By Arsalan Iftikhar
Date Posted: March 17, 2008
Fittingly taking place at 101 Constitution Ave., the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) recently held its annual Legislative Conference on Capitol Hill to highlight the growing importance of 2.5 million Latino–owned small businesses and their contributions to American society. From President Bush to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the USHCC Legislative Conference read like the proverbial “Who’s Who?” of Washington political elite.
The USHCC was formed in 1979 by a group of successful Latino restaurateurs in Kansas City. They decided to create USHCC because of “the void of federal procurement opportunities for Hispanic business owners,” according to Noemi Perez, communications director for USHCC.
Fast forwarding to today, the USHCC is the nation’s advocate for more than 200 local Latino chambers of commerce representing nearly 2.5 million Latino businesses around the country. According to Perez, these Latino-owned small businesses generate about $388 billion annually.
Latina Leaders Reception
Many of the themes during this year’s USHCC Legislative Conference revolved around the growing importance and contributions of Latinas throughout business and politics. In addition to honoring several Latina members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (Reps. Grace Napolitano, Lucille Roybal-Allard and Loretta Sanchez of California), the evening highlighted the inspiring story of Anna Escobedo Cabral, the first Latino to be named U.S. treasurer and have her signature appear on every dollar bill in circulation.
In a one-on-one interview with DiversityInc, Escobedo Cabral said: “It’s absolutely clear to me, not only in my role as United States Treasurer, but in my past roles here in Washington, that small business is the engine of the economy … Latinos, in particular, with their growth rates in terms of small business, are a particularly important segment.”
When asked about some key policy issues that Latino small-business owners will take to the polls, she told DiversityInc about two major policy issues affecting Latino small-business owners:
Tax Policy “You want to remove all barriers from the growth and development of small businesses … to make sure that people can hang onto more of their own money, as witnessed in [President Bush’s] stimulus package.”
Immigration “The right approach to immigration reform … let more and more people participate in our economy legally, so they don’t have to hide in the shadows … If we could facilitate the movement of these individuals back and forth [from their home countries], then they can take advantage of the opportunities and the income that’s available here but also create economic development and opportunity back home … And that means we’re all better off in the hemisphere.”
President Bush’s White House Policy Briefing
For the third time in as many years, President Bush addressed the USHCC during a policy briefing at the Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater. For the past few years, Bush has taken the opportunity at the USHCC conference each year to announce a major policy initiative. This year, he called on Congress to pass the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. In addition to the Colombian Ambassador to the United States, at least four Cabinet members (including the Secretaries of Defense, Labor, Education and Commerce) were in attendance at the briefing. “There needs to be a vote on Colombia this year,” said Bush during his briefing.
“The agreement will bring economic gains for both countries,” continued Bush, noting that Colombia goods come to American duty-free. “U.S. exports to Colombia face tariffs of up to 35 percent … This agreement is especially important during a difficult period for our economy.”
Legislative Awards Dinner Gala
The keynote address for the USHCC Gala was given by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who took the opportunity to highlight some aspects of the current budget, which according to her, “we just passed tonight.”
Pelosi also highlighted the following areas of the current budget: an additional $7.1 billion for No Child Left Behind, S-CHIP and energy independence. On the recent economic stimulus package, Pelosi also mentioned that “for the very first time … People in Puerto Rico will be receiving rebates.”
“They do pay taxes and they should have a rebate,” continued Pelosi.
The one congressional name that was repeated throughout the conference was Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992. More notably, in 2006, Velazquez was named chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, making her the first Latina to ever chair a full congressional committee.
On Velazquez, Pelosi said, “She teaches us every day that access to capital is important … With her leadership, we are working in our budget for the highest level of funding for the SBA.” When an American president, four Cabinet members and scores of congressional leaders show up to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Legislative Conference, you know that the power of Latino small-business voters is growing stronger by the day in Washington, D.C.
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This opinion column was written by Arsalan Iftikhar, contributing editor for Islamica Magazine. http://www.diversityinc.com/members/3225.cfm
