Is the House Republicans’ vote to eliminate funding for the East-West Center a dig at President Barack Obama?

A look at his family tree shows the answer could be yes.

Obama’s sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is an education specialist at the center.

His father, Barack Obama Sr., was involved with the center even before its inception in 1960. Obama Sr. took part in conversations that helped define and shape the organization.

After it opened, the president’s mother and stepfather pursued their graduate degrees while on East-West Center scholarships.

Lolo Soetoro, Obama’s stepfather, was an East-West Center grantee from 1962 to 1964, before he married Obama’s mother.

His mother, S. Ann Dunham (Soetoro), joined the center in 1973 as a degree fellow grantee and distinguished herself with her focus on social and economic development in Indonesia. As an alumna, she later helped develop one of the largest microfinancing programs in the world.

The center supports research, policy analysis and aims to promote healthy relations with Pacific Rim and Asian countries through its scholarship program.

Family ties aside, defunding the center also strikes at the heart of the Obama administration’s goal to improve U.S.-Asia relations.

The move is sure to generate a lot of buzz given Hawaii’s role as the host of APEC 2011. World leaders from 21 different countries will meet in Honolulu in November.