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Hispanic Outreach – OPL (Office of Public Liaison) (2)
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Hispanic Outreach – OPL (Office of Public Liaison) (2)
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James Cicconi's Subject Files
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WITHDRAWAL SHEET
Ronald Reagan Library
Collection: Cicconi, James W.: Files
Archivist: kdb
9
OA/Box:
Box 9
FOIA ID: F1997-066/6, D. Cohen
File Folder: Hispanic Outreach - OPL [Office of Public Liaison]
Date: 08/11/2004
(2)
DOCUMENT NO.
SUBJECT/TITLE
DATE
RESTRICTION
& TYPE
1. memo
Cathi Villalpando to Cicconi re Department of Labor - Deputy
7/18/83
B6
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development, 1p
RESTRICTIONS
B-1 National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA].
B-2 Release could disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA].
B-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA].
B-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information [(b)(4) of the FOIA].
B-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA].
B-7 Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA].
B-7a Release could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings [(b)(7)(A) of the FOIA].
B-7b Release would deprive an individual of the right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication [(b)(7)(B) of the FOIA]
B-7c Release could reasonably be expected to cause unwarranted invasion or privacy [(b)(7)(C) of the FOIA].
B-7d Release could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source [(b)(7)(D) of the FOIA].
B-7e Release would disclose techniques or procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions or would disclose guidelines which could reasonably be
expected to risk circumvention of the law [(b)(7)(E) of the FOIA].
B-7f Release could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual [(b)(7)(F) of the FOIA].
B-8 Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA].
B-9 Release would disclose geological or geophysical information concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIA].
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of gift.
OPL memos
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 18, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM CICCONI
FROM:
CATHI VILLALPANDO
SUBJECT:
OTI SONG FESTIVAL
It has been brought to my attention by Ambassador J.
William Middendorf regarding the above mentioned
event, that apparently, it is the custom for the Head
of State of the hosting country to be present.
Since the President and the Vice President have both
regretted due to their being out of the city, Ambassador
Middendorf suggests that someone be officially designated
to represent the President. During the event, focus
(T.V. cameras) will be placed on this official represent-
ative.
I have accepted their invitation to me. I understand
that Mr. Charles Wick has been involved in assisting
SIN in obtaining the President's participation. Maybe
he should be the designated representative.
Ambassador Middendorf says that although he has another
commitment with the Organization of American States for
that evening, he too will be available to help represent
the Administration either with me or with the person
your office feels appropriate, if you recommend it.
Please advise.
CV:rls
Attachment
THE WHITE HOUSE
CV
WASHINGTON
October 6, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR JENNIFER FITZGERALD
SPECIAL ASSISTANT, OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
FROM:
FAITH R. WHITTLESEY 7RW
SUBJECT:
Request for Vice President to attend OTI Song
Festival
President Reagan was invited by Mr. Rene Anselmo, President of
SIN National Spanish Television Network to attend the XII
International OTI Song Festival in Washington, DC on October
28-29, 1983.
Unfortunately, due to the President's heavy schedule prior to
his departure to East Asia, he will be unable to attend this
very popular festival that will be televised throughout this
country on the Spanish International Network, as well as
throughout Latin America, Spain and Portugal. The estimated
potential television audience for this event is believed to
be 196 million people.
For the first time in its twelve year history this prestigious
Song Festival will be held in the United States.
It is my understanding that it is traditional for the President
of the host country to attend this event.
As President Reagan will not be available, I am requesting that
Vice President Bush attend this non-political cultural event
that is of great significance among the Hispanic population of
the United States and throughout Latin America.
An official invitation will be extended to the Vice President
if his participation be possible.
Attachments
OTI
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 6, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR JENNIFER FITZGERALD
SPECIAL ASSISTANT, OFFICE OF THE
VICE PRESIDENT
FROM:
FAITH WHITTLESEY
SUBJECT:
INVITATION TO ATTEND XII INTERNATIONAL
OTI SONG FESTIVAL
Mr. Rene Anselmo, President of SIN National Spanish
Television Network, had invited President Reagan to
attend the festivities of the XII International OTI
Song Festival in Washington, D. C. on October 28-29,
1983.
Unfortunately, due to the President's heavy schedule
prior to his departure to East Asia, he will be unable
to attend this very popular festival that will be tele-
vised throughout this country on the Spanish Internation-
al Network, as well as throughout Latin America plus
Spain and Portugal. The estimated potential television
audience for this event is believed to be 196 million
people.
I am enclosing copies of the invitations, Mr. Anselmo's
letter, the President's reply through Fred Ryan, and
other background material for your information should the
Vice President be interested in participating. An
official invitation can be issued to the Vice President.
For the first time in its twelve year history, this
prestigious Song Festival will be held in the United
States. Many prominent people and dignitaries will be in
attendance. It is my understanding that it is traditional
for the President of the host country to be present at this
event.
It would be indeed a most propitious opportunity for the
Administration to be highly represented in this non-political
cultural event that carries a great amount of significance
among the Hispanic population in this country and throughout
Latin America.
Attachments
The SIN Television Network
requests the pleasure of your company
at a reception
in honor of
the Board of Directors of
the Organización de la Televisión Iberoamericana
and the performing artists of
the Twelfth Annual OTI International Song Festival
on Friday, October twenty-eighth
from seven to nine o'clock
The Organization of American States
Seventeenth Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
R.S. VP
Please present
Reply card enclosed
invitation
Black tie
at the door
The SIN Television Network
cordially invites you to
the live television performance of
the Twelfth Annual OTI International Song Festival
011 Saturday, October twenty-ninth
at six o'clock
Constitution Hall
Eighteenth and ID Streets, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
Ticket order
Black tie
form enclosed
Since this is a live telecast, we ask that you plan to arrive at six o'clock.
There will be no seating after six-forty p.m.
SEP 2 3 RECD
I
OTI INTERNATIONAL SONG FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL OTI DE LA CANCION
September 22nd, 1983
Ms. Catalina Villalpando
Special Assistant to the President
Office of Public Liaison
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear Cathi:
On behalf of Roxanna and myself I wish to express our sincere
appreciation for taking time out of your busy schedule to see us regarding
the OTI International Festival.
We are very excited about the possibility of having President Reagan
honor us with his presence in this cultural event and forsee the favorable
impact this will have in our Latin American relations.
The OTI International Song Festival will open its headquarters' office
next week at the National Press Building, Suite 671. I will let you know
the telephone numbers as soon as we have them. I shall also call you to
find out when you will be able to have lunch with me.
Thanks again, Cathi, I look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Aida aide Berio
Washington Liaison OTI
SIN TELEVISION NETWORK 342 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK NEW YORK 10017 953-7500
SFP 23 2
SIN NATIONAL SPANISH TELEVISION NETWORK 250 PARK AVE NEW YORK NY 10177 (212)953-7500
FEDERAL EXPRESS
September 22, 1983
Mr. Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.
