Jun 27, 2014 - LATINO LEADERS PRAISE FULL SENATE CONFIRMATION OF LEON RODRIGUEZ AS USCIS DIRECTOR AND SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE VOTE TO ADVANCE NOMINATED HUD SECRETARY JULIAN CASTRO

For Immediate Release
June 26, 2014

LATINO LEADERS PRAISE FULL SENATE CONFIRMATION OF LEON RODRIGUEZ AS USCIS DIRECTOR AND SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE VOTE TO ADVANCE NOMINATED HUD SECRETARY JULIAN CASTRO

Coalition Acknowledges Progress But Urges Action on Latino Nominees Still Pending

WASHINGTON, DC—The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), the coalition of 37 preeminent national Latino organizations, today praised those United States Senators who voted YES this week to confirm Mr. Leon Rodriguez as Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) at the Department of Homeland Security and to advance through the United States Senate Banking Committee the nomination of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to be the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

NHLA has been active in supporting the Rodriguez and Castro nominations throughout the confirmation process and will be scoring these votes in the NHLA Congressional Scorecard on the 113th Congress -- a report rating members of Congress on votes taken that our membership deems important to the advancement and quality of life of Latinos in the U.S.

• The final roll call vote to confirm Mr. Rodriguez -- 52 Yays (50 Democrats, 2 Independents,) and 44 Nays (43 Republicans, 1 Democrat, 3 not voting) -- can be viewed here.

• The roll call vote to advance Mr. Castro through the Senate Banking Committee to the Senate floor for a final vote -- 16 Yays (12 Democrats, 4 Republicans) and 6 Nays (6 Republicans) -- can be viewed here.

The coalition’s support of Mr. Rodriguez, who was nominated by President Barack Obama in December of 2013, is based in large part on his professional experiences as a federal prosecutor and his extensive administration and federal agency experience. Of particular importance is his leadership experience as Director of the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which gave him the skills needed to lead the agency with the task of extending the hands of welcome to new Americans.

Upon confirmation by the full Senate, Mr. Castro will become the third Latino member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet. As a three-term mayor of America’s seventh largest city, San Antonio, Texas, he is armed with the experience of leading urban-core revitalization, economic growth, and education reform. He is a natural fit to lead a department that is central to serving all Americans with a variety of housing needs -- ensuring access to fair mortgages, helping in community development efforts following natural disasters, combating homelessness, especially for veterans, and a host of other issues.

“While there are still many highly qualified Latino nominees pending, we appreciate the progress being made by the Senate in moving several nominees forward,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “We congratulate Leon Rodriguez on his confirmation as Director of USCIS. Having had a successful career in both government and the private sector, he is uniquely prepared for this important post and his leadership skills are desperately needed during this urgent national conversation about the future of immigration policy in our nation.” Sanchez added, “We also are pleased to see the positive bipartisan vote in Committee for Mayor Castro and we seek a swift confirmation vote in the same cooperative manner. As Secretary, Julian Castro will undoubtedly help HUD to continue to revitalize our housing market, help those who are financially prepared to own and keep their homes, and support those seek affordable housing.”

In a recent letter sent by NHLA to Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the coalition expressed its concern that there are still many eminently qualified nominees pending in the confirmation pipeline. NHLA reiterates its call for bipartisan cooperation in moving forward its updated list of highly qualified Latino nominees (see NHLA’s list of pending Latino nominees here).

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Since creating its Latino Appointments Program in January 2013, NHLA has worked tirelessly to increase the representation of Latinos in the Administration. The coalition is active in calling for the inclusion of Latinos in entry-level to Cabinet-level political appointments. For more information, please visitwww.latinoappointments.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

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