Hispanic Heritage Month

Floor Speech

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this month I join more than 52 million Latinos in Nevada and across the country to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Each year Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to honor the contributions of a population that is so important to our national identity--a community that has contributed to our country's progress for centuries.

We see those contributions in every facet of our society: on the battlefield and in the boardroom, in the courtroom and the classroom, at the art gallery and in the recording studio, and on the playing field. In Nevada Hispanic influence is evident in the name of our State--Nevada, snowcapped Las Vegas, and the meadows.

Today, more than one-quarter of Nevada's population is Hispanic. Nationwide, Latinos are expected to make up 60 percent of the population growth in the coming decades. To ensure our country thrives, we need to make sure its Hispanic population thrives as well.

That is why President Obama and Democrats in Congress have fought for the policies that are making the Hispanic community stronger and more prosperous. Despite opposition, we have made progress on economic and educational issues that are important to Latinos and to all Americans. The Recovery Act, which included tax cuts for working families and improvements in unemployment insurance, kept more than 2 million Hispanics out of poverty.

Unlike Governor Romney, we know Americans who access the employment benefits they have earned while working are not ``victims'' who are unwilling to take ``personal responsibility'' for their lives. ``Victims'' is Mitt Romney's word; ``personal responsibility'' are his words.

Democrats secured tax credits for more than 8 million Hispanic children and their families. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, believes tax credits for working parents struggling to make ends meet are a hand out, not a hand up.

Democrats fought to give small business loans to almost 9,000 Hispanic-owned businesses. Under a Romney administration, loans for small businesses would be a thing of the past--one more remnant of the dependency culture he loathes.

Mitt Romney was caught on tape telling wealthy donors he would be winning this election if he was Latino. That is what he said. But we know Mitt Romney's problem isn't that he is not Hispanic; his problem is that he opposes the commonsense policies that are good for Hispanic families.

Republicans have been paying lipservice to concerned Hispanic families in the months leading up to election day. Democrats are helping Hispanic families tackle the challenges they face every day.

To us, Hispanic Heritage Month isn't just about recognizing the incredible contributions Hispanic Americans make to our Nation; it is also about building a brighter future for Hispanic Americans in our Nation.

Source