Director, Presidential
Appointments and Scheduling
Old Executive Office Building
Room 188 1/2
17th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. Ryan:
Ms. Cathi Villalpando suggested that I write
you directly with more detail regarding my
letter to President Reagan of June 7, 1983,
inviting his participation in the XII Inter-
national OTI Song Festival.
The OTI is an organization of television
networks and stations with members from every
country in Latin America plus Spain and Portugal.
SIN is the U.S. member. The International Song
Festival has over the years become the major
television and cultural event of the OTI and
this year, for the first time, the United States
will be host country. Previous festivals have
been staged in Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico,
Chile, Venezuela, Argentina and Peru.
The television show is but one part of the
Festival. It is for that reason and my conviction
that this Festival and its telecast will serve as
a vehicle to better U.S. relations with Latin America,
Mr. Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.
Washington, D.C.
9/22/83
Page 2
Spain and Portugal that I chose Washington, D.C.
as the site for its performance. To that end,
we plan a weekend of activities.
On Friday, October 28th, at the Organization
of American States Building, SIN will host a
reception for approximately 1,000 people for
the Washington Diplomatic Corps and other
prominent people and dignitaries.
The performance and telecast of the Festival
will take place at Constitution Hall on Saturday,
October 29th. Placido Domingo will be appearing
in a special guest performance. The telecast
will start promptly at 7:00 PM and end at 10:00 PM.
There will be from 1,500 to 2,000 invited guests.
The remaining 2,000 seats will be sold to the
general public.
After the telecast of the Song Festival, SIN
will host another large reception for the invited
guests to meet Placido Domingo and the other stars
and performing artists. All events will be black
tie affairs.
There will be in excess of 200 artists and performers,
in addition to the owners, presidents or representatives
of every major television organization in Spain, Portugal
and Latin America attending this event in Washington.
Locally, the people who will be invited are:
The Ambassadors and Cultural Attaches of
each of the participating countries
The Ambassadors to the OAS
The Ambassadors to the United Nations
The Consul Generals of each country
The Press and television media
Prominent members of our U.S. television
and advertising industry
Prominent members of the U.S. Hispanic community.
Mr. Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.
Washington, D.C.
9/22/83
Page 3
Apart from national coverage, the amount of media
coverage the Festival will receive overseas will
be enormous, as every country has a vested interest
in the outcome.
The three-hour telecast will be carried live on
the SIN Television Network and its 247 satellite
interconnected affiliates. It will be carried
live by every member country, a total of 22. Brazil,
which will compete, presently has it scheduled for
a delayed telecast, but we are working on changing
this to live coverage.
Now it has been traditional that in each country
that has hosted the Song Festival, the President
of that country has met with prominent members of
the OTI or attended the show or receptions held in
connection with the Festival. The United States
is the host country this year. The Administration
has a wonderful opportunity to present the President
and other administration figures to the Latin American
world in a non-political and cultural setting.
We are hosting three events, anyone of which lend
themselves to an appearance by the President.
Before any details can be worked out, I guess someone
has to make a decision as to whether the White House
is going to get involved in this affair. I would
appreciate hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Rene Anselmo
President
RA/fg
CC: Ms. Cathi Villalpando
I
OTI INTERNATIONAL SONG FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL OTI DE LA CANCION
THE TWELFTH ANNUAL OTI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1983
CONSTITUTION HALL, WASHINGTON, DC
About the OTI Festival
The OTI International Song Festival, the largest
song festival in the world, enjoys enormous prestige
and high audience involvement throughout Latin America
and Europe. Created by the Organización de la Televisión
Iberoamericana, an organization of television stations
in Latin America, Spain and Portugal, the Festival was
first held in 1972 in Madrid, Spain. Former host countries
of the international competition have included Argentina,
Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.:
The OTI Festival, similar in nature to the Eurovision
Song Contest, offers top artists and composers of Spanish-
and Portuguese-speaking countries the opportunity to
display their musical talents to a vast television audience.
A jury composed of leading figures from the Latin enter-
tainment industry will select the winner of the international
event. Among the special guests who have been invited to
this year's festival are world-renowned opera singer,
Plácido Domingo, and the internationally-acclaimed
Julio Iglesias.
First Time in the U.S.
The 12th OTI Festival represents the first time in
the history of the OTI that the United States will host
this celebrated event. The nation's capital was selected
by the Board of Directors of the OTI as the ideal site
for this year's musical event. The Festival will be
transmitted live by the SIN Television Network from
Constitution Hall on Saturday, October 29 from 7:00 to
9:30 p.m. EST. The live telecast will be broadcast to
23 countries including the U.S. reaching a potential
television audience of 196 million people.
SIN TELEVISION NETWORK 342 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK NEW YORK 10017 953-7500
- 2 -
About the SIN Network
The SIN Television Network, now in its 21st year,
is the nation's first and only Spanish-language television
network. SIN transmits its programming 24 hours a day,
seven days a week via satellite, and was the first
commercial television network to use a domestic satellite
for affiliate interconnection. The network reaches major
Hispanic markets through UHF television stations, and
lesser concentrated markets via low power television
(LPTV) stations and cable systems across the U.S. SIN's
program schedule, which includes variety and comedy shows,
mini-series, live sporting events, current affairs programs
and a national nightly newscast from Miami, Florida, is
carried by 241 satellite-interconnected affiliates across
the country, reaching 86 percent of the nation's Hispanic
population.
I
OTI INTERNATIONAL SONG FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL OTI DE LA CANCION
For Immediate Release
Contact: Roxanna Brightwell
(212) 953-7217
TWENTY-THREE COUNTRIES WILL PARTICIPATE
IN THE 12TH ANNUAL OTI INTERNATIONAL SONG FESTIVAL
NEW YORK, NY, September 2, 1983--The United States,
Spain, Portugal and 20 Latin American countries will
participate in the 12th Annual OTI International Song
Festival, announced Leandro Blanc, Executive Producer
for the SIN Television Network and this year's festival.
The premier musical event will be telecast live by SIN
from Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, on Saturday,
October 29, from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. EST. The live
telecast will be broadcast to 23 countries including
the U.S., reaching a potential television audience of
196 million people.
- more -
SIN TELEVISION NETWORK 342 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK NEW YORK 10017 953-7500
- 2 -
"The response from all the OTI-member countries has been
overwhelming," said Mr. Blanco. "We're especially excited
about this year's festival since it is the first time in
the 12-year history of the OTI that this prestigious
event is being hosted by the United States--the fifth
largest Spanish-speaking country in the world."
