[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 123 (Thursday, July 17, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4454-S4455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ARTURO VARGAS

 Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate 
Arturo Vargas on a remarkable career spent in service to others as he 
steps down after more than 30 years as CEO of the National Association 
of Latino Elected Officials--NALEO--and the NALEO Educational Fund. As 
a CEO, a demographics expert, a mentor, and a friend to so many, Arturo 
has dedicated his career to growing civic participation and 
representation for Latinos in California and across our country.
  Arturo Vargas was born on July 13, 1962, in El Paso, TX, to Jose 
Vargas Castillo and Antonieta Valverde Vargas. After meeting in Ciudad 
Chihuahua, Mexico, his parents moved to New Mexico and Texas before 
eventually settling down in Los Angeles in 1964, where Arturo and his 
siblings were raised. Arturo earned a bachelor's degree in history and 
Spanish and later a master's degree in education from Stanford 
University.
  After graduation, Arturo set out on a career that took him from the 
National Council of La Raza to the Mexican American Legal Defense and 
Educational Fund--MALDEF--to chairing the 2030 Census Advisory 
Committee. During his time at MALDEF, Arturo contributed to a historic 
increase in Latino representation in California, working both for 
accurate enumeration of Latinos in the census and to grow the number of 
Latino elected officials.
  In his three decades as CEO of NALEO, Arturo dedicated himself to the 
challenging work of building power

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and representation for Latinos in America. During his tenure, he took 
what was already an important and impactful organization and turned it 
into a highly respected national platform not only for Latino elected 
officials, but for any political, corporate, or philanthropic leader 
wanting to speak to the political leadership of the Latino community.
  Thanks to his work, Latinos across the country now see ourselves 
represented at nearly every level of government--from State and local 
government to the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and the 
Supreme Court. Our community and our country are more inclusive and 
better off because of the work of Arturo Vargas.
  On a personal note, as a former president of NALEO myself, I have had 
the privilege of seeing Arturo's dedication up close. Whether it was 
calling on him for his unparalleled expertise--or even just to talk 
Dodgers baseball--I consider myself fortunate to call Arturo an ally 
and a friend.
  As we look ahead to the 50th anniversary of NALEO and all the fights 
that lie ahead, I take comfort knowing that future generations of 
Latino leaders will have a roadmap for representation, leadership, and 
advocacy that Arturo carved out to follow.
  I thank Arturo's husband, the Honorable Michael Fitzgerald; his 
siblings Jose, Jorge, Maria Antonieta, and Rogelio; and his entire 
family for sharing him with us for all these years.

                          ____________________