the East Coast. With over a dozen full-time staff and a large base of volunteers, KAC provides a variety of direct and indirect services to the fast growing Korean American communities across the nation.