Often referred to as the Grammy Awards of the
Iberoamerican countries, the OTI International Song
Festival offers top artists and composers the opportunity
to display their musical talents to a vast television
audience. Participants of this year's international
event will be the winners of the national festivals
that were held in the following countries: Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, E1 Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
:
Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay,
Puerto Rico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, United States,
Uruguay and Venezuela. A jury composed of leading
figures from the Latin entertainment industry will
select the winner of the international competition.
The OTI International Song Festival, created by the
Organización de la Televisión Iberoamericana is an
organization of television stations in Latin America,
Spain and Portugal similar in nature to the European
Broadcast Union. The OTI was designed to encourage
- more -
- 3 -
the creation of original musical material, and rewards
both the singer and composer of each winning entry.
The first OTI Festival was held in Madrid, Spain in
1972. Former host countries of the international
competition include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico,
Peru and Venezuela.
SIN, now in its 21st year, is the nation's
first and only Spanish-language television network,
serving 86 percent of the U.S. Hispanic population.
Spanish USA first entered the international festival
in 1979. In 1982, the representative from the U.S.
ranked among the highest in the competition.
# # #
:
SONG FESTIVALS
1 9 8 3
I
THE SIN NATIONAL SONG FESTIVAL
THE TWELFTH OTI INTERNATIONAL
SONG FESTIVAL
SIN
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 17, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM CICCONI
FROM:
CATHI VILLALPANDO
Cathi
SUBJECT:
RADIO MARTI CEREMONY
This is to inform you that in doing research on the
Cuban hero, Jose Marti, it has been brought to my
attention that Mr. Cesar Romero, famous movie star,
well known throughout the Hispanic community in
America and abroad, is a grandchild of Jose Marti.
Cuban Americans and supporters of the Administration
have been calling our office urging us to make it
known to you and the President's Office that this is
a historical event and very important to the Cuban
community.
I would also like to recommend that consideration be
given to having a Cuban American group or a Cuban
vocalist to sing or play our National Anthem as well
as the Cuban National Anthem. This custom is
practiced at every event held in Miami. The two
anthems played make ceremonies very emotional and
reminds Cuban Americans of their Motherland.
We also urge that this event be held as soon as
possible. It would be best if it is held prior to
the President's departure for the Far East.
CV:rls
CC: J. Courtemanche
M.A. Meloy
OPL
Phemos
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 18, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM CICCONI
THROUGH:
FROM:
FAITH RYAN WHITTLESEY Call
CATHI VILLALPANDO
SUBJECT:
LISTING OF MINORITY APPOINTMENTS
Requests keep coming for a current listing of His-
panic Appointments. High priority should be given
to an updated listing for distribution to conven-
tions being held this Summer and Fall. It does not
have to be a sleek publication due to the urgency.
I recommend that a publication entitled: "Minority
Appointments Under President Reagan", be considered.
When we distribute a listing of Hispanics, Blacks, or
Women, separately, each looks too skimpy. If we in-
clude Asian, Women and all minorities, the booklet will
be more impressive. The ethnic background and sex can
be identified per column, et cetera.
Again, this is needed now!
In In process
the
RONALD W. REAGAN LIBRARY
THIS FORM MARKS THE FILE LOCATION OF ITEM NUMBER
LISTED ON THE
WITHDRAWAL SHEET AT THE FRONT OF THIS FOLDER.
SELECTED ISSUES OF
CONCERN TO HISPANIC AMERICANS
Submitted to:
James Baker III
The White House
Submitted by:
National Council of La Raza
American G.I. Forum
of the U.S.
Jake Alarid
Jose Cano
Raul Yzaguirre
October 13, 1983
INTRODUCTION
Hispanic Americans are the youngest and fastest-growing population
group in the United States. Hispanics will constitute an increasing pro-
portion of the U.S. labor force in the future -- and a critical source of
personnel both to meet the needs of a highly technological society and to
pay the taxes which will assure the continued solvency of the Social Security
system -- yet Hispanics face major barriers to full educational opportunity
and economic participation. Hispanics have the highest dropout rate and
the lowest average level of educational attainment of any population group in
the United States, and their rate of school segregation has increased over the
past decade while that of Blacks has been decreasing. Hispanics have the
lowest hourly wage rate of any group, and Hispanic women employed full-time
have the lowest median income of any major population segment. Moreover, the
economic status of Hispanics has worsened during the last several years, both
in dollar terms and in comparison to other population groups. For example,
Census data indicate the following:
Family Income: In 1982, the median family income of
Hispanics was 66% that of Whites, down from 73% in 1979.
Real money income for Hispanics declined 6.8% between
1981 and 1982, as compared with a decline of just 1.4%
for all U.S. families.
Income of Hispanic Women: Real income for Hispanic
women working full-time decreased by 1.9% between
1981 and 1982; Hispanics were the only group of
women to suffer such a decline.
Unemployment: Between July and August 1983, overall U.S.
unemployment remained unchanged at 9.5%, but Hispanic
unemployment increased 0.6%, from 12.3% to 12.9%.
Poverty Rates: Hispanics are almost twice as likely as
White Americans to be poor. In 1982, 29.9% of Hispanics
lived below the federal poverty level, an increase of 38%
over the Hispanic poverty rate in 1978. The percentage of
Hispanic families living in poverty increased from about
one in five (20.9%) in 1978 to more than one in four
(27.2%) in 1982. During the same period, the poverty
rate among Hispanic households headed by women increased
from 53.3% to 60.1%.
These general statistics, depressing though they are, tend to obscure
even more severe problems among certain subpopulations. For example, the life
expectancy of migrant farmworkers remains below 50 years and has not improved
during the past two decades. Unemployment rates are especially high for
Puerto Ricans, who live primarily in the central cities of the Northeast and
Midwest. Educational levels are particularly poor for rural Mexican
Americans, especially farmworkers.
In spite of the many disadvantages they face, Hispanics contribute
much to the United States. A major characteristic is patriotism. Mexican
Americans have the highest proportion of Congressional Medal of Honor winners
1
of any population group, and two of the four American Marines who have died in
Lebanon were Hispanic. Hispanic men have an extremely high labor force
participation, and Hispanic families have a very low rate of participation in
public assistance programs when compared to eligibility and need. Strong and
supportive families are an Hispanic cultural tradition, as is a sense of
community responsibility.
Because of Hispanic values, needs, and priorities, the greatest
concern of organizations like the National Council of La Raza and the
American G.I. Forum is the need to maintain, strengthen, and develop
opportunity-creating programs, rather than dependency-creating ones.
Hispanics wish the opportunity to participate fully in American society and
to have equal access to education, employment, business ownership, and
political participation. Our people wish to be self-supporting and indepen-
dent.
in putting together a list of recommendations for the consideration of
the Administration, we have been guided by the following principles:
Recommendations should focus on actions which can
be done quickly and are relatively easy to implement.
There should be no "big ticket" recommendations.
