Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of American Latino Heritage Act of 2006

Madam Speaker, I would like to first begin by thanking our managers of the time for their patience and indulgence in moving forward so many good pieces of legislation.

I want to thank, first and foremost, the principal co-chair of this legislation, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, for her efforts in trying to help move this legislation forward. And while I have a written statement, which I will submit for the Record, I also want to thank the work of the committee chairman and ranking members here, not only the full committee members, Mr. Pombo, and Mr. Rahall, the ranking member, but also our National Parks chairman, Mr. Pearce, and ranking member Mrs. Christensen for their work in moving this bill through the Resources Committee. And, of course, the chairman, Mr. Ehlers, and ranking member, Ms. Millender-McDonald, from the Committee on House Administration for also moving the bill through their committee.

I certainly want to thank them very much for the work of the leadership to place this bill on the suspension calendar.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues, the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Christensen) for their work in support of H.R. 2134, the National American Latino Heritage Museum Commission Act.

I am also grateful to the leadership and members of the House Committee on Resources and the Committee on House Administration for bringing this legislation to the floor today.

I first sponsored this legislation with my good friend, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, during Hispanic Heritage Month nearly three years ago. Since then, we have been hearing from many supporters, not just in the Latino community, but throughout the nation. The Senate version of this bill was sponsored by Senator Ken Salazar and Senator Mel Martinez.

We have a good, bipartisan group of co-sponsors, but I would like to emphasize that this is non-partisan legislation that will benefit all Americans. Our national museums have great influence over what Americans know and believe about our collective history and cultural life. When the children of America visit the capital to learn what our museums have to teach them, they go home believing that they have an understanding about what it means to be an American. H.R. 2134 would bring light to the issue of whether our national museums are doing all they can to provide future generations a more complete portrayal of American Latino contributions to American life, by showing that American Latinos are and always have been a part of the American experience.

The bipartisan Commission created by this bill (``Commission'') would be charged with examining and reporting to Congress and the President their recommendations on whether and how to establish a new museum dedicated to the art, history, and culture of the American Latino population of the United States. The Commission would be comprised of experts from the national art and museum communities as well as individuals with experience in administration and development of cultural institutions. Commissioners would be appointed in a bipartisan manner by the President and the leaders of the House and Senate.

Along with the question of whether a new museum is warranted, the Commission would examine such issues as the capacity for fundraising for a new museum, the availability of a collection to exhibit, whether a new museum should be part of the Smithsonian Institution or independent, the cost of establishing and maintaining a museum, and where a museum might be located in Washington, D.C. or its environs. Congress then may choose whether to act on the recommendations as it sees fit.

American Latinos will play an ever increasing role in the whole of our society. Americans of Latino heritage are a very youthful population and are projected to be more integral to the nation's economy, workforce, and electorate. Almost half of American Latinos are under the age of 25. American Latinos have a higher proportion of preschool aged children among their population then any other group. Similarly, 11 percent of the Latino population is under the age of five. Among our nation's school-age population, about every fifth student is Latino. In fact, the Census Bureau tells

us that every fifth child born today in the United States is an American of Latino heritage.

Americans of Latino heritage have been part of American history since before the founding of the United States. They were present on the American continent for more than two centuries prior to the Declaration of Independence. Spanish colonists founded the first permanent settlement in the territorial United States in St. Augustine, Florida in 1565, four decades before Jamestown and Plymouth Rock. The first church in North America was constructed by the Spanish in 1598 at San Juan Pueblo, 30 miles north of Santa Fe. One of the sixteen windows in the Colorado State Capitol depicts Casimiro Barela, a Hispano and former Governor and member of the state senate from 1876 to 1914, who was instrumental in the state's decision to publish all laws in English, German and Spanish.

During the American Revolutionary War, General Washington's army was successful at Yorktown in part because of support from a multiethnic army led by Spanish General Bernardo de Galvez on a southern front against the British, driving them out of the Gulf of Mexico, fighting them on the Mississippi and in Florida. The town of Galveston, Texas is named for him.

