Hispanic Group Expresses Concern Over Budget Provisions

Officials at the National Council of La Raza said in a new release that they are concerned over the President’s 2010 budget that was announced yesterday.

“What we have seen so far with the budget is discouraging and suggests that some of the key priorities of the Latino community are not those of the administration,” said Janet Murguia, the group’s President. “I am very surprised that the Obama administration in its first budget would mirror similar cuts made by the Bush administration.”

Ms. Murguia cited as an example the Obama administration’s decision not to increase spending for health programs that serves Hispanics, or unemployment programs for the country’s Hispanic population, even though, the group says, 11.4 percent of Hispanics are currently unemployed.

Yet the group also praised some parts of the budget.

For example, the budget requests $37-million for a program that fights mortgage fraud and predatory lending practices, $10-million for new immigrant integration programs, and a 50-percent increase in support for a housing counseling assistance program.

Ms. Murguia also said the budget doesn’t invest enough in programs for Hispanic students, but vowed to pursue more money for such programs.