US Senate Hispanic Leadership Summit Convenes

WASHINGTON – Armando Cortinez with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) recently attended the Senate Hispanic Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. The two-day conference provided a forum for more than 350 Hispanic participants from across the country to discuss a range of policy and health issues with members of the United States Congress and the Bush Administration. The conference participants were nominated to attend by their member of Congress.

"Bringing together Hispanic leaders and our federal officials for an open dialogue and exchange of ideas is vital to our nation's continuing efforts to address the most pressing issues affecting our families, communities, and nation," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), chairman of the Summit. Participants were encouraged to provide feedback and questions for each panel.
Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D. (TN) welcomed the delegates. Summit Co-Chair Sen. Mel Martinez (FL) joined Sen. Hutchison to update participants on Congress' accomplishments in the last session and briefed them on the upcoming agenda. Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT) spoke on education opportunities, Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ) outlined ideas for immigration reform, and Sen. Pete Domenici (NM) discussed the recently passed Energy bill.
Several members of President Bush's administration addressed the Summit's attendees, including special guest speaker U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. Hector Barreto, director of the Small Business Administration, led the economic panel; U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona was the keynote speaker on the health care panel; and Kathleen Leos, Associate Assistant Deputy and Senior Policy Advisor, Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Department of Education, updated attendees on the President's education programs, including No Child Left Behind.

"Hispanic achievements have greatly influenced America's policy-making, its economy, medical, and artistic fields. Collaborating on and bringing forward more ideas will continue to help shape our legislative agenda and a better quality of life for all Americans," said Sen. Martinez, the Summit's Co-Chair.

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the Hispanic/Latino community. The NMDP works hard to help more Hispanic and Latino patients receive the transplants that can save their lives. To learn more about getting on the national registry or volunteer opportunities, call (800) MARROW–2 (800-627-7692) or visit www.marrow.org.