In every subsequent military conflict, American Latino soldiers fought alongside their American brethren. One of the first U.S. soldiers to die in Iraq, Jose Gutierrez, was an orphaned Guatemalan who at the time of his death was not even an American citizen. American Latino participation in our armed forces is not a new phenomenon. More than 10,000 Americans of Latino heritage fought for both the North and the South during the civil war. It has been estimated that anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 American Latinos served in the armed forces during World War II. Over 53,000 Puerto Ricans served in World War II during the period 1940-1946.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, while Latinos make up 9.5 percent of the actively enlisted forces, they are over-represented in the categories that get the most dangerous assignments (infantry, gun crews and seamanship) and make up over 17.5 percent of the front lines. This is likely the reason why, as a proportion of their total numbers, American Latinos have earned more Congressional Medals of Honor than any other ethnic group.

Presently, Latinos have one of the highest retention rates in military service. Their dedication is rooted in their deep belief in protecting American values demonstrated by post enlistment surveys which illustrate that Latino recruits note ``patriotism'' and ``service to country'' as the top two reasons for joining, as well as ``duty'' and ``honor.''

The richness of American culture also has benefited greatly from contributions made by the American Latino community.

New Orleans jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton said that our quintessential American music, jazz, was born with a ``Spanish tinge.'' The famous jazz saxophonist Stan Getz released several albums in the 1950s that integrated Brazilian samba into traditional jazz, and used the paintings of a Latina, Olga Abizu, for his album covers.

Many of our old American icons were also influenced by American Latino culture. The term ``buckaroo'' is derived form the Spanish word ``vaquero'' or cowman, from which we also got the word ``cowboy.'' Cowboy garb, boots and wide brimmed hats are all derived from the traditions of the northern Mexican charros and caballeros.

In science, the ground-controlled radar systems used for aircraft landings, and the meteorite theory of dinosaur extinction were both discovered by an American Latino, Californian Luis Walter Alvarez. Without American Latino ingenuity in bringing large-scale irrigation systems, or acequias, to the Southwest, the semi-arid climate would not have supported the crops that allowed colonization. The earliest acequias in Texas were dug by Pueblo Indians in 1680, portions of this system which were still in use in the early 1990s.

The civil rights era was a time in which American Latinos also made contributions. Before Brown v. Board of Education, California schools were desegregated by Mendez v. Westminster School District, a federal lawsuit brought by the parents of Mexican American students.

American Latinos also are investing mightily in the American economy. American Latino purchasing power nationally will top $1.08 trillion by 2010, up 413 percent from $212 billion in 1990--a gain far greater than the 177 percent increase in the buying power of all U.S. consumers in the same period. From 1997-2002, the number of businesses owned by American Latinos grew by 31 percent, three times the national average. These are indicators that American Latinos will be increasingly vital to the nation's economic well-being.

These examples show that the American Latino experience is integral to the nation's past and future. Yet scarcely any of the exhibits in our national museums in the nation's capital portray American Latino contributions to American life.

H.R. 2134 would take the next step toward ensuring that the lessons taught by our premier institutions for the arts, humanities, and American history include a better representation of Latino contributions. We hope that we will soon be able to say that the nation's capital truly exhibits America's rich cultural diversity.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. President, one of the issues that has been hovering over this Chamber--and this country, of course--is the NSA program, the President's program to do wiretaps on American citizens if part of the call originated in a foreign country.

First, let me stress that I think most of us in this Chamber, Democrat and Republican--certainly myself--believe the President should be given the tools he needs to fight terror. In this brave new world, the tools are different, and because a rule worked in 1960 or 1980 does not necessarily mean it works in 2005 or 2006 or 2004. We have to be flexible. I think you can be flexible in a way that both protects our security and protects our liberty. In most issues, this does not conflict. My watchword on most of these issues is: Have a debate, have a standard, and have an independent arbiter check that that standard is being met.

That worked, for instance, in wiretaps. Before 1971, it was a mess. J. Edgar Hoover was listening in on whomever he chose. There was a debate on this issue. There was a standard--probable cause--and there is an independent arbiter, a federal judge, who determines whether probable cause is met. And it works. Neither the prosecutors nor the defense bar have any complaints.

