President Bush Celebrates ...(2008-10-9)

President Bush Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

THE PRESIDENT: Hola! Siéntese. Bienvenidos a la Casa Blanca. (Laughter.) Éste es el último "Mes de la Hispanidad" que paso como presidente -- y por eso, le dije a mi personal que hoy quería hablarles sólo en español. (Applause.) Me contestaron: "Señor presidente, antes de dar un discurso en español, ¿por qué no llega primero a dominar el inglés?" (Applause and laughter.)

 I am proud to be with you. I am proud to be with current and former Latino members of my administration. (Applause.) I want to thank the ambassadors from the Diplomatic Corps¹ for joining us today. We're proud to be your friends. I want to thank the members of the United States Armed Forces who have joined us. I want to thank my friend Emilio Estefan, President of Estefan Enterprises. (Applause.) And I want to thank Andrés Cabas, from Colombia, who is going to sing a couple of songs for us. Thank you and your band for joining us. (Applause.)

Every year at this time, we recognize the great contributions Hispanic Americans make to our country. And we should. From coast to coast, people of Hispanic descent enrich our culture and make our nation a better place. They serve in top positions throughout business and government. They bring their strong values of faith and family to our communities. My family is proud to have Latino blood -- mi cuñada. (Applause.) Jeb and I both married very well. (Laughter.) Hispanic Americans cherish the limitless promise of our nation. During the past eight years, I've been proud to work with you to ensure que -- ensure que todos puedan alcanzar las promesas de los Estados Unidos. (Applause.)

One promise is good education. I mean, you can't have a hopeful nation unless you've got a good education system. So we worked with Congress to pass the No Child Left Behind Act. This act raises standards and accountability across schools in the country, and I'm pleased to report Hispanic students are scoring at all-time highs on tests, and therefore an achievement gap is narrowing.

For hundreds of thousands of Hispanic children, the best hope for good education is found in America's faith-based schools. Earlier this year, I proposed a new program called Pell Grants for Kids, which would help low-income children in underperforming public schools attend a private, a parochial, or out-of-district public school of their choice. (Applause.)

Earlier this year I met a very interesting young woman at the White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools. The whole purpose was to help these schools realize a comeback and make sure our communities were able to have these schools as a part of their future. The woman I met is a woman named Katrina [sic] Ramírez. She grew up in a Chicago neighborhood. It was plagued by gang violence, and she had a tough time in school because she didn't speak English. But at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Karina received a top-notch education. She received real work experience, and she got herself a ticket to college. Karina says, "My dad went from garbage picking in Mexico to having a daughter going to Georgetown." Karina, thank you for coming. (Applause.) She is proof that el Sueño Americano es para todos. (Applause.)

 Economic opportunity is a promise of our country. And the truth of the matter is, for generations people have found opportunities in this country that would have been impossible in the places where they were born, and that has made us a vibrant² country and it's encouraged entrepreneurship. Today, the economy obviously is going through a very tough stretch, and that's why the administration will work with Congress to pass a financial rescue plan.

The goal of this plan is to free up the flow of capital to help all Americans get the capital and loans necessary to help weather these difficult times. Part of the plan is to free up capital for small businesses. After all, small businesses are the backbone³ of our economy, and interestingly enough, according to the most recent data, more than 1.5 million small businesses are owned by Hispanic owners. (Applause.)

In times of economic uncertainty⁴, we need to be promoting free trade, particularly with friends in our neighborhood. During my time as President, we've opened up trade agreements with a lot of nations, including nations in Central America and in South America. But there's a couple of them that need to be approved by the United States Congress. We approved the free trade agreement with Peru, but waiting on Congress to approve the free trade agreements with Panama and Colombia. (Applause.)

I'm confident in our economy's long-term prospects⁵. We'll get through this deal. And the reason why I'm confident is because we got the most talented and productive workers in the world. And many are Hispanic men and women who work hard every single day to support their families. (Applause.)

One promise of America is the compassion⁶ of our people. During my time in office I've been proud to work with Hispanic Americans to lift up nuestros hermanos y hermanas in need. I established the USA Freedom Corps to foster a culture of citizenship⁷ and responsibility and service. And today nearly 61 million Americans volunteer their time to help our fellow citizens -- many of them Hispanics.

Through our Faith-Based and Community Initiative, we are harnessing the compassion of religious groups to reduce homelessness and break the chains of addiction⁸, give prisoners a second chance, and alleviate⁹ suffering at home and abroad.

 Recently I met a woman from San Diego whose life has been transformed by America's armies of compassion. Edith Espinoza suffered terrible abuse from her husband. She turned to "El Nido" program, an interfaith shelter network supported by the Faith-Based and Community Initiative. "El Nido" is a place where Edith received counseling and learned how to get a job and save money. She and her daughters now live in an apartment that she pays on her own. Her goal is to become a social worker so she can help other families like hers. She is showing that because of the good hearts of our citizens, el sueño Americano es por todos. (Applause.)

One promise of America's freedom -- freedom for all. Hispanic Americans are extending this country's promise of freedom and liberty to others. Hispanics serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, to help those young democracies realize the blessings¹⁰ of freedom. I particularly want to thank those who are working to hasten the day of freedom for the Cuban people. (Applause.)

I'm especially proud to be the Commander-In-Chief of a military in which there's 225,000 Hispanic men and women. (Applause.) One of these hispanos is an Army Lieutenant¹¹ Colonel named Enrique Guerra. Listen to his story. Enrique fled Cuba with his parents when he was an infant. They wanted their young child to grow up in a society that was free and hopeful. He spent more than 22 years in the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Today, he is a battalion¹² commander at Camp Cropper in Iraq, helping¹³ the people in the Middle East secure their own freedom and therefore lay the foundation of peace for generations to come.

Enrique puts it this way: "As a Cuban America [sic], I was born with a strong sense of patriotism¹⁴, and that is why I serve." And today I'm proud to honor his service, and the service of all Hispanic Americans, who ensure that freedom is available to all. Enrique, bienvenidos. Thank you for coming. (Applause.) Thank you, sir.

And so today we celebrate the many contributions that generations of Hispanics have made to the American Dream. Their creativity and determination help our country to live up to its promise of opportunity and prosperity and freedom for all our citizens.

During Hispanic Heritage Month we give thanks for these blessings and we ask for God's continued blessings on you and your families, y los Estados Unidos.

And now it's my honor to welcome one of Latin America's most popular young vocalists, Colombia's Andrés Cabas. (Applause.)

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

3 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

6 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

7 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

8 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

9 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

10 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。