August 12, 2011
NJ Revilla-Garcia

Hispanic progress at risk, says Coalition

On Aug. 10th, the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) was among the 30 U.S. Hispanic organizations making up the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), which released its Hispanic Public Policy Agenda Two Year Progress Report. The report provides a detailed assessment of the achievements of President Obama and Congress in 2009 and 2010 and the crucial work that remains. Download the report by clicking here.

The report assesses the progress made thus far in six major public policy issues facing the Hispanic community nationally: education, immigration, government accountability, health, civil rights and economic development. Much of the progress evaluated by the report has since been placed at risk due to budget proposals that would dramatically cut programs important to advancing the Hispanic community and the nation.

In an earlier response to the debt ceiling deal, HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores registered his appreciation that the current level of Pell funding was preserved, but expressed concern about the future of education for Latino students. “With 307 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) currently serving 52 percent of Latino students enrolled in higher education, maintaining the Pell grant award at $5,500 is critical for the 40 percent of Latino students that receive Pell grants. At the same time we are deeply concerned about 2011 cuts to the key HSI programs and the threat of worse cuts in 2012.”

As determined by the debt ceiling deal enacted into law, Members of Congress will return to Washington in September to cut $3 billion from domestic non-defense spending for fiscal year 2012 and before year’s end will make additional decisions about reducing the national debt by $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

Related:

Funding for HSIs threatened under the Debt Deal

HACU joins NHLA members to oppose federal budget cuts