[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 117 (Wednesday, September 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9378-S9379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to 
commemorate the 30-day period from September 15 through October 15, 
which was designated by the President as Hispanic Heritage Month. 
Hispanic Heritage Month was first initiated by Congress in 1968 to 
celebrate the diverse cultures, traditions, and valuable contributions 
of Hispanic people in the United States.

[[Page S9379]]

  We are living through the longest and strongest economic boom in 
American history. Since 1992, our economy has created 22 million new 
jobs--and Hispanics in Massachusetts and around the country are sharing 
in our national prosperity and contributing to this marvelous growth. 
Since 1993, Hispanic employment has increased by nearly one-third 
nationwide, and median weekly wages for Hispanics have risen more than 
16 percent. The unemployment rate for Hispanics is the lowest since we 
began tracking it, and the median income for Hispanic households has 
risen 15.9 percent over the last three years.
  But for all our progress, we know that many challenges remain. The 
dropout rate for Hispanic youth is astonishingly high. There are far 
too many young people with nothing to do after school, and the 
unemployment rate is still too high in many predominately-Hispanic 
communities. We cannot ignore or turn our backs on these young people, 
because they are truly the future of this nation. And prosperity that 
is not broadly shared is not true prosperity.
  In February of 1994, President Clinton signed Executive order 12900, 
``Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans,'' specifically, ``To 
advance the development of human potential, to strengthen the Nation's 
capacity to provide high-quality education, and to increase 
opportunities for Hispanic Americans to participate in and benefit from 
Federal education programs.'' I am proud to tell you about an 
initiative in my state, the Massachusetts Education Initiative for 
Latino Students (MEILS), which was created to implement the White House 
Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans in 
Massachusetts. MEILS created a Steering Committee responsible for 
developing and implementing a comprehensive approach for dealing with 
Latino educational issues statewide. MEILS has formulated a partnership 
between the state, federal, and local government to ensure high-level 
educational achievements for Latino students, from preschoolers to 
lifelong learners. MEILS has already established working groups in 13 
of the communities with the highest percentages of Hispanic populations 
in the state of Massachusetts. Last Fall, MEILS held a conference in 
Worcester, Massachusetts, expecting approximately 300-400 participants, 
but ultimately drawing 700. They are currently planning their second 
conference, anticipating over 1,000 participants.
  By 2050, one-quarter of all Americans will be Hispanic. In 
Massachusetts, Hispanics comprise 6% of the population and have made 
significant contributions to our communities, to our workplaces, to our 
public schools, and to academe. One of those contributors, Juan 
Maldacena, an Associate Professor of Physics at Harvard University, 
recently secured a MacArthur Foundation ``genius'' grant for his work 
on ``string theory,'' a method for describing gravity in the same terms 
as other forces in the universe. A colleague of Mr. Maldacena's from 
the University of Chicago was so taken by this theory that he penned a 
new version of the ``Macarena'' called the ``Maldacena.''
  We know that the key to growing and staying strong is making sure 
that every American participates in our nation's prosperity. I will 
continue, and I hope the Congress will continue, to work closely with 
the Hispanic community because, together, we bring Massachusetts and 
America closer to the vision of a nation where all citizens are free to 
reach their potential.

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