We could come to the same exact conclusion in the new world we face, where warrants are needed far more quickly regarding many more people. If you are doing information gathering where you look for patterns, that might be needed. Again, because one way worked in the past doesn't mean it still works, and I think most Members, myself included, want to be flexible. The problem is when the executive branch arrogates this issue to itself and says, We can decide to do whatever we want, either under the constitutional executive power--that is pretty broad--or even under a grant of war powers, a grant to use force which, as most know, I supported back when the President asked for it in 2001.

Now there is a great debate. The President and his supporters say he was allowed to do these wiretaps without changing the law, without congressional approval. Some on the other side say he never should have been allowed to do it. I think that is a small minority. Many others say: Yes, he should be allowed to do it, but there ought to be a congressional debate, a change in the law, and perhaps a standard would be applied.

Right now we are deadlocked on that issue. We are deadlocked because, whether it is the Intelligence Committee, the Judiciary Committee on which I serve, this body in general, or the Nation--nobody knows, did the President go outside the ambit of the law about asking for a warrant? Some think yes, and they are pretty sure of that. Some think no, and they are pretty sure of it. They are pretty sure that he couldn't. Many are not sure at all.

I ask you, who is the logical group or person to make that determination? The executive branch generally through our history has had a lean to expand executive power. That is natural.

The legislative branch has had a lean on the other side. That is how the Founding Fathers set up our Government in their wisdom and it seems to have worked very well ever since 1789. To say we should just go along with what the executive branch wants is not going to work. Frankly, even though I am a Senator and believe in protecting the legislative prerogative, if we only did what the legislative branch wanted, that probably wouldn't work, either; and, needless to say, we are divided on this.

The most logical place for this to be settled is in the U.S. Supreme Court. They don't side with executive or legislative power, necessarily. They are authoritative, they are respected, in a sense they are the supreme arbiters, and they could put this question to rest and we could move on.

There is one difficulty. There will be people who will challenge these wiretaps through the normal process and we might get to the Supreme Court in 3 or 4 years. During all that time, the gridlock and deadlock we face on this issue, and the concomitant gridlock and deadlock that occurs in other issues related to this, would be hanging over this body. So I tried to figure out how can we get the Supreme Court to hear this case quickly.

The bill I am introducing right now will do just that. We have consulted some expert authorities and there are two basic problems--one easier, one harder. The easier is to simply expedite the judicial process, to grant expedited review. The minute a case is decided in the district court, it goes right up to the Supreme Court because time is of the essence--and I believe it is here. We have good precedent for this. It was done recently so the Supreme Court could hear on an expedited basis McCain-Feingold, and they came to a conclusion, and elections could be held and we moved forward. That is a typical example of where you would do that.

Our bill does grant such expedited review. But what about standing? How do you quickly get into the district court to do this? And, by the way, I have a feeling very few in this body would want to grant an expedited hearing to someone who might be participating in or accused of terrorism. So you have a dilemma that, while you want expedited review and it would seem logical that the Supreme Court should be the place, the cases that are out there are not the ones that would seem to merit that kind of expedited review--a special case; particularly if someone is accused of terrorism. We in New York know better than anywhere else that is a dastardly act.

What we have done--frankly, in consultation with some leading experts on this--is we have granted standing to a

very narrow class of citizens who actually have refrained from making overseas calls because of a fear that they might be listened to under the NSA program. But these are not people who are accused of terrorism in any way. These are, rather, people who maybe would be--and it is a small class--business people who would regularly call, say, Afghanistan. Maybe they are importing rugs, who knows? But they are afraid to because their calls might be listened in to.

It might be academics, maybe a professor of linguistics who might be doing research into the Pashtun language, and now has refrained from making calls. These are people who have been chilled by the reports that their calls might be listened in to. They are American citizens calling the foreign country and would have standing.

Our bill gives those people standing, gives them a right to go to district court quickly and then with expedited review to the Supreme Court, so we could actually get a decision, very possibly, on whether the President's wiretapping was under the ambit of the law very quickly. It is very authoritative. It might break through the dilemmas we face.

I am introducing this legislation this afternoon and I ask my colleagues to give it careful consideration. It is clearly not partisan legislation. Given the current composition of the Supreme Court and the two new Justices who have just been added, it is hardly a liberal or Democratic court, and it could settle the issue once and for all so our country could achieve some comity on this issue and move on and discuss other issues.

