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Skriven 2006-10-06 23:31:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (061006c) for Fri, 2006 Oct 6
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President Bush Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 6, 2006

President Bush Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House
The East Room

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ Hispanic Heritage Month ˙˙˙˙˙

2:29 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please be seated.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Viva Bush! (Laughter and applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Shhh. (Laughter.) Bienvenidos. We are glad you're here.
Thanks for coming. Laura sends her best. She, like me, greets you to come
-- to welcome you to the Casa Blanca, -- (laughter) -- la casa de todos. We
are glad you're here. I am glad that so many of you joined us for Hispanic
Heritage Month. Today we honor the contributions of Hispanic Americans to
our country, to our culture, and to our national character.

We celebrate the values de la familia y fe. After all, those values are at
the heart of the Hispanic American community. We welcome the diversity that
enriches our lives, a diversity that makes America a stronger and better
country. Thanks for coming.

I am proud to welcome a friend of my family's, His Royal Highness Prince
Felipe de Borbon, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Spain. (Applause.) His
Royal Highness is here to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, which I
think is a kind gesture and a noble gesture from a very important country.
We're proud you're here, sir. Thank you for coming. Please give your best
to His Majesty and your mom. And I will do the same on behalf of you to my
father and Her Majesty, my mother. (Laughter.)

I am proud to be here with the Attorney General of the United States,
Alberto Gonzales. (Applause.) The U.S. Treasurer, Anna Cabral. Anna, thank
you for coming. (Applause.) Y su esposo, Victor. Welcome, Victor. Good to
see you. (Applause.)

Today we've got a special guest, Ana Cristina, who will perform two songs
after I finish speaking, which probably means you want me to finish
speaking, which probably means you want me to finish speaking soon, so that
Ana can come up here. We're proud you're here, Ana. I want to thank my
friend Emilio Estefan for arranging for the entertainment today. He's a
great buddy of ours from Miami. It's good to see you, sir.

I am proud to be here with Lieutenant Colonel Consuelo Kickbusch. She's the
winner of the Hispanic Heritage Award 2006. Interesting name, Kickbusch.
(Laughter.) It sounds like the political campaign. (Laughter.)
Congratulations.

I appreciate all the ambassadors who are here. Thanks for coming. We've got
ambassadors from neighboring countries. I like to remind people that the
best foreign policy is to make sure that we've got good foreign policy in
our own neighborhood. And so we're glad you're here. Thanks for coming.

We've got distinguished members from the IDB, USO, all kinds of
organizations. And I'm proud you're here. Thanks for coming.

We are a blessed nation to have thousands of people who claim Hispanic
heritage. I firmly believe that. I know that to be true. I think our
citizens must recognize the great contribution of Hispanic Americans to our
country. Hispanic Americans are hard-working people. They're
entrepreneurial people who dream big dreams. They're people who love their
God, and especially love their families. But most of all, they love their
country, America.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we've got to recognize we have
responsibilities in government to make sure that all in this country can
realize the American Dream. In the 21st century, the best way to do that is
to make sure every child gets a good education -- not just a few children
-- but every single child must receive a quality education.

I believe strongly that every child can learn regardless of the color of
their skin, or whether their parents speak English as a first language. And
I know that in order to make sure every child gets educated, we've got to
set high standards. And we've got to measure to determine whether or not
schools are achieving that which we expect. And when we find a child cannot
read at grade level, then that child deserves extra help to make sure that
we make -- to make sure that we meet a national objective and that is no
child should be left behind.

I'm pleased to report that Hispanic students in reading and math are
scoring higher and an achievement gap in our country is beginning to close.
We're making progress, but I assure you we will not rest until every child
receives a quality education in our country. (Applause.)

I believe that America should remain the land of the entrepreneur, and that
ours is a country that benefits when people have a dream and work hard to
achieve that dream. The small business community is strong here in America.
It's strong because we have entrepreneurs in our midst. And the role of
government is to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit. Government doesn't
create wealth, but government can create an environment in which people who
dream dreams have a chance to realize those dreams.

I'm proud to report that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses is growing
at three times the national rate, and that's positive, particularly if
you're a fellow like me who worries about whether or not people can find
work, because the truth of the matter is 70 percent of new jobs in our
country are created by small businesses. And so when the small-business
sector is growing, the job base is growing. And equally importantly, when
the small business is growing, it means ownership is growing, and the more
owners we have in the United States of America, the more hopeful country we
will have for all of us.

We take pride in the service of Hispanic Americans. When we celebrate
Hispanic Heritage Month, it's time to thank our fellow citizens for serving
the country. (Applause.) I thank our Attorney General for serving the
country. I thank the Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, for serving
the country. They're in my Cabinet. These are men who serve at the highest
councils of government and can walk in the Oval Office any time they feel
like it and say, "Mr. President, here is what's on my mind." I appreciate
their counsel in helping me make good decisions on behalf of our country.

We've got Hispanic Americans all across the country who serve our country
by loving a neighbor like they'd like to be loved themselves. Thousands of
our fellow citizens feed the hungry, or find shelter for the homeless, or
put their arm around a child who needs love in order to help create a
society that is welcoming to all. And for those of you who are involved in
our faith-based communities and charitable communities, I thank you on
behalf of a grateful nation.

The Hispanic community is also known for its willingness to serve in the
United States military and protect our freedoms. Today we have over 200,000
Hispanic Americans wearing the uniform of the finest military on the face
of the Earth. Today we've got members of the Hispanic community who wear
our uniform with us, representing those 200,000, and I want to thank you
for your service. (Applause.)

These fine Americans, like the other Americans in our military, are working
hard to secure this country. They're answering the call to history. They
have volunteered to serve in an historic time, a time when this United
States will do what it takes to defend ourselves from people who spread
evil by killing the innocent; at a time when the United States understands
that in order to spread the peace, we will stand with those who long for
liberty. I'm proud to be the Commander-in-Chief of such a fantastic group
of men and women.

And as we renew our commitment to our Hispanic Americans, we also must
renew our commitment to make sure we're a welcoming society. We are a land
of immigrants, and as we debate immigration policy, we must always keep
that important fact in mind. One of the important things about our country
is that we provide hope, and that we recognize that we're a stronger nation
when we're bound together under one God -- when we bind together under one
God different cultures and different heritages.

We will conduct this debate on immigration in a way that is respectful to
our heritage. We are a nation of law, and we will enforce our law. But at
the same time, we must remember that in order to secure our borders, in
order to make sure we fulfill our heritage, immigration reform must be
comprehensive in nature. We must understand that you can't kick 12 million
people out of your country; that we must figure out a way to say to those
that if you're lawful and if you've contributed to the United States of
America, there is a way for you to eventually earn citizenship. (Applause.)

Nobody in our land wants to grant automatic amnesty. But everybody in our
land understands these people must be treated with respect and dignity.
There are citizenship lines for people from our neighborhood. People ought
to be given a chance to get at the back of the citizenship line and have a
chance. And so I assure my friends here that I will -- we will enforce the
border as people expect us to do. But as we do so, we'll do so in a humane
way, in a way that honors that great tradition of the United States of
America, one nation under God.

And so on this day that we recognize the contributions of our Hispanic
Americans, we renew the great -- our faith in the greatness of our country.
I welcome you to the White House. I'm honored, Royal Highness, that you
have joined us today. I thank you for serving the United States of America.
And I now welcome to the stage Ana Cristina. (Applause.)

END 2:42 P.M. EDT

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