[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 59 (Thursday, March 30, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E746-E747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                ROBERT GARCIA BRINGS HISPANICS TOGETHER

                                 ______


                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 1995
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, our former colleague, Bobby Garcia, has 
spent many years trying to forge better relations among all people. As 
a co-founder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, he sought to unite 
Hispanic Members of Congress working toward common goals. As a private 
citizen, he has continued to focus his attention on uniting Hispanics 
in this country and throughout our hemisphere.
  Recently, Mr. Garcia hosted a reception in Washington honoring the 
current chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, our colleague, 
Ed Pastor. Mr. Garcia also invited representatives of the Latin 
American republics and Spain to further our common interests.
  I commend our former colleague for his work in improving relations 
between people and countries and urge my colleagues to review the 
following article which appeared in the Caribbean Business publication.
                [From Caribbean Business, Mar. 23, 1995]

                    Garcia Sees Expanded Caucus Role

                           (By John Collins)

       Former Congressman Robert Garcia of New York views the 
     Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which he was a co-founder, 
     as an important catalyst for bringing Hispanics, in the U.S. 
     and elsewhere in the world, closer together for the mutual 
     benefit of all.
       Garcia and his wife, Jane, hosted a reception in honor of 
     the new chairman of the CHC, Ed Pastor, an Arizona Democrat. 
     To help familiarize members of the Diplomatic Corps with the 
     workings of Congress and how Hispanic members might assist 
     them in achieving their legislative agendas, Garcia invited 
     representatives of the Latin American republics and Spain to 
     the reception.
       Among those attending were ambassadors Raul Granillo Ocampo 
     (Argentina), Sonia Picado (Costa Rica), Ana Cristina Sol (El 
     Salvador), Jesus Silva Herzog (Mexico), Ricardo Alberto Arias 
     (Panama), Jaime de Ojedo (Spain), and Pedro Luis Echevarria 
     (Venezuela). Countries represented by other diplomats 
     included Brazil and Guatemala.


                           expanded diversity

       The CHC was organized in 1977 when there were only four 
     Hispanics in Congress, including Garcia. Today, the caucus 
     has grown to 18 members, 13 Democrats and five Republicans. 
     The largest segment of the CHC is of Mexican descent, four 
     are Puerto Ricans, 
     [[Page E747]] three are Cuban and one is Guamanian. Three are 
     women, including Rep. Lucile Roybal-Allard (D-Cal.), whose 
     father was a CHC co-founder. The previous chairman was Rep. 
     Jose E. Serrano (D-N.Y.). The current first vice chairman is 
     Resident Commissioner Carlos Romero Barcelo (D-P.R.).
       The caucus is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through 
     the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanics in the 
     U.S. and insular areas.


                          the spirit of miami

       While a guest at President Bill Clinton's historic
        Summit of the Americas in Miami last December, Garcia was 
     determined to return to Washington committed to assisting 
     the CHC perform a much more active role in fostering 
     dialogue and interaction between its members and Hispanics 
     throughout the hemisphere and elsewhere in the world. ``My 
     idea is for the caucus to help really make Clinton's 
     Spirit of Miami work,'' Garcia said. The Spirit of Miami 
     is a declaration of commitment signed at the summit. He 
     recalled how active the CHC was in the 1970s and 1980s in 
     fostering greater understanding of Latin America.
       Although modest, Washington observers point to the 
     important role Garcia performed in persuading the late House 
     Speaker Thomas O'Neill (D-Mass.) that Argentine President 
     Raul Alfonsin should be afforded an opportunity to address a 
     joint session of Congress after he had decided such an 
     invitation should not be extended in the post-Falklands War 
     climate.


                            argentine praise

       Garcia's initiative ``proved that subjects of common 
     interest are easily discussed among diplomats and Hispanic 
     legislators here, to the benefit of all our countries,'' 
     Ambassador Granillo Ocampo told Caribbean Business from 
     Washington. ``With regard to Argentina's message to the 
     U.S.--a message of political reliability and economic 
     predictability from a country where democracy has flourished, 
     a market economy is growing and human and civil rights are 
     prevalent--I would say it has been understood and fostered in 
     Congress with the help of the Congressional Hispanic 
     Caucus.''
       The Argentine envoy said: ``This was true when the then-
     Congressman Bob Garcia chaired the Caucus during the 1980s 
     and remains so under the chairmanship of Congressman Ed 
     Pastor.''
       Although it is a busy time in Washington and the House was 
     in session, several members were able to attend the reception 
     including Reps. Solomon P. Ortiz (D-Texas); Bill Richardson 
     (D-N.M.); Roybal-Allard; Esteban E. Torres (D-Cal.); Nydia 
     Velazquez (D-N.Y.); and Romero Barcelo accompanied by his 
     wife, Dona Kate. Also present was Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman (R-
     N.Y.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.


                          clinton represented

       Representing the Clinton administration, among others, were 
     U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor; Alexander Watson, 
     assistant secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs; 
     Judge Nelson A. Diaz, general counsel of the U.S. Department 
     of Housing & Urban Development; Jeffrey Farrow, co-chairman, 
     White House Inter-agency Working Group on Puerto Rico. HUD 
     Secretary Henry G. Cisneros was represented by his wife, Mary 
     Alice; and another HUD official, Aida Alvarez, the director 
     of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, was 
     also there. Tony Rodham, brother of first lady Hillary 
     Clinton, was also present.
       Among others in attendance were Puerto Rico Commerce 
     Development Administrator Juan Woodroffe and National Puerto 
     Rican Coalition Chief Executive Officer Manuel Mirabel.
     

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