November 2, 2006 – On Thursday, November 11, we commemorate Veterans Day – a time to remember and honor the millions of brave men and women who have served our country with valor, loyalty and dignity. Without their service, and the support of their families, America would not stand as a beacon of hope, opportunity, and freedom. This year, we must take this opportunity to renew and reaffirm our commitment to the more than 24 million veterans in America.

October 11, 2006 – One of the most distressing things occurring in American public education is the slow disappearance of students—especially Black and Hispanic youngsters—from public high schools across this nation.

October 11, 2006 – We all know that we live in a hectic world. With 24-hour news cycles, full-time or part-time jobs, children’s school and extra-curricular activities, and trying to figure out how to squeeze more minutes out of the day, there is little time to sit down and just relax, let alone plan for the future.

July 19, 2006 – Our country is facing many health challenges – many of which are preventable and treatable. The instances of obesity, the uninsured or underinsured, and those developing diabetes are soaring each and every day – and becoming quite literally an epidemic.

May 23, 2006 – It's one of the most important laws for the health and welfare of our country's senior citizens, but most Americans, including many elderly, may not be aware it exists. We're referring to the Older Americans Act, first enacted in 1965 and up for renewal this year. We've written bipartisan legislation that updates this highly effective law to allow us to meet new challenges as we move well into the 21st century.

May 1, 2006 – Today, nearly 46 million Americans, including more than 8 million children, are living without health insurance. In Texas, nearly 5,600,000 people are uninsured; that’s 25 percent of the population, and an increase of more than half a million people since 2000. Millions more across the country are underinsured – merely having the bare bones of coverage to get by.

February 17, 2006 – Last week, the President released his FY2007 Budget to the United States Congress – and once again, the math simply does not add up. The budget deficit for this year will hit a record high of $423 billion, and yet this budget does nothing to address the deficit or the country’s mounting debt. In addition it doesn’t include the mounting costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan or the related costs of aid to the Gulf Coast states affected by Hurricane Katrina.

January 23, 2006 – This month marks the 4th anniversary of the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act. It comes on the heels of the President’s signing into law an education budget for fiscal year 2006 that cuts more than $175 million from the key programs that support educational opportunities for Hispanics, leaving little cause for celebration in our community.

October 18, 2005 – As another season begins, and we celebrate the coming of Fall, now is the time for the women in all our lives to think about prevention – the prevention of breast cancer. October marks the 21st year of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a month set aside to encourage government officials, businesses, communities, health care professionals, educators, community volunteers, and all Americans to renew our Nation’s commitment to controlling and curing the disease.

September 21, 2005 – The following column appeared in the September 21, 2005 issue of Roll Call.