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Prepared Remarks For Good afternoon. Welcome to the Department
of Energy and thank you for being here. This is the first time any Administration
has convened a gathering to recognize federal employees who excel in
leadership; build partnerships with the Latino community; and work to further
the employment and empowerment of Hispanics in federal service. I am delighted that senior members of our
Administration have taken the time to be here this morning to recognize these
individuals and their special contributions to America. In a moment, Maria
Echaveste, the President’s deputy chief of staff, will recognize them. Like these administration officials, we
all understand the tremendous challenge of making government serve the people
well. To achieve that goal, we need solid leaders, like Ida Castro,
chairperson of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and George Muñoz
of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. We need to develop programs
that help people. And we need to recruit more Latinos to federal service to
meet the leadership demands set by the new demographics of the new
millennium. The people we recognize today work toward
those goals on a daily basis. Their work was brought to our attention by a
nominating and screening committee comprised of their own peers and
colleagues. The committee, led by Harry Salinas of the
Department of Transportation, spent a long time considering every one of the
nearly 160 nominations. Will the members of the selection panel stand so we
can acknowledge their hard work? I also want to acknowledge the students in
the audience and their mentors who are helping them pursue careers in science
and other technical programs. I am glad they are here to witness and
participate in today’s festivities, and will they please stand? I would like for Maria to now recognize
some of our guests. Let me recognize the 157 federal employees
who were nominated by their peers for these awards. That we had so many
nominees reflects the pride and confidence that so many of your colleagues
have in the work you are performing for the Nation. Now I want to call each recipient of the
1999 Federal Hispanic Heritage Month Excellence Awards. The first award recognizes individuals who
have displayed uncommon, pioneering leadership in his or her field and who
are role models for the Hispanic community. Please step forward when I call
your name. Dr.Nilsa Gutierrez is a renowned physician
in New York and is Medical Director of the Region Two Office of the Health
Care Financing Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. She developed new screening and other management systems to detect
HIV in small infants and children. Her commitment to fighting AIDS in the
Latino community led President Clinton to appoint her to the Presidential
Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS. Our second award goes to Donald S. Lopez,
the Acting Director of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian
Institution. Mr. Lopez joined the Smithsonian in 1972 and became part of the
team led by former astronaut Michael Collins that undertook the construction
and opening of the National Air and Space Museum. Mr. Lopez plays a key role
in speaking for and representing Latinos throughout the Smithsonian
Institution. He pioneered the Latino presence at major Smithsonian events and
strongly supports the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives. Our next awardee is Richard O. Martinez.
Richard is a project engineer at the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range. He
is the National President of the Society of Mexican American Engineers and
Scientists, founded in 1974 to increase opportunities for Hispanics in the
engineering and science fields. The organization provides college
scholarships for graduating high school students. Richard also works with the
Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering to provide students and teachers
with professional scientists or engineers to serve as class resources. The next honoree is Janet Murguia, who
until last week was a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director
of Legislative Affairs at the White House. Janet championed the Hispanic
community at the White House. She ensured that the issues of importance to
the Latino community stayed in the forefront of the President's domestic
agenda. Her advocacy within the White House on behalf of the Latino community
made Janet a role model and leader. The next set of awards are for Partnership
Building. These awards honor individuals who promote partnership
opportunities for the Latino community and the federal government. Mr. Alberto Alvarado presently serves as
the District Director of the Small Business Administration in Los Angeles.
