October 29, 2015 - NEW HOUSE SPEAKER BRINGS RENEWED OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERSHIP

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October 29, 2015

NEW HOUSE SPEAKER BRINGS RENEWED OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERSHIP

Coalition invites new Speaker to work together on Latino priorities

Washington, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 of the nation's preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, congratulates Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) on his election by the U.S. House of Representatives to serve as the next Speaker and invites him to work with the coalition to advance policy priorities that will improve the lives of Latinos and all Americans.

Earlier this year, NHLA’s Chair laid out a pragmatic agenda of several bipartisan issues on which Congress could act. These include immigration reform, restoring and updating provisions of the Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court, and permanently extending the 2009 expansions of the refundable portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Today, NHLA sent Speaker Ryan a letter outlining its priorities and requesting a meeting with him on how to advance those priorities in Congress.

"We encourage the newly elected House Speaker, Congressman Paul Ryan to use his role as Speaker to serve the entire House of Representatives and all of America. He has the opportunity to help turn the page on how his party is perceived among Latino voters. We look forward to working with him constructively to protect voting rights, implement fair economic policies, and on many other issues important to Latinos and the nation as a whole," said Hector Sanchez, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. "We are concerned about reports that Speaker Ryan is ruling out a House vote on immigration reform, but hope to have a fruitful dialogue with him on how to deal with an issue that so deeply affects millions of families and our economy."

“We look forward to Speaker Ryan using the mandate provided by his election today to distinguish himself by committing to being a doer,” stated Thomas A. Saenz, Vice Chair of NHLA and President and General Counsel of MALDEF. “Ryan can change the reputation of this Congress by marshaling support to legislate to address the key challenges our nation faces; because so many of those issues impact the Latino community substantially, an important step is for Ryan to work with the nation’s largest minority group, not in opposition to or ignorance of, its critical importance.”

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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

| Teresa Acuña | teresa@nationalhispanicleadership.org | (202) 508-6917 |

| Estuardo Rodriguez | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202)463-4806 |