I urge my colleagues and everyone else in this great country of ours to examine this legislation, see if they wish to support this legislation or something close to it, and maybe we can move this kind of bill on the floor quickly so we could get the kind of expedited review that I think many of us would seek from the one body that would have the authority to make such review ultimately, and that is the U.S. Supreme Court.

The bill will be handed to the desk for introduction.

Mr. President, I rise to speak about legislation I am introducing today which I believe will enhance the experience of the millions of visitors who visit our Nation's Capital every year, and will contribute to the ongoing, deeply rewarding, and profoundly important process of national self-discovery. As we learn more about who we are as Americans, we gain strength from our history and enrich our vision for the future.

In that spirit, together with Senators Martinez, Hatch, Bingaman, Hutchison, and Menendez, I have introduced the National Museum of the American Latino Community Commission Act. The bill will establish a Commission to study the potential creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community. The Commission members, selected by the President and Members of Congress, will be tasked with studying the impact of such a Museum, developing a plan of action and a fundraising plan, and proposing recommendations to make the Museum a reality.

I am pleased to be building on the work of several members of Congress during the 108th Congress, most notably Senator Hatch and Congressman Xavier Becerra.

On May 10, 2005, Congressman Xavier Becerra re-introduced the Commission bill in the House of Representatives with Congresswoman Illeana Ros-Lehtinen. Since then, 107 Representatives have lent their support to H.R. 2134, and tomorrow, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands in the House Resources Committee will meet to examine the proposal.

Washington, DC is more than the seat of our government; it is the symbolic heart of our country. When American travel to their Capital, they expect the museums, monuments, and national parks they visit to reflect the complete American experience. I celebrate the recent opening of the National Museum of the American Indian and the announcement of the location of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. I believe we must celebrate the diversity of our Nation and her rich national heritage.

Many assume that Hispanics have just arrived on our country's shores. But these newly arrived Hispanics are only a small segment of a much larger community that has been an integral part of American history since before our country was founded.

Hispanics soldiers fought in the American Revolution alongside General George Washington, our first Commander-in-Chief, and have served in every subsequent military conflict in which the U.S. has fought. During the war that led to our Nation's birth, General Washington's army was successful at Yorktown in part because of support from a diverse army led by Bernardo de Galvez on a southern front against the British, driving them out of the Gulf of Mexico, fighting them on the Mississippi and in Florida.

In the Korean War, 140,000 Hispanic soldiers served. During the Vietnam War, more than 80,000 Hispanics served. While Hispanics comprised only 4.5 percent of the U.S. population at the time, they represented 5.5 percent of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. More recently, 20,000 Hispanics took part in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. And today, more than 10 percent of the United States Armed Forces are Hispanics.

In sum, we will honor the more than 1.1 million Hispanic veterans living in America today, by sharing this long history with all who come to our Nation's Capital.

My own family's story speaks to this truth.

Over 400 years ago, in 1598, my family helped found the oldest city in what is now these United States. They named the city Santa Fe--the City of Holy Faith--because they knew the hand of God would guide them through the struggles of survival in the ages ahead.

For the next four centuries, that faith in their future guided them to overcome extremely painful and challenging times. As humble and poor farmers, the circumstances of their lives forged the priceless and timeless values my father Henry and mother Emma instilled in their eight children.

They were indeed a part of our country's greatest generation. My mother traveled across the country to work in the Pentagon's War Department, and my father was a proud veteran of World War II. In fact, one of his last requests was to be buried in his uniform.

Although neither had a college degree, they taught us about the values and promise of America. All eight of their children became first generation college graduates, inspired by their

dedication to God, family, community and country.

As the National Capital Planning Commission states: ``the memorials and museums that define Washington's Monumental Core express America's connections to its past and its direction for the future. They help us understand what it means to be an American.''

As a proud American, I want to ensure that every individual who visits Washington has a chance to learn the full history of who we are and who we are becoming as Americans. It is my hope that the Senate can work to pass this important bill that will record and preserve our shard American history.

