    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [October 7, 2005]
    [Pages 1531-1534]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
    October 7, 2005

        The President. Gracias, y bienvenidos a la Casa Blanca. Thank you
    for coming. It is such an honor to have you here to help celebrate
    Hispanic Heritage Month. It's a month in which we can recognize the
    contributions that Hispanic Americans make to our great land.

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        The Hispanic community is known for its strong commitment to the
    familia y fe and a great love of our country. Here's what I think: I
    think Hispanic Americans--I don't think, I know Hispanic Americans have
    helped build our country and shape our culture, and the United States is
    better off because of the Hispanic influence.
        I appreciate so very much that members of my administration have
    come. I told them they could take a little time off from work.
    [Laughter] Carlos Gutierrez, the
    Secretary of Commerce, and his wife, Edi,
    thank you for coming. El juez, the Attorney General of the United
    States, Al Gonzales, and his wife,
    Becky. Hector Barreto, head of the SBA. Newly confirmed as the
    Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Israel Hernandez. Congratulations.
        We've got Members of the Congress who are here. Wayne
    Allard, thank you for coming. Ileana Ros-
    Lehtinen, Marilyn Musgrave, Henry Cuellar, Luis
    Fortuno, thank you all for being here. It's
    such an honor you're here. Hans Hertell, an
    Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, members of the diplomatic corps,
    thank you all for coming. It's nice of you to join us today. Los
    Embajadores.
        It is good to see my friend, Emilio Estefan. Thank you for coming, Emilio. Hector Gomez, Major League Soccer player from the L.A. Galaxy is
    with us. Christian Gomez, Major League
    Soccer player from D.C. United. Strong right-hander from the Washington
    Nats, Esteban Loaiza. Gracias, thank you
    all for coming. We're proud you're here. I appreciate members of the
    Latino organizations who are here today. Thank you for working on behalf
    of Latino citizens around the country.
        As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we honor the promise of
    freedom and opportunity that brought either you or your ancestors to
    America. That's what we're honoring. We're honoring the fact that this
    is a free society, and we recognize our responsibility to ensure that
    everyone in this country has a chance to realize their God-given talents
    and to realize their dreams. That's what America is all about. America
    must always be a land of dreamers, and people will have a chance to
    realize those dreams.
        The 21st century opportunity begins with a quality education. You
    can't be a land of dreams if you don't educate your kids. One of my
    biggest concerns was that sometimes in our public schools, if your
    parents didn't speak English, for example, you just got shuffled
    through. And that was unacceptable to me and unacceptable to many
    Members of the United States Congress.
        I came together for the--with the Congress to challenge what I've
    called the soft bigotry of low expectations, to encourage school systems
    all around America to raise standards and raise the bar and measure to
    make sure that every child is learning to read and write and add and
    subtract. And if not, if they find they're not learning to read and
    write and add and subtract, do something about it early, before it's too
    late.
        And so the No Child Left Behind Act became the law. And that law is
    beginning to make an enormous difference in the lives of Latino
    youngsters. And I can tell you how I know: It's because we measure. We
    know. People are learning to read and write and add and subtract, and
    that's going to make America a better place for generations to come.
        Secondly, we've got to make sure that this is a country where work
    is respected and work is rewarded, where people who want to work hard to
    own their own business are able to do so. I believe it's important to
    keep taxes low in order to make sure entrepreneurs are able to get their
    business started and keep their businesses running.
        I know it's important to have legal reform and regulatory reform to
    make sure the environment is such that entrepreneurs of all walks of
    life have a chance to flourish. I am proud to report to you that Latino-
    owned businesses are on the rise in the

