[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16836-16837]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    THE U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN HIGHER 
                               EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 26, 2003

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to applaud the Supreme Court's 
decision to uphold affirmative action. The Court's ruling this week was 
a tremendous victory for all those who believe that diversity is one of 
our nation's greatest strengths.
  The historical significance of this important ruling cannot be 
underestimated. For millions of minority students--Latino, African-
American, Native American--it means the opportunity at a better 
education, higher wages, and a promising future.

[[Page 16837]]

  The Court's ruling is especially important to Latinos, our nation's 
fastest growing and now largest minority group. Fewer than 10 percent 
of college-age Latinos pursues higher education. Only 16 percent of 
Latinos between the ages of 25-29 have bachelor's degrees. Clearly, 
many challenges remain to increase Latino enrollment at colleges and 
universities across the country. Affirmative action is key to breaking 
down the barriers to higher education for Latinos.
  Affirmative action is not only beneficial to minority students, but 
also to non-minority students. Greater diversity on our college 
campuses ultimately produces students who are better equipped to thrive 
in an economy and society that is increasingly multicultural. As 
Justice O'Connor noted in the Court's decision, the future of our 
nation relies on leaders who are comfortable with ``diverse people, 
cultures, ideas and viewpoints.'' O'Connor was most likely influenced 
in her opinion by an unlikely coalition of business, military, civil 
rights, and education groups that urged the Court to uphold affirmative 
action because its produces leaders who are prepared for today's 
increasingly global economy.
  The country's highest court has ruled that race may be a factor in 
college admissions because the nation has a compelling need for racial 
and ethnic diversity on our college campuses. The ruling calls into 
question race-neutral affirmative action plans used in several states, 
including my own state of California where there has been a 39 percent 
increase in the rejection of Latino freshman applicants to California 
public universities since the state's race-neutral plan was 
implemented. Given the Supreme Court's decision, I hope California will 
review and revise its affirmative action policies so that public 
universities in my state truly reflect the state's very diverse 
population. The Court has spoken about the importance of diversity. Now 
should California.
  Throughout the United States, there are millions of Latinos and 
Latinas who want to succeed. They want equal educational and economic 
opportunities. The Court's ruling provides great hope for these young 
people. Again, I applaud the Court for this landmark decision.

                          ____________________