White House Flaunts 'Fact Sheet' on Obama Administration's Accomplishments for the Latino Community: From Immigration, Health Care and Economics
President Barack Obama has had a turbulent few months with the Latino community because of inaction from Congress on immigration reform and his executive action delay. Despite the setbacks in Washington, D.C., the White House wants to remind the Latino community of the Obama administration's accomplishments.
"The president believes that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should have the opportunity to succeed, and your ability to get ahead should be determined by your hard work, ambition, and goals -- not by the circumstances of your birth," said the White House Office of the Press Secretary on behalf of Obama.
With the Latino community, it was stated Obama knows the successes of the U.S. has been "directly tied" to the success of Latinos. According to White House officials, helping the middle class maintain their budgets, homes and jobs has been a top priority for Obama. While the official said Obama will work with Congress, it was noted the president could act "on his own" to expand opportunities. The White House, however, did not specify on how or what measures the Obama administration helped implement for Latinos' economically.
"Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in our nation's schools and President Obama has made sure that the Hispanic community is included in efforts to advance education opportunities for all Americans," noted the White House, adding the rate of Latino students enrolled in college increased by 45 percent between 2008 and 2012. The high school graduate rate is also the highest in 30 years as the Latino dropout rate has been halved since 2000.
Unlike its statement on the economy, the Obama administration's progress on Latinos and education was highlighted with programs such as Preschool for All and Head Start with the latter comprising of nearly 21 percent of Latino children. Obama also signed the 2010 Executive Order 13555, which renewed the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. As a result of the executive order, educational achievement gaps among girls were addressed.
"In December 2013, the Initiative issued approximately 50 recommendations -- addressing issues ranging from quality early learning to family engagement to postsecondary completion -- which will significantly improve educational outcomes for Hispanic girls and young women."
The White House also highlighted climate change, affordable housing and business growth with the Latino community.
"Hispanic-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing in the nation and the number of Hispanic-owned businesses increased nearly 44 percent to 2.3 million between 2002 and 2007, more than twice the national average of all U.S. businesses. The total number of U.S. businesses during the same period increased 18 percent to 27.1 million," the White House said.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was credited to help the Latino community. The White House said 8.8 million Latinos with private insurance are currently available to expand preventive services with no cost sharing while 913,000 Latino between the ages of 19 and 25 are able to stay with their parent's health insurance plan. Meanwhile, 4.9 million Latinas with private health insurance received guaranteed access to women's preventative services.
When it comes to immigration, White House officials claimed Obama "remains deeply committed" for comprehensive immigration reform. With Congress not passing immigration reform legislation, the White House reminded that Obama will act on his own but "within the scope of his authority." The main success the White House promoted about immigration is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allowed thousands of young undocumented immigrants born after June 15, 1981, but living in the U.S. prior to June 15, 2007 to stay in the U.S. based on a renewable two-year deal for education and work commitments.
On immigration, the White House also highlighted the Department of Homeland Security's priorities on border security and public safety despite "limited government enforcement resources."
The White House's "Fact Sheet" comes nearly a month after Obama announced his delay on immigration executive action. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest originally said an executive action would come in late August or early September. Obama, though, confirmed a delay until November, most likely after the Nov. 4 midterm elections, but he said the delay was not based on elections.
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