Nov 12, 2014 - LATINO LEADERS URGE CONGRESS TO ACT DURING LAME-DUCK SESSION ON CONFIRMING NOMINEES AND ECONOMIC AND HEALTH PRIORITIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

LATINO LEADERS URGE CONGRESS TO ACT DURING LAME-DUCK SESSION ON CONFIRMING NOMINEES AND ECONOMIC AND HEALTH PRIORITIES

Expansion of tax credits for working families, confirming nominees, and funding for education, job training and health programs are key actions Congress can take to help Latinos

Washington, D.C. – As Congress starts its “lame-duck” session today, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 39 of the nation’s preeminent Latino organizations, is urging Congress to include Latino priorities as it completes the work of the 113th Congress.

In a letter sent to Congressional leadership on Wednesday, NHLA urges Congress to do the following:

• Complete the fiscal year 2015 appropriations process by passing an omnibus bill with Senate-approved funding levels for health, education, and labor programs, as well as sufficient funding to provide access to counsel and other support services to refugee children from Central America.

• Refrain from blocking funding to implement Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or future programs that provide affirmative relief from deportation to currently undocumented individuals.

• Enact a permanent expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, both of which help lift millions of working people and their children out of poverty each year.

• Confirm pending Latino nominees.

• Extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to prevent any of the 12.7 million children who rely on it from losing coverage in 2015.

For the full text of NHLA's letter to Congressional leadership, click here or copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://nationalhispanicleadership.org/headlines/LAME_DUCK_NHLA.pdf

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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. In 2013, NHLA launched the Latinos United for Immigration Reform campaign. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

| Carmen Orozco-Acosta | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (512) 787-6508 |

| Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 587-4945 |