Proposals should be compatible with the basic philosophy
of the Administration.
We believe that the recommendations specified here will be good not
only for Hispanics, but also for the U.S. population as a whole.
2
I. EDUCATION
A. BILINGUAL EDUCATION: Hispanics, the most undereducated of all American
children and youth, are a growing proportion of public school enrol enrollment.
Hispanics of limited English proficiency (LEP) face especially difficult
barriers to educational opportunities and need special programs to make
schooling accessible. The overwhelming majority of Hispanics (80-90%)
support bilingual education -- the use of two languages as means of
instruction -- as the most appropriate way to teach English and ensure
that Hispanic LEP students progress effectively through the school
system. The only targeted federal support for bilingual education is
provided by Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
This program is currently so under-funded that it can respond to only 50%
of school districts' requests for assistance. The President and Vice
President have publicly stated their support for bilingual education,
but the Department of Education has consistently proposed to substantially
reduce this small program. Furthermore, the Department of Education has
advocated programmatic amendments which would reduce the number of chil-
dren eligible to receive services, and dilute funding available for
bilingual education by allowing Engllsh-oniy approaches to compete for
reduced bilingual education funds. Many of the attempts to weaken
bilingual education appear to be based on the mistaken idea that bilingual
programs do not teach English. In reality, bilingual education programs
both teach English and use it as a language of instruction for other
subjects -- most often for the majority of the school day. The fact is
that the numbers of LEP Hispanics are growing, and, due to lower median
age and higher birth rates, will continue to grow as a proportion of the
school-age population. It is in our national interest to ensure that
these young people are educated and employable. Bilingual education
programs are one of the best Investments our nation can make to help
these children into the mainstream of American economic life.
ACTION: The Administration could provide some needed leadership in
promoting a reauthorization bill for Title VII which would include
measures to increase the numbers of trained bilingual teachers,
emphasize the need for LEP children and adults to be English literate
(not just English speaking), and provide LEP children with greater
access to services. The Department of Education could aiso explore the
possibility of using student financial aid and other assistance funds
to train and re-train teachers to work with this expanding sector of
school enrollment.
B. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REORGANIZATION: Recently, Department of
Education (ED) officials dramatically reorganized several ED program
offices, and downgraded the status of certain programs which, although
required by law, were deemed to be of low priority. Of special interest
to Hispanics are the Migrant Education, Equity Training and Technical
Assistance, and Hispanic Affairs Offices. These offices were all
downgraded in the recent reorganization. In addition to reorganizing
these program offices, ED also conducted a large-scale reduction-in-
force (RIF). This RIF disproportionately af fected ED's Hispanic
employees, resulting in some terminations and many staff being down-
graded. NCLR is concerned that the RIFs and the reorganization had the
3
effect of removing most of the trained staff from these equity programs,
resulting in few staff with programmatic and civil rights expertise left
to administer the programs. At a time when the President has publicly
proclaimed his support for improving American education, it seems par-
ticularly unwise to downgrade the programs designed to improve education
for the neediest Americans, it also seems to indicate that these programs
and these target groups are not priorities for this Administration.
ACTION: The Administration should clarify its commitment to
educational equity for the Department of Education since there seems to
be a real gap between ED policy and the President's public statements.
The status of the Migrant Education, Equity Training and Technical
Assistance and Minority Concerns Offices should be restored.
C. HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY PROGRAM (HEP)/COLLEGE ASSISTANCE MIGRANT PROGRAM
(CAMP): These two small programs help provide migrant youth with the
chance to complete high school, and then go on to college. Migrant
youth are the most undereducated of all American youth; frequent moves,
poverty, language differences, and the historical Tack of special
services present formidable obstacles to these youth, and lack of
education often locks them into jobs as unskilled farm laborers. Yet,
at the same time, the demand for unskilled labor in the American economy
is declining significantly, and unskilled persons are increasingly
forced to rely on public assistance. These two programs have had good
success in increas- Ing the miniscule numbers of mlgrant youth who
complete high school and go on to college. These programs represent a
small, yet very productive Investment -- they are not budget-breaking
programs. HEP receives $5.8 million, and CAMP is funded at $1.16
million. Yet, OMB's consistent rationale for recommending that these
programs be zero-funded is that the cuts are in some way essential to
balancing the federal budget.
ACT ION: The President or Vice-President might consider visiting a
migrant camp to gain a better understanding of the conditions under
which these youth live, and the low percentage of migrant workers who
have completed school. This should be followed by a visit to a HEP or
CAMP program to talk with students and program administrators about the
kinds of changes being brought about by the HEP and CAMP Investments.
The Administration could help better prepare these youth to be educated
and productively employed Americans by supporting the continuation of
these programs.
D. EMERGENCY SCHOOL AID ACT: The Emergency School Ald Act (ESAA), which
provided federal assistance for desegregating districts, was the
largest of the categorical programs folded into Chapter 2 of the
Education Block Grant. The ESAA pre-grant clearance was also one of
the most Important civil rights compliance tools available to the
Office for Civil Rights. Under the block grant, these programs have
virtually disappeared, along with the civil rights provisions. State
distribution formulas have not adequately targeted funds to districts
with desegregation programs, and most districts are not using those
4
funds they do receive for activities to assist their desegregation
programs. Legislation to re-establish a categorical grant has passed
the House and is being held in committee in the Senate. The Presi-
dent's threat to veto such a bill has reduced the chance that this bill
will be passed. The recent studies on school segregation, showing that
Hispanics are the only group for whom segregation has actually
Increased over the last decade, make targeted desegregation assistance
especially Important for Hispanics.
ACT ION: The Administration should either support, or not block, the
re-establishment of categorical funding for school desegregation.
E. TITLE IV DESEGREGATION ASSISTANCE CENTERS: Title IV of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act funds a number of Desegregation Assistance
Centers, Including national origin Desegregation Assistance Centers,
which provide training and technical assistance to desegregating
districts. This summer, when Chicago sued the federal government to
force support of its desegregation plan, Judge Shadur froze funds for
Title iv along with the Secretary's discretionary fund. With the
passage of a continuing resolution containing $20 million earmarked for
Chicago, the Judge released enough money to fund the Title IV Centers
through January.
ACTION: Whatever the Administration's stance on the Chicago case,
the Title IV Centers should not be "held hostage" in this battle.
These Centers perform an Important function and funding must not be
Interrupted. The Administration could provide Important leadership in
trying to find a solution for Chicago which is not tied to the Title IV
Centers.
F. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION: NIE is currently re-examining its
existing research Labs and Centers and is preparing for a re-competi-
tion of the current projects. One of these centers is the National
Center for Bilingual Research. It is important that the Center, or a
comparable presence, be maintained In the re-competition. Additionally,
NIE is responsible for most descriptive educational research; unfortun-
ately, unless the studies are specifically paid for by Title VII, few
NIE projects Include Information on Hispanics or LEP children.
