Skip to main content

Pelosi to CHCI: We Reaffirm Commitment to Raise Up the Next Generation of Latino Leaders

September 15, 2010

Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi will deliver remarks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Gala tonight at the Washington Convention Center. Below are the Speaker’s remarks as prepared.

“Thank you, Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez, for your kind introduction. As Chair of both the CHC and the Small Business Committee, you are working to empower entrepreneurs, small business owners, and workers.

“It is an honor to stand here tonight with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama – leading our nation forward toward progress and prosperity for Hispanic Americans and all Americans.

“I also want to acknowledge two outstanding congressional leaders: Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus Xavier Becerra and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes.

“I want to thank the planning committee for this evening’s extraordinary gala: Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard; Congressman Ciro Rodriguez; and Congressman Ben Ray Lujan.

“Tonight, we come together to reaffirm our commitment to the vision of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute: to build up ‘an educated and civically active Hispanic community’ and to raise up the next generation of Latino leaders.

“In doing so, we celebrate the contributions of Latinos in politics and public service, in education and business, in music and the arts. We pledge to honor the place of Hispanic Americans in our ‘history, heritage, and the American dream.’

“In that same spirit – and thanks to Vice Chair Becerra, who sits on the Smithsonian’s board – we look forward to seeing a new National Latino Museum, ensuring that our national mall truly reflects our national heritage.

“This year’s honorees remain active and engaged leaders, and set the standard for excellence on screen, in the recording studio, on stage – and in their communities: Arturo Sandoval, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Eva Longoria Parker. I congratulate them all. And I am especially proud to have appointed Eva to the National Latino Museum Commission.

“Celebrating history, heritage, and the American dream today means continuing our work to take America forward to prosperity, equality, and opportunity for all. We are not going back to the policies that left our economy in recession and left too many Hispanic Americans behind.

“In Congress, working with President Obama, we have acted to address the challenges facing the Hispanic community, and shared by all Americans.

“With Hispanic unemployment nearly doubling during the Bush recession, we passed the Recovery Act, creating or saving 3.3 million jobs so far, and cutting taxes for 98 percent of families and small businesses.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They create jobs and are the engine of our recovery. And today, the fastest-growing groups of small business owners are women and minorities.

“That’s why the House passed a small business bill to extend lending and credit to entrepreneurs so they can hire new workers. We thank Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez for her leadership in passing this legislation, and we look forward to the Senate completing work on this measure this week.

“With Latino families and homeowners among the ranks of Americans who lost their jobs, homes, and savings in the Bush recession, Wall Street reform will crack down on predatory lending and protect our middle class.

“Confronting the highest rates of being uninsured in the country, health insurance reform will extend coverage to 32 million more people and nearly 9 million Latinos, and strengthen the fight against health disparities. It expands our focus on minority health. And we are proud that it extends health care benefits to families in Puerto Rico.

“In passing health insurance reform, we also passed the largest investment in college aid in our history. In doing so, we strengthened Minority-Serving Institutions so students can stay in school, graduate, and succeed – investing $1 billion in Hispanic-Serving Institutions over the next decade.

“As we celebrate these achievements, we must honor the immigrants who came to our shores in search of a better life, and enriched our nation. Through their work and determination, each generation of immigrants has made America more American. This is the essence of our history.

“To honor the character of America, we must pass comprehensive immigration reform. I urge Senators from both parties to follow Senator Reid’s leadership to pass the DREAM Act as a first step toward reaching that goal.

“In pursuing this agenda, Congress and the American people have looked to a growing, thriving CHCI for leadership and guidance. Through your drive to build an America founded on the promise of the common good, the CHCI is helping write a new chapter in our nation’s history.

“It is adding to our heritage as a beacon of equality and opportunity. And it is striving to make the American dream a reality for all Americans.”