Monthly Archives: October 2013

Weekly Washington Outlook – October 28, 2013

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What to Watch This Week:

Congress:

The House:

On Monday afternoon, the House will hold a series of votes under suspension of the rules on legislation relating to veterans services and benefits.  Later in the week, in addition to several non-controversial bills, the House will take up the Retail Investor Protection Act (H.R. 2374), sponsored by Congresswoman Ann Wagner.  The bill would delay a Department of Labor rulemaking process mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act that relates to fiduciary responsibilities for financial planners.  The House will also consider a measure on whether to suspend the debt limit and the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act (H.R. 992), sponsored by Congressman Randy Hultgren.

The Senate:

On Monday, the Senate is expected to vote on cloture for Richard Griffin’s nomination to general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.  Later in the week, Majority Leader Harry Reid may file cloture on the nominations of several judicial candidates to fill vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  Action on the Mel Watt nomination to head the Federal Housing Finance Administration is also possible.

White House:

On Monday, the President will attend the installation of FBI Director James Comey at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC.  On Tuesday, the President will attend a memorial service for former Speaker Tom Foley at the Capitol.  On Wednesday, the President will travel to Boston where he will host and deliver remarks the following day at the SelectUSA Investment Summit. In the evening, the President and the First Lady will welcome local children and children of military families to trick-or-treat at the South Portico of the White House.  On Friday, the President will host Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the White House.  The visit will highlight the importance of the U.S.-Iraq relationship under the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA).  Continue reading →

This Week in Immigration Reform – Week Ending October 25

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Week Ending October 25

This week in immigration reform: President Obama, joined by NCLR’s own Janet Murguía, calls on the House to get to work on passing immigration reform legislation; a bipartisan group of House lawmakers and immigration reform advocates discusses how reform would strengthen the U.S. military; reports indicate that Republican lawmakers plan to introduce immigration reform legislation; and the NCLR Action Fund announces that the Easton, Pennsylvania City Council is passing a resolution endorsing immigration reform.  NCLR staff kept the community informed as always this week, with staff quoted in stories in Univision and NBC Latino.

  • Pres. Obama, joined by Janet Murguía, calls for action on reform.  Joined by NCLR’s own Janet Murguía and other leaders in the broad coalition for immigration reform, President Obama took to the podium on Thursday, Oct. 24th and called on the House of Representatives to get back to work on immigration reform.

Murguía applauded the President’s call for reform and concurred with his remarks, saying that it continues to remain the House’s responsibility to work on passing immigration reform legislation – a commonsense policy initiative that will boost our economy, cut deficits, and that the majority of the public strongly supports.

  • Bipartisan House group calls for reform on military-readiness grounds.  A bipartisan group of House lawmakers and immigration advocates called on Congress to pass immigration reform on Oct. 23rd, arguing that our broken immigration system undermines military readiness, needlessly bars talented individuals from joining the armed forces, and harms military families that include undocumented individuals.

 Discussing how immigration reform would strengthen the U.S. military were Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ-9), Rep. David Valadao (R-CA-21), Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO-6), and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL-4).  The lawmakers were joined by Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice Educational Fund, and Jorge Tellez, a Colorado DREAMer and aspiring service member.

  • House Republicans planning to introduce immigration reform legislation.  Politico reports that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA-49) plans to introduce immigration reform legislation as early as next week.  Issa described the legislation as a “come from the shadows bill” that would grant six years of legal status to undocumented individuals currently in the United States.  Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25) is working with fellow members of Congress on immigration reform legislation that will include border security and legalization provisions.
  • NCLR and Affiliates in action. 

Pennsylvania:  The NCLR Action Fund partnered with OFA (Organizing for America) and the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) this Tuesday, October 22nd to announce that the City Council of Easton, PA is adopting a resolution calling on Congress to pass immigration reform legislation.

immigration update 102513 photo 1Rafael Collazo with the NCLR Action Fund introducing the Easton City Council’s 10/22/13 resolution calling on Congress to pass immigration reform.

NCLR Affiliates:  To share your recent meetings on immigration with your members of Congress, please fill out the report-back form on our website.

Dual Language Learning: Benefits and Practice

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(This was first posted to the Child Care Aware of America blog, Early Directions.)

By Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., Executive Director, Child Care Aware®  of America

Dia de Los Ninos 2013This is Part II of a three-part blog series with Peggy McLeod, Deputy VP for Education and Workforce Development with the National Council of La Raza.

Here Peggy discusses dual language learning and the benefits and implications for Latino children.

Lynette: Let’s set the foundation here: What does dual language learner (DLL) mean?

Peggy: For children ages birth to five, the term dual language learner is preferred as these children are in the process of acquiring their first language and also learning English as a second language. In K-12 education, the terms more commonly include English Learners (ELs) and Limited English Proficient (LEP). Dual language programs are designed to deliver instruction through both languages to language minority and language majority children with the goal of ensuring that all children become bilingual, biliterate, and develop cross-cultural competencies. Dual language programs are also known as two-way immersion or two-way bilingual programs.

“Children who know two languages often have higher levels of cognitive achievement than monolingual children and almost certainly will have a broader array of social and economic opportunities available to them as they become adults.” – U.S. Office of Head Start  Continue reading →

Understanding the Affirmative Action Case Before the Supreme Court

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The recent oral argument in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action brought the Supreme Court one step closer to making an important decision on a Michigan case that involves the use of race-conscious policies in higher education. The case began in 2006, when the citizens of that state passed a ballot measure that, among other things, banned the use of race in the admissions process. Opponents of the ban argued that this violated their constitutional rights and sued the state.

Casual observers of the Court, who may recall that an affirmative action case was decided in the last term, might be asking themselves why the Justices are revisiting the use of race-conscious policies.  Put simply, they are not.   Continue reading →

In Some Industries, Latinos Comprise 30% or More

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highway guardrailThe Labor Department released its jobs numbers today, though they were delayed more than two weeks because of the recent government shutdown.

The report shows the national unemployment rate fell, insignificantly, to 7.2 percent. The Latino unemployment rate also fell, from 9.3 percent in August to 9 percent in September. Also, for the second month in a row, the Latino labor force participation rate took a dip shrinking to 116,00.

In this edition of our Monthly Latino Employment Report, we take a closer look at the current employment situation for Latinos and the segments of the economy where we already make significant contributions. Bakeries, carpet mills, car washes, and landscaping, these are industries where more than one in three workers is Latino. They offer a glimpse of the economy in the year 2050, when Latinos will account for 30 percent of the American workforce, nearly double their share today.

Download the full report now.

NOTE TO CONGRESS: Immigration Reform Is Waiting for You

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ImmigrationRally_7_10_2013Budget negotiations may be far from over and there is still plenty at stake for the Latino community as Congress considers whether to implement the next round of sequestration cuts.  But, at the very least, the government is finally open again and Congress can get back to work.

At the top of the agenda sits immigration reform.  It has been nearly four months since the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to overhaul and modernize the country’s outdated immigration system.  Yet, the House of Representatives has not acted.   Democrats have introduced a bipartisan proposal—it is due time for Republicans to either get to work on that bill, or put their own solution forward.  Continue reading →

Weekly Washington Outlook – Oct. 21, 2013

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White House at Night

What to Watch This Week:

Congress:

The House:

This week, the House will meet on Tuesday to consider three bills under suspension of the rules.  These would name a courthouse (H.R. 185), incentivize adoption (H.R. 3205), and require criminal background checks for school employees (H.R. 2083).  On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet to consider the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (H.R. 3080), a reauthorization bill determining Army Corps of Engineers priorities for waterway projects.

The Senate:

The Senate is not in session this week.

White House:

On Monday, the president will host a health care event at the White House.  In his remarks, he is expected to address some of the technical flaws affecting the rollout of the healthcare exchanges.  On Tuesday, the Mr. Obama will attend unspecified meetings at the White House.  On Wednesday, he will welcome Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan to the White House. The meeting will highlight the importance and resilience of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship and provide an opportunity to strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual concern, such as energy, trade and economic development, regional stability, and countering violent extremism.  On Thursday, the president will again attend unspecified meetings at the White House and on Friday he will travel to NY for a DCCC event.  Continue reading →