[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 40 (Monday, October 13, 2008)]
[Pages 1322-1323]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

October 9, 2008

    Hola! Sientese. Bienvenidos a la Casa Blanca. [Laughter] Este es el 
ultimo ``Mes de la Hispanidad'' que paso como presidente--y por eso, le 
dije a mi personal que hoy queria hablarles solo en espanol. Me 
contestaron: ``Senor presidente, antes de dar un discurso en espanol, 
por que no llega primero a dominar el ingles?'' [Laughter]
    I am proud to be with you. I am proud to be with current and former 
Latino members of my administration. I want to thank the ambassadors 
from the diplomatic corps for joining us today. We're proud to be your 
friends. I want to thank the members of the United States Armed Forces 
who have joined us. I want to thank my friend Emilio Estefan, president 
of Estefan Enterprises. And I want to thank Andres Cabas from Colombia, 
who is going to sing a couple of songs for us. Thank you and your band 
for joining us.
    Every year at this time, we recognize the great contributions 
Hispanic Americans make to our country--and we should. From coast to 
coast, people of Hispanic descent enrich our culture and make our Nation 
a better place. They serve in top positions throughout business and 
government. They bring their strong values of faith and family to our 
communities. My family is proud to have Latino blood--mi cunada. Jeb and 
I both married very well. [Laughter] Hispanic Americans cherish the 
limitless promise of our Nation. During the past 8 years, I've been 
proud to work with you to ensure que todos puedan alcanzar las promesas 
de los Estados Unidos.
    One promise is good education. I mean, you can't have a hopeful 
nation unless you've got a good education system. And so we worked with 
Congress to pass the No Child Left Behind Act. This act raises standards 
and accountability across schools in the country, and I'm pleased to 
report Hispanic students are scoring at alltime highs on tests, and 
therefore, an achievement gap is narrowing.
    For hundreds of thousands of Hispanic children, the best hope for 
good education is found in America's faith-based schools. Earlier this 
year, I proposed a new program called Pell Grants for Kids, which would 
help low-income children in underperforming public schools attend a 
private, a parochial, or out-of-district public school of their choice.
    Earlier this year, I met a very interesting young woman at the White 
House Summit on the Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools. The 
whole purpose was to help these schools realize a comeback and make sure 
our communities were able to have these schools as a part of their 
future. The woman I met is a woman named Katrina [Karina] * Ramirez. She 
grew up in Chicago neighborhood. It was plagued by gang violence, and 
she had a tough time in school because she didn't speak English. But at 
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Karina received a top-notch education. 
She received real work experience, and she got herself a ticket to 
college. Karina says, ``My dad went from garbage picking in Mexico to 
having a daughter going to Georgetown.'' Karina, thank you for coming. 
She is proof that el Sueno Americano es para todos.
    * White House correction.
    Economic opportunity is a promise of our country. And the truth of 
the matter is, for generations people have found opportunities in this 
country that would have been impossible in the places where they were 
born, and that has made us a vibrant country, and it's encouraged 
entrepreneurship. Today, the economy, obviously, is going through a very 
tough stretch, and that's why the administration will work with Congress 
to pass a financial rescue plan.
    The goal of this plan is to free up the flow of capital to help all 
Americans get the capital and loans necessary to help weather these 
difficult times. Part of the plan is to free up capital for small 
businesses. After all, small businesses are the backbone of our economy, 
and interestingly enough, according to the most recent data, more than 
1.5 million small businesses are owned by Hispanic owners.
    In times of economic uncertainty, we need to be promoting free 
trade, particularly with friends in our neighborhood. During my time as 
President, we've opened up trade agreements with a lot of nations, 
including nations

[[Page 1323]]

in Central America and in South America. But there's a couple of them 
that need to be approved by the United States Congress. We approved the 
free trade agreement with Peru, but we're waiting on Congress to approve 
the free trade agreements with Panama and Colombia.
    I'm confident in our economy's long-term prospects. We'll get 
through this deal. And the reason why I'm confident is because we got 
the most talented and productive workers in the world. And many are 
Hispanic men and women who work hard every single day to support their 
families.
    One promise of America is the compassion of our people. During my 
time in office, I've been proud to work with Hispanic Americans to lift 
up nuestros hermanos y hermanas in need. I established the USA Freedom 
Corps to foster a culture of citizenship and responsibility and service. 
And today nearly 61 million Americans volunteer their time to help our 
fellow citizens--many of them Hispanics.
    Through our Faith-Based and Community Initiative, we are harnessing 
the compassion of religious groups to reduce homelessness and break the 
chains of addiction, give prisoners a second chance, and alleviate 
suffering at home and abroad.
    Recently I met a woman from San Diego whose life has been 
transformed by America's armies of compassion. Edith Espinoza suffered 
terrible abuse from her husband. She turned to El Nido program, an 
interfaith shelter network supported by the Faith-Based and Community 
Initiative. El Nido is a place where Edith received counseling and 
learned how to get a job and save money. She and her daughters now live 
in an apartment that she pays on her own. Her goal is to become a social 
worker so she can help other families like hers. She is showing that 
because of the good hearts of our citizens, el Sueno Americano es por 
todos.
    One promise of America is freedom--freedom for all. Hispanic 
Americans are extending this country's promise of freedom and liberty to 
others. Hispanics serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, to help those young 
democracies realize the blessings of freedom. I particularly want to 
thank those who are working to hasten the day of freedom for the Cuban 
people.
    I'm especially proud to be the Commander in Chief of a military in 
which there's 225,000 Hispanic men and women. One of these hispanos is 
an Army Lieutenant Colonel named Enrique Guerra. Listen to his story: 
Enrique fled Cuba with his parents when he was an infant. They wanted 
their young child to grow up in a society that was free and hopeful. He 
spent more than 22 years in the Army National Guard and the Army 
Reserve. Today, he is a battalion commander at Camp Cropper in Iraq, 
helping the people in the Middle East secure their own freedom and, 
therefore, lay the foundation of peace for generations to come.
    Enrique puts it this way: ``As a Cuban America, I was born with a 
strong sense of patriotism, and that is why I serve.'' And today I'm 
proud to honor his service, and the service of all Hispanic Americans, 
who ensure that freedom is available to all. Enrique, bienvenidos. Thank 
you for coming. Thank you, sir.
    And so today we celebrate the many contributions that generations of 
Hispanics have made to the American Dream. Their creativity and 
determination help our country to live up to its promise of opportunity 
and prosperity and freedom for all our citizens.
    During Hispanic Heritage Month, we give thanks for these blessings, 
and we ask for God's continued blessings on you and your families, y los 
Estados Unidos.
    And now it's my honor to welcome one of Latin America's most popular 
young vocalists, Colombia's Andres Cabas.

Note: The President spoke at 2:10 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida 
and his wife Columba. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language transcript of these remarks.