A New Direction for Hispanic Americans & Their Families
All Latinos deserve a real opportunity to achieve the American Dream, whether they have been here for generations or just arrived to our shores. House Democrats are working to promote the New Direction agenda that builds opportunity for all Americans, including millions of Latino families.
The values of Latinos – faith, family, and love of country – are American values. America is strengthened by the hard work and leadership of the Hispanic community. While the most visible influence of Latinos is found in our culture – including music, sports, film, and food – Hispanic Americans are also a driving force in business, science, education, and politics. With every new generation of Latino leaders, our nation is enriched by the extrordinary contributions of Hispanic Americans.
LATEST NEWS
Pelosi Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15, 2008 – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins September 15 and runs through October 15:
“Hispanic Heritage Month honors the enormous contributions of Hispanic Americans to our country, and celebrates their achievements in the broad spectrum of American life: from business and education to music and sports. America has grown stronger through its diversity, and is surely a better place for the contributions of Hispanics.
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Visit Speaker Pelosi's Hispanic Heritage Month page>>
THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS: MOVING LATINOS FORWARD
Bush Budget Wrong for Latinos
Latinos, like all Americans, are facing difficult times. Latinos are losing their homes due to the housing crisis; thanks to a slowing economy Latino unemployment is up; and incomes are stagnant while the cost of basic necessities keeps rising. The Budget Conference Report, crafted by House and Senate Democrats, rejects President Bush’s harmful cuts, invests in Latino priorities, strengthens our national security and gets our economy moving again.
BUDGET RESOLUTION PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR STRUGGLING LATINO FAMILIES
Latinos Are More Likely To Qualify For Home Heating Assistance. While the President’s budget request would have cut the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by $570 million, the budget resolution conference report rejects that cut and provides the full authorized level of $3.1 billion and provides funding for weatherization assistance, which helps 5.5 million low-income families reduce their energy costs and save energy. [U.S. Dept of Energy]
Latinos Depend on Affordable Housing Assistance. Latinos are disproportionately represented among those who live in deteriorated and unsafe housing structures, and are more likely to qualify for affordable housing assistance. The budget resolution rejects the President’s cuts to the community development block grant and the HOPE VI housing program, giving Latinos a fair shot at securing a safe place to call home. [NCLR]
Latinos are Excluded from the President’s Tax Cuts. Yet again, the President is proposing making his tax cuts permanent – tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans and provide comparatively little to a majority of Latinos. Under the President’s tax cuts, taxpayers making $1.5 million a year or $722 an hour will get an average tax cut of $58,000. Latinos who have a median income of $37,781 only receive an average cut of just over $600. Democrats have instead focused on expanding middle and lower-income tax cuts, such as the child tax credit (CTC) and the earned income tax credit (EITC), to ensure that they cover the families that need them the most. [Citizens for Tax Justice, U.S. Census Bureau, New York Times, Urban Institute]
BUDGET RESOLUTION INVESTS IN EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE FOR LATINOS
Democrats Back Education Programs That Benefit Latinos. The Democratic budget rejects the President’s harmful cuts to key education programs that benefit Latinos, including supplemental educational opportunity grants, low cost Perkins loans and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), which enroll more than 50 percent of all Latino students. The budget resolution conference report provides an increase of $8.4 billion or 11 percent for education funding over the President’s request. [NCLR]
New Budget Protects Job Training Programs for Latino Workers. In May, the Latino unemployment rate was 6.9 percent compared to the national rate of 5.0 percent. But President Bush’s budget does nothing to aid unemployed Latino workers. President Bush’s budget cuts unemployment and job training programs by $465 million from FY08 levels, hurting Latinos searching for work and the American economy. The budget resolution conference report restores funding for these much-needed programs. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]
Democrats Help Expand Health Care for Latino Children. 23 percent of all Latino children are uninsured, compared to 8 percent of non-Hispanic White children who do not have health insurance. The President’s budget provides significantly less funding than Congress proposed under the reauthorization of State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which would be devastating to Latino children who represent half of all SCHIP enrollees. The budget resolution conference report provides a significant increase for SCHIP over the President’s request to $50 billion to cover millions of uninsured children. [Kaiser Family Foundation, NCLR]
BUDGET RESOLUTION ENSURES OUR LATINO VETERANS ARE CARED FOR
Democratic Budget Provides for 1.1 Million Latino Veterans. The Democratic budget rejects the President’s proposed new health care enrollment fees for veterans and instead, increases veterans’ health care funding by $4.9 billion over fiscal year 2008 to treat more of our nation’s veterans, including soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, Latinos represent more than 10 percent of all soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and nearly 500 Latinos have sacrificed their lives for our country in those wars combined. [Department of Defense]
Speaker Pelosi and Democratic Members on the Anniversary of Cesar Chavez' Birthday - March 31, 2008
"Cesar Chavez championed the causes of justice and equality and inspired millions with his vision of hope and prosperity for working people," said Speaker Pelosi. "With enormous passion and dignity, he claimed for America’s farm workers the rights that must be possessed by all workers: a good job, a fair wage, and a safe workplace."