In the coming months, I will work with the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee to advance the Commission bill. I look forward to speaking with my Senate colleagues about the Commission bill, and hope we can take the important step of establishing the Commission.

Madam Speaker, as Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, which favorably reported this important legislation along with the Resources Committee, I urge my colleagues to move quickly so that the bill can become law this year and we can begin the process of planning a National Museum of American Latino Heritage here in Washington, D.C. I congratulate Rep. Becerra and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen for their leadership in introducing this legislation and for their hard work in pushing it forward.

Persons of Hispanic, or Latino, descent have lived in the Western Hemisphere since the 16th Century. In the United States, they have become the largest minority group, and their impact will only grow stronger in the future. The culture of the Americas reflects a unique mixture of what was inherited from Europe, retained from the indigenous Native American inhabitants, contributed by Africans brought here during the era of slavery, and stirred in the melting pot of interaction with later immigrants from all around the world.

I am pleased to support consideration of a Latino Museum which I hope would undertake serious scholarly research as well as create and display exhibits to tell the story of the American Latino to an ever growing population, which will be increasingly exposed to such cultural influences in the years ahead. This is a project which all Americans can enthusiastically embrace.

Our Committee on House Administration worked for years with the gentleman from Georgia, Rep. John Lewis, to establish the Smithsonian African American Museum which finally became law in 2003. That legislation worked its way through Congress over a period of 17 years, passing the House and the Senate in different forms during that time, and then being successfully revived and studied by a Commission appointed by the President and Congress.

Madam Speaker, that Commission worked through 2002 and early 2003 to compile information and recommendations for Congress to use in considering whether to finally establish the Museum, and in what form. While we did not accept all of the Commission's recommendations, I found that it provided invaluable focus and momentum in moving the project forward.

H.R. 2134, and any future legislation to establish a new Museum which may spring from it, will hopefully enjoy a less tortuous path to a successful conclusion. The Commission to be created by this bill relating to the Museum of American Latino Heritage is largely patterned after the African American Museum Commission, and this time we are considering establishing the Commission at the beginning of the process of studying a Museum rather than near the end.

The new Commission will examine, among other issues, whether this new Museum should be part of the Smithsonian Institution, as is the new African American Museum. The Smithsonian has unique expertise in both museum governance and successfully presenting information which tells a story in both educational and entertaining ways.

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support tonight of H.R. 2134--the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community Act.

I would like to commend Chairman Pombo for his leadership in bringing this important legislation to the floor, as well as the bill's author Congressman Xavier Becerra for his support.

As the Republican lead of this legislation, I am pleased that this bill would take the next step toward ensuring that our premier institutions for the arts and humanities include a greater representation of Hispanic-American cultural contributions.

The commission created by this bill would have the responsibility of examining and reporting to Congress and the President a plan to establish a new museum dedicated to the art, history, and culture of the Hispanic-American community.

There are nearly 40 million United States residents who share a cultural heritage which is not fully represented by any of the permanent exhibits in Washington museums.

It is only fitting that this bill is brought to the floor of this body during Hispanic Heritage Month.

As the first Hispanic-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress, I have been proud to represent my diverse South Florida constituency for over 16 years.

Americans of Hispanic heritage are a youthful population and are projected to play an increasing role in the Nation's economy and workforce.

As Hispanic-Americans, we have come a long way.

We are contributing in record numbers in the fields of business, education, healthcare, and at all levels of government service.

As a legislative body, Congress is committed to continue to propel thousands of Hispanic-Americans across the nation into the realization of the American dream.

A stronger, healthier, and more educated Hispanic American population contributes to the greatness of this wonderful nation making us competitive in the global market.

The Hispanic-American community is one of America's largest growing populations. Congress should continue to provide opportunities for the Hispanic-American community to continue succeeding and to showcase the wealth of talent that abounds.

A museum for the Hispanic-American community would honor all Americans.

The great diversity of ethnicities and nationalities of the people in the United States is a testament to the power of America's great tradition as a Nation that embraces all walks of life.

This National Museum will symbolize our country's commitment to proudly display America's rich cultural diversity.

Therefore, I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this important legislation to ensure that visitors to our nation's capital gain a more complete understanding of who we are as Americans.