ACTION: Work with NIE to ensure that some type of center for
bilingual research is included among the centers to be funded. NIE-
funded research also needs to include Hispanic-focused research. Work
with the NIE Director to help improve the Agency's historically poor
record of funding for research which examines the educational status
and needs of Hispanics.
G. DATA COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION: In 1980, the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES), because of its historical inattention to
reporting information on Hispanics, published at the request of
Congress The Condition of Education of Hispanic Americans. Although
5
there were plans to update this publication biannually, no updates have
been issued. Additionally, the yearly NOES Condition of Education,
does not adequately disaggregate or report data on Hispanics, making it
difficult to accurately assess the educational status of Hispanics.
ACT ION: Work with NOES to ensure that The Condition of Education of
Hispanic Americans is regularly published, and to ensure that NOES
regularly reports data on Hispanics as a part of its on going data
collection and publication programs. Appoint an Hispanic advisory
committee to work with NOES to increase the value of its publications
for those who use these data to make policy affecting Hispanics.
H. HISPANIC HIGHER EDUCATION: Hispanics are severely underrepresented in
Institutions of higher education. There has been a dramatic desrease in
the number of Hispanic high school graduates who enroll in coilege, from
35.4% in 1975 to 29.9% in 1980. Even when controiling for academic
achievement, the rate of Hispanic high school graduates who go to college
is 25% lower than the rate for White students. Further, the attrition
rate of Hispanic college students is over 55%, compared to 34% for
White students. Research has shown that Hispanic attrition is due
primarily to financial, rather than academic reasons. Some of these
problems can be addressed by concentrating federal assistance to a few
institutions, since 54% of Hispanics attend two-year colleges; and
because 21 four-year colleges enroll fully 24% of all mainland Hispanic
students.
ACT ION: The President should implement a national Hispanic Higher
Education Initiative, by Issuing an Executive Order similar to E.O.
12320, which required the expansion of federal assistance to
historically Black colleges. This initiative should target those
colleges and universities which have high Hispanic enrol Iments.
6
11. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
A. JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT (JTPA)
1. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS: Technical assistance has proven
to be an effective means of increasing the participation in, and
quality of services delivered by, community-based organizations in
employment and training programs. The three major national Hispanic
organizations named in the legislation -- The National Council of
La Raza (NCLR), the National Puerto Rican Forum (NPRF), and SER:
Jobs for Progress -- have been unsuccessful in obtaining suffici-
ent resources from the Department of Labor (DOL) to provide needed
technical assistance to community-based organizations serving
Hispanics, ostensibly because other groups have been funded to
provide similar services. However, the groups already funded
serve different constituencies, and provide a different array of
services than NCLR, NPRF, and SER. The participation of community-
based organizations in JTPA is especially important to Hispanics
since research suggests that these organizations are more effective
in delivering services to those who have the greatest need for
assistance. In many cases, the placement rates of these
organizations under CETA were significantly higher than that of
other comparable service providers.
ACT ION: DOL should fully fund NCLR, NPRF, and SER to provide
technical assistance to community-based organizations to assist
them in delivering employment and training services to Hispanics
and should target monies in the Secretary's Discretionary Fund to
serve particularly needy Hispanics, through funding of Hispanic
organizations.
2. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS: Performance standards are a two-edged
sword. On one hand, they have the potential to drive the system
toward providing better services. On the other hand, they may
encourage program operators to "cream," or provide services to
those that are most easily served, than assist the long-term,
hard-core unemployed who are relatively more difficult to serve.
This is a vital issue to the Hispanics and other minorities
because persons with limited proficiency in English, and people
with low leveis of educational attainment are the most difficult
and costly to serve. However, as the General Accounting Office's
research on the CETA program shows, these persons receive the
greatest benefit from training programs.
ACT ION: Performance standards should be designed to give credit to
programs that serve the hard-core unemployed and persons with
limited English proficiency. These programs, which may be costlier
due to the nature of the clients served, should not be penalized.
3. HISPANIC PARTICIPATION IN JTPA: Hispanic participation in JTPA is
of a dual nature -- Hispanic clients and Hispanic community-based
7
organizations (CBOs) as service providers. Since JTPA lacks target-
ing language which assures Hispanic access to JTPA, the success of
JTPA, from an equal opportunity perspective, will depend on the
commitment to this ideal by state and local officials. This dis-
cretion may result in the lack of protections for Hispanics and
other minorities who have relied on the federal government for the
enforcement of nondiscrimination protections. Previous analyses
of federal job training programs demonstrate that Hispanic partici-
pation can be increased by the establishment of guidelines and reg-
ulations which encourage states and localities to serve Hispanics.
ACT ION: DOL should establish a uniform procedure to ensure full
participation in JTPA by Hispanic clients and Hispanic CBOs. This
procedure need not reduce state and local discretion in designing
appropriate training programs, but it is necessary to ensure that
Hispanics are equitably served by JTPA. Regulations with strong
targeting language aimed at increasing the access of JTPA programs
to Hispanic clients and CBOs should be adopted.
4. JTPA ANNUAL STATUS REPORTS: The JTPA Annual Status Report will
display cumulative data on participation, terminations, perform-
ance measures, and the socio-economic characteristics of all
terminees on an annual basis. A Follow-Up section for the Annual
Status Report was included in the April 26, 1983 Federal Register.
Follow-up information is important because it assesses average
hourly wages, average weeks worked, number of individuals off
welfare or who have reduced welfare dependency following training.
In the September 2, 1983 Federal Register, DOL deleted the
Follow-Up section from the Annual Status Report. The deletion of
this section seriously compromises the ability of DOL or outside
researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of JTPA. These data are
especially important in early years of program implementation to
identify potential program deficiencies and strengths, and are
essential for long-term policy formulation.
ACT ION: DOL should reinstate the Follow-Up Information section in
its Annual Status Report. Results should be carefully monitored
and widely disseminated.
5. EMPLOYMENT COMPETENCIES FOR YOUTH: Given that the Hispanic
population is disproportionately young, Hispanics have a special
interest in JTPA's youth programs. The Act requires DOL to
provide standards that would measure whether youth who had
completed training have attained necessary employment competencies
(educational, pre-employment, and work maturity skilis). Instead,
DOL plans to issue a "technical assistance guide" that would only
provide non-binding suggestions to states in measuring youth
employment competencies. In the absence of specific standards,
ineffective approaches may be perpetuated and effective methods
amenable to replication may not be identified.
ACT ION: DOL should establish minimum standards for employment
competencies for youth served under JTPA.
8
6. VETERANS EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM: JTPA Title IV, Part C, authorizes
DOL to carry out programs to meet the employment and training
needs of service-connected disabled veterans, veterans of the
Vietnam era, and veterans recently separated from military
service. One potentially serious deficiency in this Title is the
lack of targeting language assuring access to these programs by
the minority veteran.
ACTION: DOL should adopt specific provisions for the establish-
ment of special programs for minority veterans, women veterans,
and disabled veterans. The regulations should reflect a commit-
ment to maximize the participation of Hispanic community-based
organizations as service providers, such as the American G.I. Forum
Veterans Outreach Program which has successfully served the
employment needs of Hispanics for over 11 years.
B. HISPANIC EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM (HEP): HEP is a special emphasis program
to address the severe under-representation of Hispanics in the federal
work force. Hispanic federal employees are concentrated at the lower
grade leveis; in 1982, Hispanics constituted 6.4% of the GS-02
employees, 4.0% of the GS-06 employees, 3.2% of the GS-08 employees,
and only 2.0% of the GS-15 employees. HEP has its origins in a Nixon
Administration press release which announced a 16-point program for
recruiting Hispanics into federal jobs. Due to subsequent budget
cuts and hiring freezes, HEP has eroded, and Hispanic agency liasons
have been reduced from 3,300 in 1979 to 1,400 in 1983 -- a two-thirds
reduction within a three-year span. HEP is a voluntary recruitment
program which has the potential to increase the identification and
placement of qualified Hispanics in high grade federal jobs.
ACT ION: (1) The President should issue an Executive Order mandating
that all agencies have an effective HEP. Furthermore, the section on
equal opportunity in the Code of Federal Regulations (29 CFR 1613)
should be amended to reflect the 16-point program. For the long term,
the Administration should support legislation that would provide a
statutory basis and sufficient resources for HEP. (2) The Administra-
tion should initiate a review of HEP to follow-up a 1980 General
Accounting Office (GAO) report which identified weaknesses in, and
made recommendations for, improving the Implementation of HEP.
C. EMERGENCY VIETNAM VETERANS JOB TRAINING ACT OF 1983: The Act provides
incentives, in the form of payments to defray the costs of training,
incentives to employers to hire and train veterans who served between
1964 and 1975, and who have been unemployed for at least 15 weeks.
Under the Act, the Veterans Administration (VA), in conjunction with
DOL, is authorized to carry out employment and training activities for
Vietnam-era veterans. However, the Act does not provide for targeting
services to Hispanic veterans.
9
ACTION: Both DOL and VA should develop policies which provide for
special emphasis on addressing the employment and training needs of
the Hispanic veteran. DOL and VA should increase the participation
of Hispanic community-based organizations, many of which already
operate veterans programs and have extensive experience assessing the
employability and skill levels of Hispanic veterans and designing
programs to address their needs.
10
III. HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
A. HOUSING AUTHORIZATION BILL: The House has already passed an author |-
zation bill (H.R. 1); the companion Senate bill (S. 1338) awaits floor
action. Some Senators oppose passage of the bill and have threatened
to fillibuster, thus delaying Senate action. Housing is a critically
important issue to the Hispanic community; even when variables such
as Income and family size are controlled for, research shows that
Hispanics are twice as likely as Whites to live In physically inade-
quate and overcrowded housing. The bills also reauthorize the Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG)
programs, which are especially critical to large cities experiencing
physical deterioration and rapidly growing small towns in the South-
west which are rapidly growing in population. Both bills would ensure
better targeting of existing CDBG funds to 1 ow- and moderate-income income
persons. The authorized funding levels In S. 1338 are well within the
Budget Resolution.
ACT ION: The Administration should support passage of S. 1338.
B. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
1. NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM: This modest but
promising program is Included in both House and Senate housing
bills; funds have already been appropriated for it by both Houses
of Congress. The program would provide small matching grants to
voluntary neighborhood-groups, which would be used to address
needs Identified by the local communities, as opposed to activities
mandated by the federal government. These concepts were endorsed
by President Reagan's Transition Team for Neighborhoods, and the
program was sponsored by Senator John Heinz (R-PA). These unique
features must be tested for the demonstration to have meaningful
value. In the absence of authorizing legislation, there is a
danger that the program may not be Implemented as Intended, thus
negating the demonstration aspect of the program.
ACTION: Whether or not a housing bill is passed, the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) should be directed to
implement the program as designed in the authorizing legislation.
HUD already has sufficient legal authority to implement the
program.
2. URBAN DEVEL OPMENT ACT ION GRANT (UDAG) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: As
with the Neighborhood program, both housing bills authorize HUD
to provide technical assistance to small cities to Increase their
participation in the UDAG program. Funds have been appropriated,
but HUD has not made a commitment to use these funds to provide
on-site technical assistance to the communities with the greatest
needs. Despite the fact that the unemployment rate in nonmetro-
11
politan areas is higher than In metropolitan areas, over $100
million In Small Cities UDAG funds were not spent in FY 1983.
The inability of small, predominantly minority cities to prepare
successful funding applications was cited by both Houses as major
factor in the FY 1983 carryover. The UDAG program is very complex,
and small Hispanic communities often lack the staff expertise to
develop fundable UDAG packages. Providing technical assistance
to small cities would increase their capacity to prepare success-
ful UDAG applications. The technical assistance program was
Introduced by Senator John Tower (R-TX).
ACT ION: HUD should contract with experienced technical assis-
tance providers to promote the participation of small cities in
the UDAG program. Special emphasis should be placed on providing
assistance to those communities which have the greatest needs and
which have not previously received UDAG funds. Many predominately
Hispanic communities are in this category.
3. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) SECRETARY'S DISCRETIONARY FUND:
In the Omnibus Budget Reconcillation Act of 1981, Congress
directed the Secretary to make grants to organizations to fulfill
many of the purposes of the Community Services Administration
(CSA), Including community economic development, services to
farmworkers, and housing for poor people. The Department has
resisted spending the funds, and has limited funding only to
development-ready projects, often sponsored by large, profit-
making corporations, a practice which some people believe is not
legal. Grants to Hispanic community-based organizations and
national organizations have not been made in proportion to the
needs of the population that these groups represent. Many of
these groups had extremely favorable performance evaluations,
and had identified unique means of expanding economic
opportunities for the poor.
ACTION: The Administration should: (1) Support the program; (2)
Allow funding for technical assistance projects; (3) Prohibit
direct grants to large, profit-making corporations; (4) Provide
"up-front" and multi-year funding for development projects; and
(5) Increase the amount of funding allocated to projects that
assist farmworkers.
4. FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION (FmHA) RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS:
The rural development programs of FmHA play a crucial role in
promoting the well-being of small, predominantly Hispanic com-
munities in places such as South Texas, the Salinas and Imperial
Valleys in California, and in rural Arizona and New Mexico. Many
of these communities lack potable water or sanitary sewage systems.
One of FmHA's key efforts provides financing to small and rural
communities to construct and/or upgrade their water and sewer
systems. Recent budget reductions and administrative changes
have made this program all but Inaccessible to the smallest and
12
poorest communities, and scarce grant funds are being siphoned
off to subsidize loans made to relatively wealthy towns. The
House has already passed legislation which includes reforms to
the water-sewer program (H.R. 1190), and action on a similar
Senate bill (S. 1789) is pending. Adoption of S. 1789 would
improve the targeting of funds with no increase in program funding
levels.
ACT ION: The Administration should vigorously support S. 1789.
C. ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
1. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION (EDA): EDA is one of the few
development programs available to the small- and medium-sized
cities not eligible for Community Development entitlement grants.
As the Administration has pointed out, the agency's program does
have problems: far too many communities are eligible, and the
project selection system is unstructured and overly complex. As
a result, funds are not effectively targeted to the best projects
and communities with the greatest needs. If funds could be tar-
geted more effectively, access to this job-creating program by
Hispanic communities and community-based organizations would be
enhanced.
ACTION: While we agree with some of the Administration's
criticism of EDA, the Administration should not try to eliminate
the program, but should improve it by targeting scarce funds to
the poorest communities through a rational project selection
process. The Administration should consider drafting its own
legislation to effect the needed reform of EDA programs.
2. HISPANIC BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Recent research clearly demon-
strates that the most Important factor in job creation Is the
number of new business starts and expansions in a given area.
However, Hispanics are severely underrepresented as business
owners, and existing Hispanic firms are concentrated in the
low-profit, low-employment sectors of the economy, despite the
fact that much of the Hipanic population is located in areas with
relatively prosperous economies. Recent studies show that the
greatest barriers to increased buslness participation by Hispanics
are lack of capital and underdeveloped entrepreneurial skills --
which are due in part to I ow leveis of educational attainment and
the lack of managerial experience. There is great concern that
the emphasis on increasing capital availability to small busi-
nesses will result in a decreased emphasis on assisting Hispanic-
owned firms to Improve their managerial and marketing skills.
Hispanics have special problems including the language barrier,
lack of a tradition of entrepreneurship, and 1 ow levels of manage-
ment experience and education; there continues to be a need for
13
special programs if Hispanics are to join the economic mainstream.
Increasing the rate of Hispanic business ownership would not only
help Hispanics, but would create jobs and Increased prosperity
for all the residents of predominantly Hispanic communities.
ACT ION: The Administration should (1) Retain the special
Hispanic emphasis programs sponsored by the Minority Business
Development Agency (MBDA); (2) Carry out additional research and
demonstration efforts to identify innovative program models to
increase Hispanic business ownership; and (3) Maintain the MBDA
Rural Assistance Program, which is the only source of assistance
for Hispanic entrepreneurs located outside of metropolitan
areas.
D. ASSISTANCE TO BORDER COMMUNITIES: Two recent peso devaluations have
contributed to the deterior- ation of the already poor economic condi-
tion of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. The New Southwest
Border Action Group, which is designed to address these conditions is an
inadequate response to this serious problem, inasmuch as it only
expedites assistance to the area. There are four problems with this
approach: (1) Since no new resources are available, already scarce funds
are Insufficient to meet the needs of the area; (2) The problems of the
area are fundamental, and cannot be obviated through a short-term,
highly superficial program; (3) Given the lack of new programs, or the
availability of technical assistance to communities and community
groups, new and innovative projects are unilkely to be created by the
Group; (4) There is little coordination between and among programs --
coordination that is made more difficult by the decentralization of
some development programs to the states through block grants.
ACT ION: The Administration should: (1) Establish a permanent agency
with the functions of the old Southwest Border Regional Commission, to
carry out research on the area's economic problems, fund Innovative
demonstration programs, and begin to implement long-term solutions.
The participation of the Governors of the affected states will assist in
coordination efforts; (2) Replace the Action Group with a high level
task forces with the major federal agencies which provide Intergovern-
mental assistance charged with the specific responsibility of developing
new programs to address the unique needs of the area.
14
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES
A. INFORMATION ON HISPANICS AND CIVIL RIGHTS: There is a general lack of
knowledge concerning Hispanic Involvement in civil rights issues. For
example, many federal agencies have stated that Hispanics fail to file
complaints when they feel they have been discriminated against, but
almost no research has been undertaken to determine why the complaint
system fails to adequately serve Hispanics. Some have stated that
Hispanic civil rights enforcement might be less of a priority than that
of other protected classes, even though Hispanics are the victims of
great deprivations and discriminatory actions. It is important that
the true reasons for Hispanic non-participation be identified and that
information be collected which evaluates the success of federal civil
rights activities for Hispanics. Federal officials are also often not
sensitive to the special needs of Hispanics related to civil rights and
need to increase their Interaction with Hispanic Americans throughout
the country.
ACTION: The Administration should: (1) research and evaluate the
invoivement and special needs of Hispanics under such federal civil
rights laws; (2) designate funds to increase outreach efforts in
Hispanic communities to inform Individuals of their rights and assure
them that these rights will be upheld, and (3) ensure that bilingual
staff and materials are available in federal, regional, state and local
offices Investigating civil rights issues.
These new initiatives for increasing Hispanic use of civil rights
protections might be announced by William Bradford Reynolds, Assistant
Attorney General for Civil Rights, or another high-ranking civil rights
official, during a visit to the Southwestern United States to talk with
Hispanic Americans regarding the important civil rights issues affecting
their lives.
B. TITLE VI REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAMS: The Departments
of Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Develop-
ment all have regulations governing the enforcement of Title VI of the
1964 Civil Rights Act. These regulations require that information be
collected on the race and ethnicity of ali federal program recipients.
Under several of the block grant programs enacted in 1981, such inform-
ation is not required by the federal government and many states are
therefore not collecting such information. Without this data it is
extremely difficult to ensure nondiscrimination in the delivery of
services.
ACT ION: The federal government should require that racial and ethnic
data be collected and aggregated for the block grant programs, in
keeping with requirements for Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
15
C. THE U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS: The legislative authorization
for the Commission on Civil Rights expired on September 30, 1983 when
Congress failed to pass a reauthorization bill. It is currently
involved in a 60-day dismantlement process. Also at issue are three
new nominees to the Commission, who are currently being considered by
the Senate Judiciary Committee for confirmation. It is imperative that
a reauthorization bill be passed by the Senate as quickly as possible
in order to reinstate the Commission and ensure its continuation; the
nominees should be of secondary importance, given the current status of
the Commission. Intense negotiations among members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee resulted in the development of a compromise
reauthorization measure which is supported by a majority of the members
of the Committee. This compromise measure calls for the expansion of
the Commission by two members, permitting two of the new nominees to
assume positions on the Commission. While this compromise is not
wholeheartedly supported by Hispanics or other members of the civil
rights community, it is recognized as a compromise measure which could
pass the Senate and ensure the continuation of the Commission. The
White House, however, has refused to support this compomise bill, and
has instead delayed passage of the measure, calling for the confirma-
tion of all three of its nominees. This position might very well
result in no reauthorization bill being passed and the complete elimina-
tion of the Commission on Civil Rights.
ACT ION: The Administration should support the compromise reauthori-
zation bill for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and urge its swift
approval by the Senate.
D. THE EQUAL PLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION (EEOC): The EEOC has
historically been unable to reach many Hispanics who suffer from
employment discrimination. In 1982 only 4.9% of all EEOC charges were
filed by Hispanics and Hispanics received only 1.48% of EEOC's total
monetary recoveries in 1982. A special task force was developed within
EEOC to investigate its historic problems in dealing with Hispanics and
to determine the root of these problems. Through internal evaluations
and fact-finding hearings throughout the country, the task force was
able to identify a number of factors responsible for the low number of
EEOC complaints filed by Hispanics.
ACT ION: The recommendations made by this task force should be closely
examined and acted upon. Specific funds need to be allocated for an
Hispanic outreach effort which will incorporate the recommendations of
the task force and thus increase the ability and willingness of Hispanics
to file complaints when they feel they have been discriminated against.
E. HISPANIC COMMISSIONERS TO EEOC: The term of one of the Hispanic
Commissioners to EEOC, Armando Rodriguez, expired on September 30,
1983. Commissioner Rodriguez's seat is currently vacant.
ACT ION: The Administration should nominate another Hispanic to fill
the seat vacated by Commissioner Rodriguez, in order to ensure
continued focus and involvement of members of the Commission on issues
affecting Hispanics.
16
F. VOTING RIGHTS ACT: The bilingual provisions of the Voting Rights Act
were enacted by Congress in 1975 to address the needs of language minor-
ity individuals as they sought to be involved in the political process.
While major gains have been made in providing access for Hispanic
voters, wide-spread discrimination continues in several areas of the
Southwest and Northeast. Nonetheless, the Department of Justice has
not placed major emphasis and Identifying and Investigating possible
violations of Section 203, the bilingual provisions, of the Voting
Rights Act.
ACTION: The Department of Justice should emphasize enforcement of the
bilingual provisions of the Voting Rights Act, to ensure Increased
access for Hispanics in the political system.
17
V. OTHER ISSUES
A. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET (OMB): Last October, OMB proposed
sweeping revisions of OMB Circular A-122, "Cost Principles for Non-
profit Organizations, which governs the appropriate use of federal
funds by nonprofit groups. The proposed changes were withdrawn in
the face of overwhelming opposition by both nonprofit groups and for-
profit groups, in part because OMB planned to make similar revisions
of cost principles for federal contractors. OMB based the proposais
on alleged widespread use of federal funds for lobbying and "political
advocacy." OMB has yet to produce evidence of the alleged abuses. In
addition, the definition of "political advocacy" is so broad that
legitimate informational and educational activities of nonprofit
groups carried out with private funds would be prohibited. Given the
nation's enduring commitment to freedom of expression, and in the
absence of clear evidence of widespread abuse, the OMB proposals
unnecessarily restrict the free exchange of ideas. To the extent
that federal contractors are diverting federal funds to lobbying
activities, current OMB and IRS rules are available to address these
situations. Revised drafts of Circular A-122, which now exempts
for-profit contractors, have been circulated on the Hill, and OMB is
expected to publish the new rules soon.
ACTION: OMB should not issue the revised proposals.
B. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE: Developments abroad, especially in Latin America,
have a significant Impact on the United States. Widespread poverty is
a major underlying cause of illegal immigration. The immigration
problem -- and the public perception of that problem -- negatively
affects the Hispanic community by increasing racial and ethnic tensions.
Immigration is a complex, International phenomenon, which cannot be
addressed solely through domestic policies. The "sending" countries
of Central and South America need assistance to promote economic
development, and reduce the pressure for immigration. This assistance
is not limited to "foreign aid," but also involves tax and trade policy.
For example, the single greatest employer in the manufacturing sector
in Mexico is the textile industry, yet the U.S. currently has a restric-
tive policy toward imports of textile products. in addition, Mexico
and other Latin American countries have requested increased technical
aid and technology from the United States.
ACTION: The Administration should: (1) Review existing tax and trade
policy to identify and remove counterproductive barriers to increased
economic development in Latin America. Special priority should be
placed on the primary countries of origin of illegal Immigrants; (2)
Strengthen the Inter-American Development Foundation (IADF), which
fights poverty through non-governmental, i.e., private sector, ini-
tiatives -- IADF is one of the few mechanisms through which assistance
to Mexico can be channeled, since Mexico does not accept cash assist
ance from the Agency for International Development; and (3) Provide
and promote the transfer of development skills and technology to
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Mexico and other Latin American countries, through IADF or the State
Department.
C. IMMIGRATION AND NATURAL IZATION SERVICE (INS): Hispanics are dispro-
portionately affected by the current operations of the INS in many
ways. Backiogs of visa applicants from Mexico typically results in a
nine-year delay in the issuance of a visa, while a similar visa appli-
cation from Europe is usually processed in a matter of months. In
addition, there is a Tengthy delay in the naturalization process for
permanent residents, a process that is worsened by the often arbitrary
decisions of INS Field Offices. These delays certainly contribute to
illegal Immigration since only citizens, and not permanent residents,
are able to bring certain relatives into the country. In addition, a
1980 GAO Report, the Report of the Select Commission on Immigration
and Refugee Policy, and a 1980 Senate Judiciary Committee Report have
all identified serious problems within the INS including: (1) Poor
management techniques; (2) Lack of pro- fessionalism within the
Service; and (3) Serious resource shortages. These problems affect
both the service and enforcement responsibilities of INS. With regard
to enforcement, the Civil Rights Commission and the Senate Judiciary
Committee concluded that INS was unable to ensure the equitable treat-
ment of the persons, both legal and illegal, with whom it comes into
contact.
ACTION: The Administration should: (1) Request Increased appropri-
ations for the INS, to ensure adequate resources for the service, as
well as enforcement functions of the Service; (2) Direct the INS to
use computer technology to automate visa and naturalization natural requests
as a means of reducing backlogs; and (3) Require increased emphasis on the
service functions of INS -- this can be done by maximizing the use of
voluntary and community-based groups to provide outreach and other
services, assuring Improved training in ethnic and community rela-
tions to INS personnel, and recruiting more bilingual/bicultural
staff; and (4) Place qualified Hispanics in policy-making positions
within the agency to Increase the bicultural sensitivity of the
Service.
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