[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 160 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S6353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to join my colleagues and all 
Americans in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the innumerable 
contributions of the Hispanic American community. There is much to 
celebrate. Although Hispanic Americans comprise 18 percent of the U.S. 
population, Latino-owned businesses, by some estimates, are responsible 
for approximately 86 percent of this country's small business growth. 
What is more, their economic influence is unrivaled by any other 
demographic since the baby boomers, representing a $1.5 trillion 
segment of the consumer market, according to a recent Stanford 
University state of Latino entrepreneurship, and perhaps, most notably, 
Hispanic Americans play an increasingly important role in our 
democracy, with a record 27 million Latinos eligible to vote in last 
year's election.
  It has never been clearer that Hispanic Americans represent an 
impressive cultural and economic force. Ultimately, however, their 
value to this country is not in their statistics. It is in their 
character. A love for family, a commitment to community, and an 
unparalleled penchant for hard work are the tenets of Hispanic 
heritage. They are also the building blocks of America. This is no 
coincidence: Hispanic Americans helped build and sustain our Nation. 
They are an irreplaceable thread in the fabric of American society. 
With their knack for innovation, with their fearless pursuit of better 
lives, and sometimes with their bare hands, they have shaped this 
country from the ground up, and we are all the better for it.
  While we use this month to reflect on their dignity and importance to 
this country, this year, in particular, the Hispanic American community 
is best served through actions not just words. Congress must pass the 
Dream Act. President Trump's order to rescind the Deferred Action for 
Childhood Arrivals, DACA, Program has shaken the Hispanic American 
community and most American to their core. Dreamers were brought to 
this country as children, with no decision in the matter. More 
importantly, they are quintessentially American in every way, except 
for their immigration status. They have lived, played, worshipped, and 
gone to school alongside our children most of their lives. They are our 
children's classmates and neighborhood friends and teammates. They are 
the college students studying at the library. They are the young 
serviceworkers at our favorite restaurants, studiously saving up for 
next semester's tuition. They are young men and women in uniform, 
serving in harm's way, defending our freedoms.
  Dreamers were raised here, and most know no other home except the 
United States of America. If Congress does not act to protect them, the 
President's actions will force many of them out of work, into hiding 
and into poverty. This will not make America stronger. What makes 
America stronger are the Dreamers themselves. Their spirit, character, 
and will to overcome represent what is best about our country. We 
should be proud to call them our own. We shouldn't be sending them 
underground or into exile.
  There is another urgent matter demanding our full attention: 
hurricane relief for Puerto Rico. The pictures coming from Puerto Rico 
are heartbreaking. The devastation that has hit the island as a result 
of Hurricane Maria deserves the same commitment and support that would 
go to any other location in the United States. Puerto Rico's 3.4 
million residents are American citizens, and they should be treated 
just the same as residents of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. The Senate 
should quickly take up the emergency supplemental appropriations 
request as soon as possible after the Columbus Day recess.
  Voting rights, access to quality, affordable healthcare, higher 
education, tax reform, these are also issues critically important to 
Hispanic Americans because they are the issues important to the 
country. There is no breathing room between the two. Our national 
interests are their personal interests, so their interests must also be 
ours.
  Americans are a diverse group; we do not all look the same or worship 
in the same way. We are, each and every one of us, united by far more 
profound things: a love for the freedoms this country affords us; 
respect for the power and peace we derive from our diverse communities; 
and an unshakable belief in every person's right to life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness. What makes us Americans is our moral fiber 
and our shared love for the United States. Any other litmus test is a 
discriminatory one; yet every day, and sometimes at the hands of our 
own government, Hispanic Americans are tested and questioned, profiled, 
and met with suspicion, out of sheer ignorance and baseless prejudice. 
Still, they march on. They meet the challenges of systemic 
discrimination with grace, grit, and courage. Indeed, the Hispanic 
American community often reflects the best of America, even when 
America offers less than its best in return.
  Now more than ever, Hispanic Heritage Month must be about standing up 
and declaring support for Hispanic Americans. Now more than ever, 
Congress must use its collective voice to magnify their voices, to 
affirm Hispanic Americans' rightful place in this Nation and to 
proclaim a commitment to representing their interests right here in 
this Chamber.
  We must begin fulfilling that commitment by immediately passing the 
Dream Act. But our commitment must extend further. We must support more 
equal representation of Hispanic Americans in our society, including in 
Congress. We must address the healthcare disparities that 
disproportionally affect the Hispanic community, an issue that begs 
Congress to work together toward more universal, affordable coverage. 
We must acknowledge the difficulties Hispanic American students face in 
affording college. Finally, we must stand firm against the tidal wave 
of bigoted rhetoric that has flooded the national dialogue in recent 
months. Whenever and wherever Hispanic Americans are degraded, 
belittled, or oppressed, basic morality demands that we speak up and 
speak out. Tolerance and respect, like a muscle, require effort and 
exercise. We must not allow these values to atrophy on our watch. 
Diversity and inclusion are American virtues and proud features of 
Hispanic heritage alike; we must now, and always, be their steward.

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