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    United States of America. And America is better for it when people are
    able to create jobs and own their own business.
        I mentioned Hector Barreto being
    here. The Small Business Administration has more than doubled the number
    of loans to Hispanic-owned businesses since 2001. Our goal is to get
    people a chance to realize their dream of owning their own business. And
    one of the reasons why we're creating jobs in America, that
    Carlos talked about, is because the
    small-business sector is strong. Any strong economy must have a strong
    business sector. And the strong--the business sector is going to be even
    stronger because of Latino-owned businesses.
        I set a goal of 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of
    this decade. I'm proud to report the number of minority homeowners has
    increased by 2.2 million since I set the goal. See, I love the fact that
    more and more people from all walks of life are opening up the door of
    their home and saying, ``Welcome to my home. Welcome to my piece of
    property. Welcome to a place where I can raise my family.'' There's
    nothing better than homeownership in America, and this administration is
    dedicated to make sure more and more people from all walks of life are
    able to open up the door where they live and say, ``Come on in to my
    house.''
        As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we're also going to honor
    the strong tradition of service in the Hispanic community. Hispanic
    Americans have fought in every war since our founding. Forty-two
    Hispanic Americans have earned our Nation's highest military decoration,
    the Medal of Honor.
        At this hour, men and women of Hispanic heritage are bringing
    freedom to people of other lands. They are laying the foundation of
    peace for generations to come. They are making sacrifices to bring
    justice to the terrorists and, at the same time, giving people a chance
    to live in a free society.
        More than 127,000 Hispanic Americans wear the uniform of the United
    States of America. I'm proud to be their Commander in Chief, and I want
    to welcome those who wear the uniform to this event today. Thank you all
    for coming.
        The strength of this country is the fact that every day, thousands
    of citizens, millions of citizens, volunteer to make somebody's life
    better. And that includes thousands and millions of Hispanic Americans
    who are volunteering in their community, people who use their time and
    their talent to make a difference in the lives of others, people who
    have heard the universal call to love a neighbor just like you'd like to
    be loved yourself.
        In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Hispanic groups around
    this country provided critical services and much-needed love to people
    whose lives were affected by those storms. In Texas, the League of
    United Latin American Citizens--we call them LULAC--served food at
    shelters and teamed up with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to help
    people find housing as well. In Arizona, Latino groups sent truckloads
    of water and food and medical supplies to Mississippi. The National
    Council of La Raza established a relief fund to provide emergency
    financial aid and housing assistance to hurricane victims. Acts of
    generosity from Hispanic Americans gave many people a lot of hope, and
    our Nation honors the compassion of Latinos today in this celebration.
        The President's Volunteer Service Award that I'm about to give to
    six citizens is the highest level of commendation a President can give
    in recognition of those who have contributed their time and energy to
    helping others.
        Today I'm going to talk about--you'll hear the stories of six folks
    who have served as such a wonderful example. I mean, not only have these
    people helped somebody but they served as an example for others. They're
    true leaders in their own quiet way and their own humble way: Junior
    Salazar

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    of Bradenton, Florida; Marie Arcos of Houston,
    Texas; Manuel Fonseca of Nashville,
    Tennessee; Elmer Carreno of Silver Spring,
    Maryland; Maria Hines of Albuquerque, New
    Mexico; and John Diaz of Crowley, Colorado.
        Their efforts are helping children to learn to read, improving fire
    safety in schools and communities, and helping more Hispanics achieve
    the dream of a college education. In the wake of the hurricanes, they've
    helped set up emergency clinics, provided spiritual counseling to the
    displaced, just simple acts, such as reading stories to children whose
    families had lost their homes. Today we're here to honor your service,
    and we appreciate so very much what you have done to help lift the
    spirit of the country.
        As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we thank the Hispanic
    community that has helped build and shape our country in so many ways.
    America is a better place because of your contributions. I join all
    Americans in celebrating the accomplishments and wishing our Hispanic
    communities all across the country continued success.
        I want to thank you all for coming. And now, I'm going to ask the
    military aide to please announce the Volunteer Service Awards. Y por
    fin, que Dios les bendiga.

    [At this point, Maj. Christian G. Cabaniss, USMC, Marine Corps Military
    Aide to the President, read the citations, and the President presented
    the medals.]

        The President. I hope you can tell why I was so looking forward to
    this event. There's nothing like being able to thank six quiet heroes,
    helping to improve somebody's life, and at the same time, improving the
    spirit of the country. What a joyous occasion. Thank you all for coming.
    May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:46 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Emilio Estefan, Jr., president,
    Estefan Enterprises, and member, President's Committee on the Arts and
    the Humanities; Herculez Gomez, forward, L.A. Galaxy; and Eleuterio
    Salazar, Jr., President's Volunteer Service Award recipient. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    these remarks. The National Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation of
    September 16 is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.