 |
LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS National Office |
2000 L Street, NW, Suite 610 PRESS RELEASE |
| For Immediate Release September 10, 2003 |
Contact: Lorraine Quiroga |
Washington, DC - After examining the $87 billion request
by President Bush for Iraq, LULAC questions Bush's priorities
and calls on the president to start focusing on domestic issues.
LULAC is concerned that President Bush is failing to focus on
domestic issues such as the high unemployment rate and the educational
needs of our children. More specifically, with the economic downturn
Hispanics seem to be one of the hardest hit groups in the country.
President Bush recently turned down the opportunity to fund programs that would have directly improved the educational opportunities for Hispanics under Amendment 1547 to S.1356. Meanwhile the Bush administration has continuously scrutinized educational and other social programs, calling for specific results. "What we at LULAC cannot understand is how the president can strictly scrutinize such programs that would be of real value to the American people yet when it comes to military ventures that have dubious value he does not hold them to the same standards," said LULAC National President Hector Flores. "Were the president to hold the Iraq venture to the same standards we would have never spent a dime on this war," added Flores.
Mr. Bush's request for the next year would bring American spending on Iraq alone to some $150 billion and it is estimated that the Department of Defense budget will be $379.9 billion in 2004, yet the discretionary budget for the Department of Education for 2004 is estimated at only $53.1 billion. "The Bush Administration's actions have made it clear that his priorities are not domestic issues," said National Executive Director Brent Wilkes. Currently Hispanics have some of the highest drop-out and unemployment rates in country. The national unemployment rate is hovering just above 6 percent but it's 8.2 percent for Latinos and the drop-out rate is about 15 percent for Hispanics. "Every day that President Bush fails to address the needs of the Latino community he risks loosing the Latino vote. To add insult to injury we see President Bush giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our nation which raises the question, when is the president going to pay attention to our domestic needs?" asked Wilkes.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States. LULAC advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.