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Watch Democratic Members speak on the House floor to honor the life and work of Cesar Chavez:
A New Direction for Hispanic Americans and their Families
Made Children's Health Care a Priority – Providing 11 million children with health care and remedying the shortfall in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). |
Increased the Minimum Wage – The first increase in more than a decade became a reality in July for millions of Americans. |
Passed Significant Investment in Women's Health Care – Hispanic women are nearly three times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have stage IV breast cancer (cancer that has spread beyond the breast). |
Enacting a Law to Make College More Affordable – Benefiting the more than 1.8 million Hispanic students enrolled in degree-granting institutions and those who strive to follow in their footsteps. |
Increased Funding and Expanding Opportunities for Hispanic Children – One in five public school students in America is Hispanic, and early education programs provide a crucial foundation for thousands of lower-income children before they enter the school system. |
Passed Legislation Mandating Harsher Penalties for Those Guilty of Hate Crimes – In 2005, law enforcement reported more than 7,100 hate crimes. Many of those crimes were motivated by racial and ethnic bias. |
Voted to Strengthen Voter Protection and Prevent Intimidation at the Polling Place – Latino American voters have a right to participate in their constitutional right to political participation free of fear. |
Expanding Housing for Low-Income Families – Section 8 is a critical source of federal housing assistance that has benefited low-income families for more than three decades. |
Enacted New Law to Spur Innovation and Good-Paying Jobs – Congress has enacted our crucial Innovation Agenda in math and science education and basic research to restore our ability to compete in a global economy. |
Voted to Increase Funding for Veterans and for a Pay Raise for Brave Members of Our Military – The largest increase in veterans health care funding in the history of the VA. |
INCREASED THE MINIMUM WAGE – The first increase in more than a decade became a reality in July for millions of Americans:
- The increase will benefit nearly 2.3 million hardworking Hispanic Americans over the next several years. [EPI, 4/07]
- This pay raise comes at a critical time for Hispanic families as household income has dropped $1,053 to $37,781since 2000, and more than one in five – 9.2 million – Hispanic Americans live below the poverty level. [CPS, 8/07]
- Minority women will benefit the most from the wage increase: fully 33 percent of women benefiting are African-American or Hispanic, even though these groups comprise less than a quarter of the female workforce. [Center for American Progress, 9/04]
MADE CHILDREN’S HEALTH CARE A PRIORITY – providing 11 million children with health care and remedying the shortfall in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) created under the Republican Congress:
- More than 50 percent of insured Latino children are covered by Medicaid or SCHIP programs. [Families USA, 12/06]
- Nearly 3 million Hispanic children are still living day-to-day without any health coverage – 70 percent of these children are eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP. [Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 8/06; Families USA, 12/06]
- In July, the House passed H.R. 3162, the CHAMP Act (Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act), which reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for 6 million children and provides 5 million more low-income children with health coverage.
- The bill also protects and improves Medicare, which serves 3.4 million Hispanic seniors, ensuring that seniors have access to doctors of their choice, reversing the Republican drive to privatize Medicare, and including new preventive benefits and more assistance for low-income seniors with out-of-pocket costs.
- The bill also take steps to reduce health disparities in communities of color and makes critical changes to overcome the barriers to enrollment in Medicaid, SCHIP and Medicare, such as encouraging culturally appropriate enrollment and retention practices and restoring state’s option to provide Medicaid and SCHIP to legal immigrant children.
- On May 25th, House bill H.R. 2206 was enacted into law providing $650 million in emergency funding for the SCHIP program – preventing potentially hundreds of thousands of children in 11 states from losing their health insurance or having their health coverage scaled back in the next few months.
PASSED SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE – Hispanic women are nearly three times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have stage IV breast cancer (cancer that has spread beyond the breast). [Cancer, 5/15/07]
- On April 10th, the President signed into law House bill H.R. 1132, the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, reauthorizing the program for five more years.
- This program provides free and low-cost breast and cervical cancer screenings to low-income, minority, or uninsured women and provides education and outreach services to women.
ENACTING A LAW TO MAKE COLLEGE MORE AFFORDABLE – Benefiting the more than 1.8 million Hispanic students enrolled in degree-granting institutions and those who strive to follow in their footsteps:
- In the first 100 hours of the Democratic-led Congress, the House passed the College Student Relief Act (H.R. 5) cutting the interest rates on subsidized student loans in half. This cut would save the typical borrower $4,400 over the life of the loan. About 25 percent of Hispanic students take out need-based student loans each year.
- Congress has passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (H.R. 2669) – the single largest investment in college assistance since the G.I. Bill of 1944 – making landmark new investments in Hispanic-serving institutions, which enroll almost half of all Hispanic college students, with a priority for increasing the number of students graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and improving the transfer rate from 2-year to 4-year institutions.
