The Serrano Report, Vol. IX, #13
On Capitol Hill
Serrano Applauds President's Immigration Decision
Last Friday, President Obama announced that the Administration would allow undocumented people who came into the United States as children to receive work authorization and would suspend their removals. After the announcement, Serrano expressed his support for the move and reiterated the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
“Today President Obama moved our nation toward a more fair, decent, and humane deportation policy,” said Congressman Serrano. “Children who were brought here at a young age bear no blame for the decisions their parents made, and to deport them was unreasonable and unfortunate. Now we will see these children able to apply to stay in the country to go to school and work. He has taken the basic premise of the DREAM Act, and made it Administration policy. This is a huge step towards a realistic immigration policy.
“The children who will benefit from this new policy will be able to contribute to our society in countless ways. They will now not have to fear that they will be sent back to countries that they sometimes don’t even remember. We are bringing close to 800,000 children out of the shadows, out of fear, and out of a life under threat of deportation.
“President Obama deserves great praise for making this decision. He is standing up to the anti-immigrant forces that would deport everyone without regard to circumstance. President Obama is standing up for what is right, what is decent, and what is fair. He is also making a decision that is in the best interests of our nation in the short- and long-run. These immigrant children will add so much to our nation as have so many immigrants before them.
“On behalf of the many children and families in our community who will benefit from this decision, I say to President Obama, ‘thank you.’” We are grateful and we look forward to working to pass comprehensive immigration reform to fix the status issues of the rest of the community. In the meantime, we have just seen a tremendous weight lifted from the shoulders of many children and families. The President did the right thing.”
House Appropriations Committee Passes Financial Services Bill
On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee considered the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2013. Congressman Serrano is the senior Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee that developed the legislation, which provides funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Small Business Administration, the Federal Judiciary, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and many other agencies.
The overall funding level for the bill is $376 million less than fiscal year 2012, a level that concerns many Democrats on the Appropriations Committee. "We should not be underfunding the very agencies that protect Americans from abusive practices, ensure a fair playing field, and collect revenue," said Serrano. "The cuts contained in this bill will increase our deficit and ensure that several agencies will be unable to perform the functions that the American people expect of them."
During debate on the measure, Congressman Serrano offered an amendment to increase funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "We need a strong cop on the beat to prevent the financial meltdown of 2008 from occurring again," said Serrano. "The bill, as it currently stands, does not provide the SEC with the resources it needs to protect investors and to prevent fraud and abuse in our financial markets." Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated on a party line vote, with all Democrats voting in favor of the amendment, and all Republicans voting against.
The bill was subsequently passed out of committee. The next step in the process is consideration of the bill by the full House of Representatives.
Serrano Includes Language Helping Puerto Rico
Although concerned about the funding levels in the Financial Services bill, Congressman Serrano was pleased to successfully include language requested by Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi directing the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to develop a Caribbean counternarcotics strategy. There are currently counternarcotics strategies for the northern and southern borders, but not one to address the ongoing drug trafficking and violence affecting Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The plan would be required within 180 days of the bill becoming law, and requires that the strategy be equivalent to the current plans for the land borders of the United States.
“I am pleased that at the request of Resident Commissioner Pierluisi, we are directing the Office of National Drug Control Policy to create a Caribbean Counternarcotics plan," said Serrano. "My friend Pedro Pierluisi has been a tireless advocate for addressing drug trafficking problems in Puerto Rico and his leadership helped persuade committee members to accept this step. The lack of a counternarcotics plan for the Caribbean showed that yet again the federal agencies must always be reminded that our Federal responsibilities do not stop at the tip of Florida. We must constantly remind them that all the territories deserve the same planning and attention as the 50 states. We have a victory in that fight today, but we will continue to be vigilant. Puerto Rico must get fair treatment by the federal government in all areas—but above all on security issues.”
In the Bronx
Serranos March in Puerto Rican Day Parade
On Sunday, June 10, Congressman José E. Serrano and State Senator José M. Serrano participated in the 55th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade along 5th Avenue. "I am so glad to join the community as we celebrate the many contributions Puerto Ricans have made to our communities, to our city, and to our great nation," said Serrano.
For more pictures of the parade, please visit Congressman Serrano's facebook page.
Congressman Serrano and State Senator Serrano at the Puerto Rican Day Parade
Serrano Attends Housing Complex Ribbon Cutting
On Monday, Congressman Serrano toured the new Via Verde housing complex in the Melrose section of the South Bronx, and attended the ribbon cutting ceremony. Among the attendees at the event, were the U.S. Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
At a site that was once considered undevelopable, the new development provides affordable housing in an energy efficient design. With the support of Congressman Serrano, Via Verde received a $3 million HUD grant to help make this project possible.
“It is my hope that innovative developments like Via Verde will help continue to attract families who want to make the South Bronx their home,” said Congressman Serrano. “Its cutting edge design will put the Bronx on the map as a leader in the green movement, as well as serve as an example of our commitment to empower the people of this community to live healthy, productive lives.”
The new apartment buildings
Soundview Park Improvements
On Monday, June 18, Congressman Serrano joined Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo and others to break ground on improvements to Soundview Park. Soundview Park is one of the eight regional parks being transformed under PlaNYC, the City's long-term plan for a greener New York. The work at Soundview Park will include the construction of a new track, a synthetic turf soccer field, a playground, and an outdoor amphitheater.
Mayor Bloomberg, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Congressman Serrano and other officials at the ground breaking
Grant
Grant to Fight Childhood Obesity
Deadline: July 19, 2012
The Centers for Disease Control recently announced the availability of funding for statewide implementation of national standards for obesity prevention among children. The purpose of the program is to target early child care and education facilities to help them integrate healthy eating and exercise into their existing programs. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.
Please visit grants.gov for more information (click the 'full announcement' link, for the full text of the announcement).
For more information about other federal grants please visit grants.gov.