Remarks Upon Receiving the LULAC National Legislative Award

I apologize as a soldier for not being in the correct uniform. But I had quite a busy day, and I didn't have an opportunity to change before coming over here, and I am sure you will forgive me. I could give you stories about how I was so very, very busy working on the peace process in the Middle East, or working on major arms control issues with one country or another, or I could tell you I was up on Capitol Hill testifying before the Congress on very important matters of budget and finance, but the issue I was working on that delayed me had to do with chickens. (Laughter.) The Russians have stopped importing American chickens.

Now, 12 years ago, when I was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I worried about exchanging missiles with Russia. But now the issue is chickens. It shows you how the world has changed, that in 12 years Russia has become the major importer of American chickens. Hundreds of millions of dollars of chickens have been stopped. But I want to assure you that with the same dedication and willingness to fight that I brought to the task 12 years ago as a soldier, we will win the chicken war. (Laughter and applause.) I want to assure you.

It also shows you how much the world has changed, that a nation that used to be an enemy of ours, that we used to target, we don't target any longer, and instead we debate issues of trade and issues of security and issues of stability. That makes for a much better world, the kind of world that we all are anxious to see emerge out of this time of trial and tribulation that we are in, the kind of world that LULAC is so interested in.

So I am so honored to be with you all this evening. I am so honored not only to be with so many members of Congress and other distinguished individuals who are here this evening, the Mayor of San Juan and with Jackie, but also one particular individual that I want to stop and recognize, because he is one of those rare Americans who has served his country above and beyond the call of duty, and that is Alfred Rascon, a Medal of Honor recipient, who is here with us this evening. And Alfred, would you please stand to be recognized.   (Applause.)

For those of you who don't know the military tradition, we never call them Medal of Honor winners; that's an affront because they don't think they've won anything. They thought they were there to serve their nation. So they always refer to themselves as recipients, grateful recipients of the Medal of Honor from a grateful nation. Alfred, it is so wonderful to see you here this evening.

For three quarters of a century, LULAC has worked passionately to ensure that America is indeed the nation to which we just renewed our Pledge of Allegiance, "One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all." It's a pledge we all know so well. All of us recited it in elementary school as we were growing up, but you know it's not an old pledge; it doesn't go back to the founding fathers. It's rather recent, within the past century, and it was written at a time when it was hard for so many Americans, Americans who looked like me, Americans who looked like you or talked like you, who can honestly say, "One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all," when we knew it was not liberty and justice for all.

But the beauty of our nation, the greatness of our system, and because of people like you who protested and who worked and pointed out indignities and pointed out things that were wrong in our society, increasingly we have gotten to be a more and more perfect nation, of the kind that our founding fathers had in mind. A nation that is an example to the rest of the world, a union of free men and women, wonderfully diverse in our background, yet united in our commitment to democracy, united in our commitment to one another. Our country is blessed in so many ways, and our diversity is one of them. In fact, diversity may be our greatest national asset.

I was raised in the South Bronx, as you heard mentioned a few moments ago. I was born in Harlem, raised in the South Bronx. I lived in a neighborhood in the South Bronx where everybody in the neighborhood was a minority. We were either black or Puerto Rican or Eastern European or some strange extraction. We were Jewish, we were Roman Catholic, we were Southern Baptist -- we were everything. I didn't know that a WASP was the majority; I thought a WASP finally, when I met one, was the minority. (Laughter.) I mean, if you weren't black or if you weren't a Latino or if you weren't from Eastern Europe, you really weren't in our crowd. And so I was raised in an atmosphere of diversity, where in that wonderful community in the South Bronx, we all came together and loved one another. We all depended on one another, and I learned as a child how important it was to treasure the contributions that each and every one of us makes to our national life.

So you should not be surprised that I am pleased, as Secretary of State, to share President Bush's vision of a State Department that reflects the diversity of our nation. To advance America's values and interests in today's world, the State Department must draw on the talents, knowledge, and experience of all Americans. The diversity of our work force, the men and women in the Department can help us make the case all around the globe that the keys to a better future are vibrant, tolerant, democratic societies, societies where citizens are equal regardless of race, color, background, original language -- they are all equal under the law -- and in which their individual worth is valued by all.

The men and women of the Department of State are America's face to the world. I like to say that they serve on the front lines, not the front lines of defense, but the front lines of offense. We are carrying out the mission given to us by the American people to further our foreign policy. These wonderful men and women of our Department send a powerful, positive signal all around the globe that differences do not have to be divisive, and that freedom works. They send that message not just by doing what they do with great professionalism and integrity, but also by being who they are, by personifying America in all of its diversity.

So increasing diversity at the State Department is a high priority for me; it's a passion for me. It's a mission I take seriously. And that includes increasing representation of Hispanics throughout our Foreign and Civil Service.  (Applause.)

I am proud to have senior Hispanic Americans at the helm of our Bureau of Western Hemispheric Affairs. I swore in Assistant Secretary Otto Reich yesterday and his principal deputy. (Applause.) His principal deputy, who has served me so well in my first year as Secretary of State, Lino Gutierrez, is here this evening. (Applause.) But I also know that I will not be successful if I just have Hispanic Americans in the Western Hemispheric Bureau; I want them in every Bureau. I want them throughout the Department at every level and in every area of interest.  (Applause.)

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in America. You all know the statistics as well as I do, comprising 11.4 percent of the civilian labor force. But last year you comprised only 4 percent of the State Department's employees. We not only must do better; I promise you we will do better. That is my commitment to you.  (Applause.)

