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Two U.S. Presidential Contenders RESPOND to THE LATINO COMMUNITY’S POLICY PRIORITIES QUESTIONNAIRE OUTLINING THEIR StanceS on KEY ISSUES

National Hispanic Leadership Agenda challenges all candidates to engage directly with Latinos

as part of the coalition’s year-long Presidential Engagement Campaign

WASHINGTON, DC—April 4, 2016— Two White House contenders returned the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda’s (NHLA) Presidential Questionnaire following a one-month deadline issued to each of the U.S. presidential candidates. From the economy to health and education, civil rights to immigration and criminal justice reform, the NHLA Presidential Questionnaire provided a comprehensive platform for candidates to weigh in with their insight on and proposed recommendations to address the core policy concerns of the 58 million Latinos in the U.S. The Presidential Questionnaire is the first, tangible result of NHLA’s year-long Presidential Engagement Campaign, launched in the fall of 2015 to initiate dialogue with all the presidential candidates. This nonpartisan campaign is the only initiative, on behalf of the Latino community, to actively and meaningfully engage with the candidates to advance the community’s main priorities.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders were the two candidates to respond with their answers thus far. NHLA distributed the questionnaire to all the active candidates from both major parties following the February 25th release of the 2016 Hispanic Public Policy Agenda, a quadrennial policy agenda intended as a roadmap for elected officials to address the Latino community’s policy priorities. As part of the year-long Presidential Engagement Campaign, NHLA launched outreach to the major parties’ candidates’ campaigns to request responses. Clinton and Sanders’ answers can be found here, and the 2016 Hispanic Public Policy Agenda can be viewed here. ­­­

“Our Presidential Questionnaire, alongside all efforts coordinated throughout this engagement campaign, underscores our concerted effort to challenge each presidential hopeful to tell us where they stand on the most critical issues affecting our community,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “While we do not endorse or oppose any candidate for office, we do believe that a failure to engage with the Latino community precludes a candidate from reaching the White House. With only two out of the five current contenders having returned our questionnaire, the remaining three have some catching up to do. Our door remains open for these three presidential contenders to respond. We are hopeful that they will engage directly with our community to explore and address the priorities of Latinos, who are an integral part of the economic, social, and cultural growth of this nation.”

"As many have already pointed out, the 2016 election may be the most important national election of this half century, and it is clear that the Latino vote will play a decisive role in the outcome of the election, as it has in at least the last two presidential elections," stated Thomas A. Saenz, NHLA Vice Chair and President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal DefenseFund. "The Latino community is decidedly not a one-issue community, and the information requested in the NHLA questionnaire helps to inform Latino voters on a large number of critical issues, so that they may make a considered and impactful decision this coming November."

Over the last several months, NHLA’s Presidential Engagement Campaign has launched a series of initiatives to highlight the importance of the Latino community, its influence as an electorate and its policy priorities. As the primary elections fold into next November’s general election, NHLA will reach out to the major parties’ platform committees and hold events at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, in addition to working with Congress to continue pushing for bipartisan action on policy issues that benefit not only Latinos in America, but Americans as a whole. Background on NHLA’s year-long Presidential Engagement Campaign can be found here.

Today, the Latino community comprises over half of the U.S. population growth—with projections estimating the minority group will double by 2050. Indeed, Latinos’ strong growth has elevated their significance in shaping the course of the U.S. political landscape. Amid the divisive rhetoric infiltrating this election cycle, the Latino community has actively mobilized to amplify their concerns and counter the hateful messaging threatening their community’s future. With 28 million Latinos eligible to vote, the Latino voters are an electorate that any serious presidential contender must proactively engage with and respond to should they want to come out of this election cycle victoriously.

NHLA does not endorse or oppose candidates for public office. Candidates’ fitness for office should be judged on a variety of qualifications that go beyond their responses to NHLA’s Presidential Questionnaire.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 40 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino 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.

NHLA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

Alianza Americas | American GI Forum | ASPIRA Association, Inc. | Avance | Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network | Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute | Cuban American National Council | Farmworker Justice | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Inter-University Program for Latino Research | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. | National Council of La Raza | National Hispana Leadership Institute | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. | Presente.org | SER – Jobs for Progress National, Inc. | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States Hispanic Leadership Institute | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S.-Mexico Foundation

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