Through Mr. Alvarado's leadership, the SBA helped create or retain 33,700
jobs, provided loans of $1.3 billion to approximately 4,800 area businesses
and ranked first in lending over $611 million to minority and women
entrepreneurs. Alberto's dedication is positioning Latino and Latina
entrepreneurs to make major contributions to the economic development of
Southern California. Dr. I. Miley Gonzalez serves as the Under
Secretary for Research, Education and Economics for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Last year, Dr. Gonzalez helped structure a Cooperative Research
Development Agreement with a small Hispanic company which manufactures custom
pre-cast concrete products. The company will develop, test and commercialize
a wheat-based concrete, which is a new product developed by the Agricultural
Research Service. Under his leadership, USDA developed a Federal model to help
Hispanic Serving Institutions obtain necessary funding, administrative and
management support. Ignacia S. Moreno serves as the Counsel to
the Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources
Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Moreno, a proven litigator,
has helped develop, implement and enforce domestic and international
environmental policy. Since 1994, she has overseen numerous policy issues
that contribute to the improvement of the environment and benefit the
Hispanic community. Ms. Moreno, President-elect of the Hispanic Bar
Association of the District of Columbia, mentors Latino law school students. Our next set of awards go to individuals
who have enhanced the workforce by increasing Latino representation in the
federal workforce. Paul D. Barnes presently serves as the
Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Human Resources of the U.S. Social
Security Administration in Baltimore. Mr. Barnes has led the drive to recruit
and retain Hispanics at the Administration to eliminate under-representation
of Hispanics in its workforce. Through his diligent efforts Hispanic
employment stands now at 8.6% and the Hispanic Senior Executive Service
population is at 8.5%, compared to the norm of 2.5 percent in the rest of the
federal service. Pedro De Jesus serves as an Equal
Employment Opportunity Specialist at the U.S. Department of Labor. For over a
decade, Pedro established and strengthened ties between the Federal
government and the Hispanic community in his role as Hispanic Employment
Program Manager. He is also President of the National Council of HEPMs. One
of Pedro's most important and influential contributions is his creation of an
Outstanding Scholar database comprised of Hispanic and minority students,
including people with disabilities. Edward V. Garcia is the Deputy Director of
the C-17 Aircraft Directorate at the San Antonio Air Logistics Center at
Kelly Air Force. Mr. Garcia helped develop an Alternate Dispute Resolution
Program that resulted in a substantial reduction in employee complaints and
resolution of 90% of complaints outside the legal system that saved $2
million in legal costs. In addition to his commitment on the job, his most
significant contribution was to enhance employment opportunities for
Hispanics who were most affected by base realignment and closure decisions
that led to dramatic downsizing of the workforce. Jorge Ponce is an EEO Manager for the
Office of Equal Opportunity of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. To
address the under-representation of Hispanics at the Department, Mr. Ponce
developed a strategic plan that increased the discretionary funds for
Hispanic Serving Institutions from $2,100 in 1993 to $742,660 in 1998. A
Partnership Agreement signed between the Department and the National
Association of Hispanic Federal Executives last year resulted in 39 Hispanic
students being hired under the HACU National Internship Program. The
Department’s Hispanic workforce has grown from 10,753 in 1994 to 13,473 in
1998. Let us give our honorees a hearty round of
applause. I now want to present the 1999 Federal
Hispanic Heritage Month Special Recognition Awards that go to individuals who
have made a special contribution to America. The first awards go to a group at the
Office of Personnel Management, headed by the Honorable Janet Lachance, who
is one of this year’s recipients. Ms. Lachance and Messrs. John Sepulveda,
Armando Rodriguez, Federico Molina Perez and Robert Franco are really put
their shoulders to the wheel to increase the number of Latinos serving in the
federal government. They know how important this goal is to the future of
America, and I want them to each come forward and receive our thanks and
appreciation. To me, there is no greater service than
that given by the three men we recognize with their own special awards. They
may be familiar to you, since the last time you saw them was after their
release after their capture near Kosovo. They faced hostile action and were
then held captive until their release. On behalf of all federal employees, I
want to thank you for your contribution to your country. You set the highest
example for all of us. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to present Staff Sergeant
Andrew Ramirez, Staff Sergeant Christopher Stone and Specialist Steven
Gonzales. On that magnificent note, I want to thank
all of you for coming this afternoon.
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