When we gave our Foreign Service Exam recently -- this is the exam that sort of sorts out young people to see whether or not they are candidates for the Foreign Service -- we have tripled the number of minority applicants, and within that tripled the number of Hispanic applicants. And thanks to people like Senator Lieberman and Congressman Reyes and all the other members of Congress here, they are giving me the money I need to hire these wonderful young men and women as they come to the process.   (Applause.)

And that's why I'm particularly honored to be here this evening, to be recognized along with Senator Lieberman, a good friend of mine, and with Congressman Reyes and all the other members of the Hispanic Caucus who are here tonight or who are represented here, who are doing such a great job in making it possible for us to bring more young Hispanics into the Foreign Service.

I especially want to thank my good buddy from New York, my main man from the block, Jose Serrano, for helping us to establish the Serrano Scholars Program, an educational partnership between Columbia University and Hostos Community College of the City University of New York. The program prepares students for careers -- (applause) -- prepares students for careers in the Foreign Service.

Last spring we awarded a $1 million grant to Columbia University to start this program, named after Jose. I have taken a personal interest in this program, and as these youngsters come through the program, we will find them internships at the Department of State, we will mentor them all the way through, and I hope I am still Secretary of State when I swear them into the Foreign Service at the other end of that process.   (Applause.)

To make sure we are meeting our responsibilities, we brought on board Carmen Cantor, who is here with us this evening as our Hispanic Recruitment Coordinator. She is already doing a great job. We have launched an extensive advertising campaign targeted at Hispanic hiring, and we have expanded our relationship with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

More important, I need you, each and every one of you, to talk to your sons and daughters, to talk to your nieces and nephews, to talk to all of the young people in your life who you come across, who are looking for fulfilling careers, and to tell them about that guy Powell at the State Department. He wants you. He's standing there like this, just like a recruiting poster. (Laughter.) So you think about it. I can't pay you as much as corporate America. I can't dangle all the perks around that corporate America can. But what I can offer those kids is a chance to serve their country, and tackle some of the most compelling issues that face us in this new century, and promise them that they will have exciting careers where they will be able to serve America all around the world.

If there was ever a moment that epitomized unity and diversity and the great strength that our country derives from our diversity, we saw it all on the 11th of September, which we remembered the six-month anniversary of two days ago. Those attacks reminded us of our oneness as a nation, and they reminded us and the world of our common humanity. That sense of solidarity gave us the strength to endure this great trauma, and it has given President Bush the strength to forge and advance the global campaign against terrorism. And I'm telling you, Republican or Democrat, whether you're an American or somebody in a foreign land, our President is leading this worldwide campaign in a very, very distinguished way. We should all be proud.  (Applause.)

I will never forget that day, the September 11th day that we all have now emblazoned in our memory and in our hearts. I was in Lima, Peru talking to President Toledo at breakfast. We were talking about trade issues when the word came in that something had happened. We had gathered in Lima, Peru with all the foreign ministers from the Western Hemisphere to celebrate and to sign a new charter of democracy, an historic document that recognized the important way in which this hemisphere is moving forward on a path of democracy, all of us together except for Cuba, and that will happen in due course, trust me. It's going to happen.   (Applause.)

And when the planes hit and I got word of it and I knew I had to return to Washington right away. And while my plane was being made ready, I joined all of my other Organization of American States foreign minister colleagues at the conference center, where we passed unanimously that charter of democracy. I will never forget that moment when, after we did that, they all stood in solidarity with what had happened to their American colleagues and the United States. And ever since then, we have been able to draw on that strength throughout our hemisphere, of people who are aligned with us in this campaign.

We're working in so many ways with our friends in Latin America. On a regional level, we are working very closely with Mexico. You heard Mexico referred to earlier. We are working to make sure that we can deal with the border problems, not only with us and Mexico, but also with us and Canada as we protect ourselves. (Applause.) But we want to do it in a way that does not stop the vital flow of people going back and forth across those borders in dignity and in safety.   (Applause.)

President Bush and President Fox are determined not to build higher fences or to militarize our borders; we seek to establish a zone of confidence that offers protection to citizens of our countries against terrorists. The US-Mexican border region is a rich and vibrant cultural area. More than 12 million Mexicans and Americans now live in the counties and municipalities that stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Some 350 million people legally cross from one country into the other in the course of a single year.

As we see it, the border between Mexico and the United States does not divide us; it links us together. President Bush and President Fox are committed to keeping it that way. The two presidents have set an ambitious agenda, and an extremely close working relationship has developed. There is a new dynamism based on trust and the relationship between the United States and Mexico, the kind of dynamism that generates new thinking, breaks new ground, moves us forward -- moves us forward so that we will deal with this immigration issue, we will deal with the regularization issue, we will reach a point where ultimately all Mexicans, whether they are here with documentation or without documentation seeking documentation, will be dealt with in a way that is dignified, which respects their rights and gives them a chance for a better future, and gives their children that chance for a better future.   (Applause.)

I want to thank LULAC for the support that they have provided to our efforts over the years. And I want them to work more closely with the State Department in the months and years ahead as we do a better job of diversifying our work force, as we do a better job of solving immigration problems, as we do a better job of reaching out to Hispanic Americans and reaching out to all the nations of this hemisphere with a Hispanic background.

I am honored to be here this evening to receive this award, especially honored to share it with my two colleagues who are also being honored, Senator Lieberman and Congressman Reyes, two distinguished public servants. On behalf of all the men and women in the State Department, who you honor also with this award, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.