[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 40 (Monday, October 10, 2005)]
[Pages 1513-1515]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception Honoring 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.
    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

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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 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

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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 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 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Herculez Gomez, forward, L.A. 
Galaxy; Emilio Estefan, Jr., president, Estefan Enterprises, and member, 
President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities; 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.