[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14050]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, September marks the start of a month-long 
celebration of the Hispanic community's contributions to America's 
exceptionalism and the strength of the common values that unite our 
Nation.
  We celebrate a community whose accomplishments and stories remind us 
that the American Dream is as alive today as it has ever been.
  During this same time, our Nation faces an unemployment rate of 9.1 
percent, and the Hispanic community struggles with a rate over 11 
percent. Now more than ever, we must fight for pro-growth policies that 
will allow my generation to continue the great tradition of leaving our 
children a stronger and more prosperous America than the one we 
inherited from our parents.
  Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the American dream. We 
celebrate people like my parents, who came from Cuba, worked hard and 
opened doors for their children that were closed to them. We celebrate 
a community where the number of young adults enrolling in college has 
grown by 349,000 in the last year. We salute the many Hispanic men and 
women fighting for our freedom in our armed forces. We also remember 
how lucky we are to live in a country where success is not limited by 
the circumstances of one's birth.
  I am proud to be an American of Cuban descent, and today I would like 
to celebrate the many Hispanic Americans whose talents, 
accomplishments, and cultures have strengthened America.

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