[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 31 (Monday, February 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2364-S2365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR ED ROMERO

 Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam President, today I wish to 
honor Ed Romero, a great New Mexican. Mr. Romero recently won the 
Senator Dennis Chavez Civil Rights and Leadership Award. The award is 
richly deserved.
  When the U.S. Congress placed Senator Chavez's statue in Statuary 
Hall, Reverend John Spence summed up the man nicely. Senator Chavez, 
Spence said, was ``ever a champion of the underdog, the poor and 
oppressed.''
  In everything he did, Senator Chavez showed his concern for the 
underdog. He fought for public education, because he knew what it could 
do to help the children of struggling families become successful 
adults. He supported farmers, because he knew how difficult life can be 
in the small communities where the trains don't stop and the roads 
don't go. And he fought for civil rights, because Chavez believed that 
equality of opportunity is the core of the American creed.

[[Page S2365]]

  Dennis Chavez fought for the underdog because he was an underdog. 
Born into poverty in Valencia County, NM, when the State was still part 
of Mexico, Chavez walked a long and difficult road to the pinnacle of 
political power. A child of an isolated small town, he would see the 
world and help to shape it. A high school dropout, he earned a law 
degree and became a lawmaker. A victim of ethnic discrimination, he 
wrote legislation that would eventually make employment discrimination 
illegal and then unthinkable.
  Ambassador Ed Romero also has been an underdog. Those who know him as 
an international businessman might be surprised to know he started his 
career working in the fields. Ed Romero had to fight for his business 
successes. And he fought for the political power that he has used to 
make this world a better place.
  If Ed Romero had just one career, he would be impressive.
  If he had only risen from poverty to become a successful 
businessman--sought-after for corporate boards and respected by his 
colleagues around the world--that would be an achievement.
  But Ed Romero also has devoted his life to sharing what he has 
earned. As an activist, he has spent his time helping other underdogs 
play an active role in their government. He has helped America work 
with its allies to promote peace and human rights across the world. 
And, much like Senator Chavez before him, he has worked to ensure that 
men and women of color are represented in this country's corridors of 
power.
  Ed Romero has shown leadership at home and abroad. He is a founder of 
the Hispanic Cultural Foundation and the National Hispanic Cultural 
Center in New Mexico. He cofounded the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of 
Commerce and serves on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 
executive board. He has served as a delegate to the Helsinki accords, 
and we are very proud that President Clinton named him U.S. Ambassador 
to Spain.
  Linking these two great New Mexicans is very appropriate. Each man 
turned his own personal struggle into a lasting compassion for life's 
victims. Both men fought for their people--and for every people that 
have tasted the bitter fruit of injustice. Both men make me proud to be 
a New Mexican.
  Men like Ed Romero keep America true to its ideals. New Mexico is 
proud to call him a native son. And I am proud to call him a friend. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating Ambassador Ed Romero on 
receiving the Senator Dennis Chavez Civil Rights and Leadership 
Award.

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