- The College Cost Reduction and Access Act also increases the Pell Grant by more than $1,000 over the next five years, restoring the purchasing power for millions of low and moderate income students. This will help the 37 percent of Hispanic students who receive the Pell Grant scholarship each year.
INCREASED FUNDING AND EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HISPANIC CHILDREN – One in five public school students in America is Hispanic. Early childhood education programs, such as Early Start and Head Start, provide a crucial foundation for thousands of lower-income children before they enter the school system.
- Head Start provides vital child development, health and nutrition services to 324,000 Hispanic American children.
- In May, the House overwhelmingly passed the Improving Head Start Act (H.R. 1429) which expands and improves the successful Head Start childhood education program.
PASSED LEGISLATION MANDATING HARSHER PENALTIES FOR THOSE GUILTY OF HATE CRIMES – In 2005, law enforcement reported more than 7,100 hate crimes. Many of those crimes were motivated by racial and ethnic bias.
- On May 3rd, the House passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1592) authorizing the Department of Justice to provide state and local law enforcement agencies technical, forensic, prosecutorial and other forms of assistance in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.
- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee introduced H.Res. 535 honoring the late David Ray Ritcheson, a survivor of one of the most horrific hate crimes in the history of Texas, and recognizing his efforts in promoting federal legislation to combat hate crimes.
VOTED TO STRENGTHEN VOTER PROTECTION AND PREVENT INTIMIDATION AT THE POLLING PLACE – Latino American voters have a right to participate in their constitutional right to political participation free of fear.
- On June 25th, the House passed the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act (H.R. 1281). This bill protects every American citizen’s right to vote by making voter deception a crime.
- H.R. 1281 is designed to prevent a repeat of the 2006 election when voters in minority communities were intentionally misled about voting dates and some naturalized citizens were threatened with arrest if they turned up to vote. The bill criminalizes voter deception, increases penalties for voter intimidation, and requires the Department of Justice to prevent and correct malicious misinformation campaigns designed to prevent citizens from voting or mislead them about elections.
EXPANDING HOUSING FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES – Section 8 is a critical source of federal housing assistance that has benefited low-income families for more than three decades.
- On July 12th, the House passed The Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (H.R. 1851) to provide housing for 100,000 additional families over the next five years, in addition to the close to two million households already benefiting from Section 8.
- The bill improves the efficiency of Section 8, encourages self-sufficiency for low-income families, promotes homeownership and ensures that vouchers can be used to create affordable housing developments for seniors, the disabled, and homeless people.
- The House has also passed H.R. 1427, which creates an Affordable Housing Fund to promote affordable housing for low-income homeowners and renters.
VOTED TO STRENGTHEN THE GROWTH OF SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENCOURAGE ENTREPRENUERIAL SPIRIT – Small businesses create two-thirds of American jobs.
- Hispanics own a record 1.6 million small businesses with annual revenues of more than $221 billion.
- The fastest-growing small business sector is Latina-owned firms.
- In April, the House passed the Small Business Lending Improvements Act (H.R. 1332) which lowers the cost of financing for small businesses by modernizing SBA lending initiatives, allowing entrepreneurs to invest further in their ventures and create jobs.
ENACTED NEW LAW TO SPUR INNOVATION AND GOOD-PAYING JOBS – Congress has enacted our crucial Innovation Agenda in math and science education and basic research to restore our ability to compete in a global economy.
- The America’s Compete Act (H.R. 2272) puts us on a path to doubling funding for National Science Foundation basic research over the next 10 years, invests in some 25,000 new math and science teachers over 5 years, and works to strengthen small high-tech firms and stimulate investments in innovative technologies by small manufacturers.
- It also takes concrete steps toward increasing the number of women and under-represented minorities entering the science, technology, engineering and math fields.
- For example, the new law will improve the NSF’s teacher scholarships and program to increase undergraduates in science, technology, engineering and math to promote minority and women participation, and requires a National Academy of Science study on strategies to increase minority participation in the science, technology, engineering and math workforce.
- In 2000, only 3.4 percent of the science and engineering jobs were held by Hispanics.
- Nearly 40 percent of Americans under the age of 18 is a racial or ethnic minority so increasing education and participation of Hispanics is essential to supplying the American economy with the expertise in science, math, engineering and technology that the country needs to innovate and remain competitive.
VOTED TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR VETERANS AND FOR A PAY RAISE FOR BRAVE MEMBERS OF OUR MILITARY – The largest increase in veterans health care funding in the history of the VA:
- There are 1.1 million Hispanic American veterans who have served this nation and more than 152,000 brave Hispanic men and women have served their country in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.
- Passed H.R. 1585, which provided all service members a pay raise of 3.5 percent and will put $7.3 billion into the paychecks of our men and women in uniform over the next five years.
- Passed H.R. 1538, Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, to take the first step to address the military health care and transition problems brought to light by the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
- Voted to fix the worst military readiness crisis since the Vietnam War by investing in equipment, training, body armor, new armored vehicles, and more troops.