PRESS RELEASE
June 17, 2014

LATINO LEADERS RELEASE LETTERS TO SENATE URGING CONFIRMATION OF PENDING LATINO NOMINEES

At Least Fourteen Latino Candidates are Currently Awaiting Action by the U.S. Senate, With Some Nomination Wait Times Running as Long as 1,188 Days

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of the 37 preeminent national Latino organizations in the country, sent a letter (which can be viewed here) urging Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell to speed the pace of a confirmation process that has caused numerous delays (in some cases up to 1,188 days) for Latinos nominated to federal appointments.

In the letter the coalition urges Senators to move forward the following fourteen Latinos known to be pending non-judicial Senate-confirmed positions:

• Candidates Awaiting Committee Hearing

o Carlos Pascual, of the District of Columbia, Nominated Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, U.S. Department of State. [Received in the Senate: February 17, 2012. Days pending: 852.]

• Candidates Pending Committee Vote

o Julian Castro, of Texas, Nominated Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. [Received in the Senate: June 02, 2014. Days pending: 16.]

o Estevan R. Lopez, of New Mexico, Nominated Commissioner of Reclamation, Department of Interior. [Received in the Senate: March 10, 2014. Days pending: 100.]

o Victor M. Mendez, of Arizona, Nominated Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. [Received in the Senate: May 15, 2014. Days pending: 34.]

• Candidates Pending Final Confirmation Vote (ranked by number of days pending in the Senate)

o Juan Carlos Iturregui, of Maryland, Nominated Member, Board of Directors, Inter-American Foundation. [Received in the Senate: February 27, 2014. Days pending: 111.]

o Annette Joanne Taddeo-Goldstein, of Florida, Nominated Member, Board of Directors, Inter-American Foundation. [Received in the Senate: February 27, 2014. Days pending: 111.]

o Mileydi Guilarte, of the District of Columbia, Nominated United States Alternate Executive Director, Inter-American Development Bank. [Received in the Senate: January 30, 2014. Days pending: 139.]

o Gustavo Velasquez Aguilar, of the District of Columbia, Nominated Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. [Received in the Senate: January 16, 2014. On the calendar for a final vote this week. Days pending: 153.]

o Leon Rodriguez, of Maryland, Nominated Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office at the Department of Homeland Security. [Received in the Senate: January 07, 2014. Days pending: 162.]

o Alfredo Julio Balsera, of Florida, Nominated Member, United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. [Received in the Senate: January 06, 2014. Days pending: 163.]

o Arnold Chacon, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Director General of the Foreign Service at the Department of State. [Received in the Senate: October 07, 2013. Days pending: 254.]

o David Joseph Arroyo, of New York, Nominated Member, Board of Directors, Corporation for Public Broadcasting. [Received in the Senate: September 17, 2013. Days pending: 274.]

o Luis G. Moreno, of Texas, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Jamaica. [Received in the Senate: September 11, 2013. Days pending: 280.]

o Myrna Perez, of Texas, Nominated Commissioner, Election Assistance Commission. [Received in the Senate: March 17, 2011. Days pending: 1,189.]

NHLA also released letters regarding two nominees who are before the Senate this week:

• Click here to view NHLA’s letter supporting Julian Castro, nominated Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Castro’s nomination hearing was held earlier today, June 17th, in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee.

• Click here to view NHLA’s letter supporting Gustavo Velasquez, nominated Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Velasquez is on the calendar for a final confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate this week.

In each of the letters, NHLA notes its intent to score all votes associated with Latino nominations requiring Senate confirmation in the NHLA Congressional Scorecard on the 113th Congress. The Scorecard will rate Members of Congress on votes taken in the House and Senate that the NHLA membership deems important to the social, economic, and political advancement and quality of life of Latinos in the U.S.

These actions are driven by NHLA's Latino Appointment Program, the coalition’s historic effort launched in 2013 to substantially increase the representation of Latinos in the President’s administration and in state-level appointments.

These actions are also organized in tandem with efforts to increase Latino representation in the federal career workforce led by NHLA’s Government Accountability Committee, which recently led to the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding between NHLA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture designed to address a range of policies, programs, personnel and partnerships that specifically impact the Latino community.