March 9, 2005: Headlines: COS - Dominican Republic: Politics: Congress: Hispanic Issues: Awards: Waterbury Republican American: The National Council of La Raza presented Chris Dodd with one of its annual Capital Awards at a dinner ceremony held in Washington's National Building Museum
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March 9, 2005: Headlines: COS - Dominican Republic: Politics: Congress: Hispanic Issues: Awards: Waterbury Republican American: The National Council of La Raza presented Chris Dodd with one of its annual Capital Awards at a dinner ceremony held in Washington's National Building Museum
The National Council of La Raza presented Chris Dodd with one of its annual Capital Awards at a dinner ceremony held in Washington's National Building Museum
The National Council of La Raza presented Chris Dodd with one of its annual Capital Awards at a dinner ceremony held in Washington's National Building Museum
Hispanic group honors Dodd for Latino stance
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
By Rafe Bartholomew
Copyright © 2005 Republican-American
WASHINGTON -- Recognizing that Sen. Christopher Dodd's support of the Hispanic community means more than occasionally enjoying fried plantains, the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group Tuesday honored the Connecticut Democrat for his longstanding support of pro-Latino issues.
The National Council of La Raza presented Dodd with one of its annual Capital Awards at a dinner ceremony held in Washington's National Building Museum.
The group chose Dodd for his work on behalf of education programs like Head Start, immigration reform and equal voting rights, all of which are vital to Hispanics, according to Janet Murguia, president of La Raza.
In a video played on an expansive plasma screen before Dodd's acceptance speech, senior officials in the group spoke of the senator's "natural" understanding of Latinos' interests, which they said he might have developed while serving with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic.
"Sen. Dodd has the heart of a Latino," Murguia said.
"Dodd is unusual in the Senate in that he knows our community well," added Cecilia Munoz, La Raza's vice president of research. "He speaks the language and he's comfortable [with us]. He didn't just discover the Latino community. He's been there all along."
Sandra Ramirez, a Democrat on the Waterbury Board of Aldermen and a leader of the local Hispanic community, called Dodd's cultural awareness and bilingual abilities a "big, important factor" in his successful service to Connecticut's Spanish-speaking population.
Ramirez called Dodd "one of the most effective" legislators on Capitol Hill when it comes to issues that Hispanics care about. "We'd like to have a lot more (senators like Dodd) in there, but not right now," she added. "Maybe in the future."
The senator delivered an energetic speech -- peppered with Spanish phrases and an occasional one-liner -- that managed to draw audience members' attention away from their $350-a-plate dinners of Argentinean beef, stuffed prawns and saffron risotto cake.
"Bienvenidos todos," Dodd said to the crowd, then apologized for not wearing a tuxedo like many of the men among the roughly 600 attendees. He explained that he had come directly from debating a raise in the national minimum wage, and joked that formal attire would not help his image as a champion for the poor.
"When you're arguing on behalf of the minimum wage, it's a little hard to do it in black tie," Dodd said.
Dodd ended on a humble note, saying he wasn't sure he deserved an award for merely doing his job, but accepted it "as a challenge to do everything I can … to try and make a difference for the Latino community."
The ensuing standing ovation provided a stark contrast with the crowd's quiet response to a more reserved speech delivered by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.
Dodd, who voted against Gonzalez's confirmation last month and had called it "a disservice to the Latino, the Hispanic community" to view the nomination of Gonzalez as a "matter of ethnic pride," had nothing but kind words for the attorney general on this occasion.
He said Gonzalez, the first Hispanic to hold one of the top positions in the president's cabinet, was "certainly a source of community pride."
Gonzalez had some kind words for Dodd as well. Referring to Dodd and Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, the other honoree, Gonzalez told the crowd "they don't share our heritage, but they share our values."
When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state. |
| RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter. |
| March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went. |
| Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory. |
| Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week. |
| Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments. |
| WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service. |
| Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress. |
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Story Source: Waterbury Republican American
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Dominican Republic; Politics; Congress; Hispanic Issues; Awards
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