CONGRESSWOMAN JOHNSON COMMEMORATES HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

Washington, DC – (Thursday, September 16, 2010) Today, Congresswoman Johnson issued the following statement in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 through October 15 every year.

“Hispanic values – faith, family, love of country – are American values.  The Hispanic dream – the hope of a better, more prosperous future – is the American Dream.  During Hispanic Heritage Month, we honor the Hispanic community and pay tribute to the extraordinary contributions that Hispanics have made throughout our history, and continue to make to America every day.

Economically, culturally, and politically, Latinos are a vital part of our nation. As the fastest growing ethnic group in our country, the 48.4 million-strong Hispanic community makes America a better and stronger nation.  And over several generations, American life has been enriched by Hispanic contributions in business, education, government, and the arts.   

Over the last year and a half, the Democratic-led Congress has been working hard to improve the lives and meet the needs of America’s Hispanic families – from the economy, to small businesses, to making college more affordable, to health care, to veterans.

Despite the growth and progress of our Hispanic community, unfortunately, many Hispanic families have not fared well economically over the last several years – due to the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration.  The policies of the Bush Administration led to the worst recession since the Great Depression – resulting in the loss of 8 million American jobs.  Due to the deep Bush recession, the Hispanic unemployment rate now stands at 12%.  
 
As a result of the Bush recession, when President Obama took office, job losses were averaging more than 700,000 a month.  Since then, President Obama and a Democratic-led Congress have been working hard to dig the country out of the enormous hole President Bush left us in.    Most recently, there have been eight straight months of private sector job growth.  

Jobs are the number-one issue for Hispanic families.  In February 2009, Congress enacted the Recovery Act – which provides 98% of Americans workers with a tax cut; begins to rebuild America’s road, rail, and water infrastructure; and invests in clean energy and 21st century jobs.  No one is satisfied with the current rate of job creation, but economists say that the economy would be much worse off without the Recovery Act and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office states that, so far, the Act is responsible for up to 3.3 million jobs.

The Democratic-led Congress has also enacted legislation that makes investments to save 161,000 teacher jobs this fall; provides state aid that is designed to create and save an additional 158,000 jobs, including police officers, firefighters, and private sector workers; and closes tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas.

There are currently 2.3 million Hispanic-owned small businesses in this country.  One of the key focuses of the Congress has been to help small businesses get back on their feet after the devastating Bush recession.  The Congress has enacted eight small business tax cuts, including a new tax credit for hiring unemployed workers, bonus depreciation tax incentives to support new investment, expansion of limits on small business expensing, and a five-year carryback of net operating losses.  These tax cuts are critical for America’s small businesses.

Many Hispanic Americans are young people and a top priority of this Congress has been making college more affordable.  Congress has enacted the largest student aid package in history – including increasing the maximum Pell Grant to $5,550 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017.  This increase will help the 37% of Hispanic college students receiving Pell Grants.  The bill also invests $1 billion over 10 years to strengthen Hispanic Serving Institutions, providing students with the support they need to stay in school and graduate.

Another key issue for Hispanic families is health care.  The Affordable Care Act puts patients – rather than insurance companies – back in charge of their health care.  The Act enacts a Patient’s Bill of Rights, effective this year – which prohibits insurance companies from dropping people when they get sick, discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions, and imposing lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on coverage.  The Act also provides tax credits for small businesses to make employee health coverage more affordable for those businesses choosing to provide it; cuts prescription drug costs for seniors by phasing out the Medicare prescription drug ‘donut hole’ coverage gap; and extends the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by an additional 12 years.  This legislation is vital for Hispanic families and Hispanic seniors.

Finally, the Democratic-led Congress has enacted legislation to improve the lives of America’s veterans – including 1.1 million Hispanic veterans.  For example, it has strengthened quality health care for more than 5 million veterans by investing 11% more for medical care, benefit claims processors, and facility improvements this year.

I am proud to celebrate the heritage and contributions of America’s Hispanic community. We must do all we can to better ensure that all Latinos, like all Americans, have a meaningful opportunity to improve their lives and pursue the American Dream.”