[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           THE AMERICAN DREAM

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 25, 2003

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to read the essay of 
Elizabeth Hernandez, a member of the Valley Center Teenage Republican 
Club:

       For many years people from Mexico have been coming to this 
     country for a better opportunity, better life and a future 
     for their children and family, the most common reason why 
     they choose to come here, is because America gives them a 
     chance to start a new life. They have special programs from 
     which they can benefit, so they can progress in life and have 
     something they can call their own. The economy has a great 
     influence in this too. Mexico has many states that are very 
     poor.
       Economic issues are a strong reason why America is a good 
     target for them. Mexico has many states that are poor and do 
     not have the sufficient resources that a person should have 
     during this century. Most towns are still without 
     electricity, water pumps, and telephones. This makes daily 
     life more difficult. They always hear that in America all of 
     this is not an issue; that you can practically go everywhere 
     and all of these resources are given to you. In Mexico, jobs 
     are everywhere but they don't get enough money to have an 
     average life. The cost of food constantly increases but the 
     wages stay the same. That makes it harder to buy or afford 
     anything. Here in America, we don't see that problem because 
     if food or the daily necessity goes up, so does the minimum 
     wage for every job. In Mexico, there is not a law that tells 
     companies how much they have to pay their employees. Most of 
     the time they pay a small amount of money for the amount of 
     time they work. Some occasions they work up to sixteen hours 
     straight a day for five or six days a week. Here in America 
     you can't do that, the hours you can work is a maximum of 
     forty hours a week; after that they have to pay you overtime. 
     When this happens in Mexico, parents can't afford to feed 
     their children because they are not paid overtime. That is 
     why they choose to come to America so they can have food on 
     their table every night and a few other luxuries.
       For that same reason, their education is affected. Most 
     parents make their children work so they can get more money 
     to be able to buy food and clothing. Usually the children 
     drop out of school at an early age, some of them just 
     complete the fifth grade. Children that keep on going to 
     school usually have money or they live in the city. People 
     that don't live in a major city don't have the same 
     opportunity. In America there is always a public school 
     minutes away from where you live even if you don't live in a 
     major city. You are guaranteed a free education all the way 
     until high school and after that you can also get a college 
     education in a community college that is less expensive than 
     a University. That is why the people of Mexico come to 
     America so they can put food on their table and their 
     children are guaranteed an education regardless from what 
     country they originate. That is why the ``American Dream'' is 
     the way they refer to America.

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