[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 44 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF NALEO ON ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 18, 2002

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the National 
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) as it 
celebrates its 25th year of working towards strengthening the 
participation of all Latinos in our great democracy.
  Founded in 1976, NALEO was established as a non-profit, non-partisan 
membership organization of the nation's Latino elected and appointed 
officials. Later in 1981, NALEO Education Fund was instituted to 
politically empower the greater Latino community. Because of such 
efforts, NALEO has significantly contributed to the sizeable increase 
of Latino elected officials over the past couple decades. Today, NALEO 
is well recognized as the leading nationwide organization of Latino 
political empowerment.
  I especially applaud the efforts of the NALEO Education Fund, which 
conducts a series of programs geared towards integrating Latino 
immigrants into American society, developing future leaders among 
Latino youth, providing assistance and training to the nation's Latino 
elected and appointed officials, and conducting research on issues 
important to the Latino community.
  I would like to congratulate Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of 
NALEO for his excellent leadership. I have long supported NALEO and the 
NALEO Education Fund and offer my sincerest congratulations on a very 
successful 25 years.

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