Leadership Institute

SPEECH OF HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL OF NEW YORK IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

* Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to share with my colleagues a wonderful meeting I had this morning with a group of bright, engaged, and active young Dominican Americans from the Dominican American National Roundtable, an organization which is becoming increasingly recognized for its advocacy on behalf of the Dominican American community. Today, the inaugural group of its Dominican Leadership Institute–all young men and women attending some of the best colleges in this Nation–visited my office to discuss their views on a variety of important issues facing this country today. From immigration to education, we had a lively thoughtful exchange about the future and direction of this Nation and ways that they can get involved and make an impact on this country.

* In 2005, the Dominican American National Roundtable joined with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company and the Bert Corona Leadership Institute to host the Dominican Leadership Institute. The program is designed to expose college students to the range of opportunities and skills needed for the next generation of Dominican American leaders. The Leadership Institute trains, empowers, and motivates these future leaders in the research, command and advocacy of important issues facing the Nation and, specifically, Dominican Americans.

* This inaugural class of the Dominican Leadership Institute includes Edwin Zambrano, Nassar Fand Mufdi Ruiz, Pablo Rodriguez, Ysaira C. Paulino F., Bethsaida George John A. Meche, Amaris Guzman, Evelyn Ng Duran, Suhaly Bautista, Natalie C. Archibald, Karla Acevedo, and Arlenis Almonte. These students and future leaders have been exposed to the challenges of leadership, the need for innovation and creativity, and the importance of civil engagement in the political system.

* During their visit to my office, we spoke about the need for a more humane and effective immigration policy, the challenges in integrating new citizens into the country, the problems of the modem family in major urban communities, and the need for a really fair trade policy. They were thoroughly knowledgeable of the topics and presented ideas and suggestions that would be quite useful to this chamber.

* I was impressed by the civility, awareness and thoughtfulness of this group. They approach each issue with a determination for justice and an ear for understanding. They were articulate about their views and thoughts and shared with me their life experiences and their reasons for wanting change. While we seldom disagreed on the policy implications of the concerns they raised, I was also impressed by their willingness to hear and sympathetically comprehend all sides on each issue. This group clearly represents a promising future for the leadership of the Dominican American community and our Nation.

* However, I was a bit disappointed to hear about a disturbing experience of these bright champions of change in the offices of the House. As intelligent young Americans of Dominican origin concerned about the welfare of their families and other citizens of the Dominican Republic, they rightfully were opposed to CAFTA and met another group of people who supported the bill in the Longworth Cafeteria where they were having lunch yesterday. When they initially asked the supporters about their support, they received information about the background of CAFTA. When they expressed their awareness of the trade bill and opposition to it, the supporters became rude and hostile to them and would no longer explain their rationale. This was a grand opportunity for an exchange of ideas, a meeting of the minds, but it failed, and it failed shamefully.

* While unsettling, this experience did not deter these young Dominican Americans from their commitment to highlight the issues of importance to them. It is a shame, Mr. Speaker, when students cannot come to their House and freely, comfortably, debate the issues of the day. This should be a place for open debate, a free exchange of ideas, and a respect for different and diverse opinions. I am glad these young men and women were not deterred by this instance; this is another example of their considerable maturity, comprehension of the issues, and respect for their fellow Americans.

* I am grateful to have had such an opportunity to exchange views with such young outstanding Americans. I encourage them to continue in their diligence, dedication, and search for the truth. I look forward to seeing them in the future and to knowing of their success and the great contributions they will make in their professional careers to this Nation. I urge my colleagues to find ways to reach out to the Dominican American National Roundtable and obtain information on how you can recruit members of this group for internships in your congressional office. These students are bright, motivated, and promising. All they need to reach their great potential is opportunities for exposure to the policymaking and legislative process. And you will find that your exposure to this fine group of Americans will be thoroughly rewarding and insightful.

* I submit to the RECORD a copy of the statement that this group presented to me on their policy recommendations for this Congress. It is important that we carefully consider the thoughts of our young people.

We represent the Dominican community as members of the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR), and we are before you today to discuss issues that affect our community and to propose a number of solutions. Education

In order to allow the United States’ economy to prosper, we propose that Congress pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act due to its potential to increase the country’s economy by the work of those future taxpayers.

In order to decrease the poverty level, we propose that Congress pass the DREAM Act so that it may increase the quality of life for those who are young and undocumented in the United States.

In addition, we support the Equal and High Quality Educational Amendment to the Constitution because the law would create and sustain high standards in all the schools within the Nation. Health Care

We propose that Congress provide programs and services that may educate people on obtaining healthcare and create reasonable qualifications for those who are underprivileged.

We recommend that Congress provide free, complete, and quality healthcare for children under the age of eighteen (18). Furthermore, we request that adequate health information be provided by local clinics and health professionals regarding issues of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases to their communities.

We propose that Congress internally restructure and organize Medicaid and Medicare so that private specialists will accept public healthcare. Quality of Life

We propose that Congress counter the inevitable effects of gentrification (i.e., displacement due to the higher priced housing in our neighborhoods) by establishing Community Land Trusts, where the residents would own the buildings they live in and a non-profit neighborhood membership organization would own the land under the buildings. These Trusts would uphold living and maintenance standards and, more importantly, would safeguard low-income communities.

We propose that Congress provide ample funding to Community Centers within these neighborhoods in order to educate the residents as to this new protection, and to provide educational and extracurricular opportunities. DR-CAFTA

We propose that Congress vote against the DR-CAFTA, because both countries’ economies cannot collectively prosper under the current agreement and only big corporations will benefit.

DR-CAFTA will eliminate tariffs on imported goods forcing out local competition and increase prices on basic commodities, which will increase the percentage of poverty-stricken households.

DR-CAFTA was modeled after NAFTA, which did not accomplish its goals of decreasing poverty and immigration to the United States. Furthermore, like NAFTA, DR-CAFTA allows foreign companies to sue national governments, therefore having a negative financial impact on developing countries’ economies.

We thank you on behalf of our community for giving us the opportunity to speak with you regarding these issues and our proposed solutions affecting its development. Please send a written response.