Secretary's Speech

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez Remarks to Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Washington, D.C.

Thank you, Sara, for that very kind introduction. I know the Scholarship Fund will miss your leadership. You've done so much for the organization, and for young people around the country.

I look forward to working with you in Washington, once the U.S. Senate agrees to what we all know -- that you're the best person to be the next Undersecretary of Education!

To the newest members of the Alumni Hall of Fame and to their families, this is your night!! Congratulations!

All of you make us proud to be Hispanic Americans. In fact, you would make any American proud to be living in this great country of ours. Your stories are very compelling.

Virtually all of us are immigrants or descendents of immigrants. Most of us here tonight have a life story to tell.

My story is like many of yours. I came with my family from Cuba when I was six. We worked hard, learned English, and benefited from the power of freedom.

I was very fortunate to have many people help me along the way. Some were role models like the people we're honoring tonight.

So, thank you to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for your leadership in helping young people and parents get an education, for giving them direction, for helping them along the way.

Yours is a vital mission. You are providing opportunity to Hispanic Americans. And in so doing, you are making our country stronger and more productive.

Your mission is all the more vital today because of the demographics of the country.

Rising role of Hispanic community
Hispanic Americans are playing an ever-expanding role in setting the direction of our country.

America's immigrants are growing younger.

• Half of our Hispanic Americans are under 27.
• One in five American children is of Hispanic origin.
• One in seven Americans is of Hispanic origin.
• The Hispanic growth rate is three times the national average.
• Hispanic-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing segments of our economy, growing 31 percent between 1997 and 2002 - also three times the national average for all businesses.
• The nation's 1.6 million Hispanic-owned businesses generated nearly $222 billion in revenue, up 19 percent since 1997.
• Hispanic Americans serve heroically in the military in the war on terror.

Your scholarship award numbers reflect these trends.

Nine years ago you awarded $3.5 million in scholarships. Today the number has exploded to more than $25 million. You have students in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam who have attended over 1,700 colleges and universities.

President Bush's administration is also providing extensive support to Hispanic-serving institutions. Nearly $95 million is going to support post-secondary schools that serve large percentages of Hispanic American students.

Picking up the pace
But we can't be satisfied; we still have a lot of work to do.

• Today, just one in ten Hispanic adults has a bachelor's degree, compared to the national average of one in five.
• Tragically, tragically, Hispanic youth account for 40 percent of high school dropouts. Yet, they make up only 17 percent of the total youth population.

This results in diminished opportunity, and lower-paying jobs. Given our increasingly complex economy and society, high school dropouts today are unlikely to meet the potential we know they have.

• We know for a fact that 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs in America require post-secondary education. But only 6 percent of students enrolled in four-year institutions are Hispanic.
• In August, the unemployment rate for people without a high school diploma was more than triple the jobless rate for college graduates.
• And college graduates out-earn people without degrees. In the U.S., the wage gap is 72 percent, the difference between those who have a degree and those who don't.

So a lot has been done. We've come a long way. But there is much to be done.

Strong, growing economy
And this is a great time to be able to make a contribution to the economy and to the nation. Our economy is performing better than it has in many years, creating jobs and substantial wealth.

It's truly remarkable how well we've done. We have faced so many challenges in the past five years alone, and confronted them successfully:

• The bursting of the technology stock bubble.
• The 9/11 terrorist attacks, five years ago on Monday.
• Corporate scandals drove down public confidence.
• And, last year, the most destructive and expensive hurricanes in our history hit the United States.

So just think about what we've been through. Then, look at the results:

• Lower taxes and pro-growth economic policies allow people to keep more of their money for investing and spending.
• Our GDP per capita is among the highest in the world. GDP grew 3.6 percent over the past year -- well over its 40-year average growth rate of 3.2 percent.
• Our unemployment rate is 4.7 percent -- lower than the average of each of the past four decades.
• More than 5.7 million new jobs have been created over the past three years.
• Real after-tax income has risen 14.8 percent since January 2001.
• Since 2001, productivity has been growing at 3.2 percent a year.

Since our earliest days, different waves of immigrants have come to these shores, taking enormous risks but coming with great hopes for a new life.

The English, Irish, Germans, Poles, Italians, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, and countless others, they've all come. And all have made their mark. All have made a significant difference.

Today, it's our turn. This is our time. There is a new wave sweeping the nation that will be known as the great Hispanic Immigration Wave. Many of you here tonight are part of this new wave, while some of us came before.

This wave brings great opportunity. And it will bring new energy and vitality to the country.

But it also bears great responsibility. Like all the others who have come before us, we need to commit to making a better society. We need to do our part, become part of the mainstream, and love this country.

And we need to do it with a great deal of passion.

Think about the five people we're honoring tonight.

Look at what they've achieved in their careers. One is a teacher. Two are university professors. One is a brain surgeon and a university professor. And one is a business executive. All of them had to struggle, to overcome challenges.

Look at what they're giving back to their families and communities. One founded a school of the arts for minorities, another is teaching in the inner city. Others are educating the next generation coming up. All are giving back. All are leaders.

And these are great leaders because they believe in something bigger than themselves. They believe in a cause.

So tonight, I appeal to you:

Be leaders. Believe in this great country. Be an active part of it. Make it stronger. Make it even better.

I know we can do that.

Thank you very much. And God bless.

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