Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has endorsed H.Res 534, a pro-democracy resolution in support of the thousands of Cuban citizens in their pursuit of liberty and basic human rights. The resolution was led by CHC Members Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ), House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Chairman Albio Sires (NJ-08), and Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09), as well as Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23).

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met virtually with U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to advocate for Hispanic students. Following the meeting, CHC Chair Dr. Raul Ruiz released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has endorsed a slate of environmental justice bills aimed at promoting energy and climate resiliency and protecting communities disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change. The endorsements were shepherded by CHC Climate Change Taskforce Chair Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44).

The CHC has endorsed the following twelve bills introduced by fellow CHC Members:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), and Democratic Women's Caucus (DWC) sent a letter to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Guzman urging her to assist businesses that have had their Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants rescinded.

The RRF was created in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to provide grants to restaurants suffering the financial effects of the pandemic. The ARP included a priority window for the RRF where for the first 21 days, "disadvantaged communities" could apply for grants before the general public. The SBA defined this priority group to include women and minority owned businesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation by Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Vice-Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, to restore the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) 13(b) consumer protection powers to return money to defrauded consumers. In April, the Supreme Court took away a major tool from the FTC's ability to protect consumers from fraudsters and scammers.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has formally endorsed the Vanessa Guillén Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, which would reform the military justice system by moving the decision to prosecute serious crimes in the military from the chain of command.

In addition to tackling the serious issue of sexual assault in the military and holding service members accountable for their crimes, this legislation would address systemic barriers to justice for servicemembers of color. Black and Hispanic servicemembers are more likely than white members to be tried in general and special courts-martial in all military services, even when controlling for attributes such as rank and education. This is across every service of our military. Moving prosecution decisions to professionals could help to reduce this bias.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) sent a letter to congressional police reform negotiators Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Congressmember Karen Bass (CA-37) to share proposed policing reforms that would be particularly impactful to Latino communities.

"The reforms included in the House-passed version of the Justice in Policing Act, such as ending or limiting qualified immunity and banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants, have tremendous potential to keep our communities safer from police violence," the Members wrote. "As negotiations on a final bill continue, we want to highlight ways in which some of the proposed reforms would be particularly impactful for Latino communities:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has endorsed the bicameral Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07). The legislation ends the use of private detention facilities and increases oversight, accountability, and transparency measures. Following the endorsement, CHC Chair Dr. Raul Ruiz released the subsequent statement: