The Serrano Report, Vol. X, #17

On Capitol Hill

Serrano Commends Passage of Senate Immigration Bill

On Thursday, Congressman Serrano applauded the Senate's passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill with a clear path to citizenship.

“Today we are finally moving forward on comprehensive immigration reform,” said Congressman Serrano. “The Senate bill has many good features, and represents a compromise that Senators from both sides felt they could support. This is a very important moment, as we now know that the political coalition to support a comprehensive immigration bill exists.

“For the past decade I have called for the non-punitive, comprehensive immigration reform bill that our community so desperately needs. Today we have that bill. While it is not a perfect bill, and is not the one that I would have written, it was supported by Republicans and Democrats, and shows us the pathway forward.

“I call on the House to immediately take this bill up as it is written now. I believe that a strong coalition of Democrats and Republicans here in the House could pass the bill without delay.

“So today we celebrate this important moment, but we know that tomorrow the real work of getting it through the House begins. We have much yet to do, but we now can take hope that a path forward exists and we will get there soon.

“I believe it will not be long before all undocumented immigrants here in search of a better life, are able to come out of the shadows and begin the process of becoming full members of the American family. On that day we will truly celebrate moving our nation towards a more perfect union.”

Serrano Celebrates Marriage Equality Ruling

Congressman Serrano celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision this week to overturn Section 3 of the federal “Defense of Marriage Act,” which prohibited federal recognition of same sex marriage equality. The Court also ruled that people suing to end California’s recognition of same sex marriage did not have standing, allowing that state to resume recognizing marriage equality.

“Here we have decisions that affirm that our gay and lesbian family and friends must have equal rights under the federal constitution. The DOMA decision is momentous and pushes the civil rights movement forward in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Now our fellow gay and lesbian citizens that have been legally married in states like New York must have their legal marriages recognized in all ways by the federal government.

“The Defense of Marriage Act was patently discriminatory when it was passed in the 1996. I am proud to say that I voted against it. Over the past 17 years, we have seen our country move quickly towards acceptance and tolerance for same sex marriage. Sadly, the courts and Congress have generally lagged behind, until today’s decision.

“We have made enormous progress towards a goal of a society with equality and justice for all. By declining to rule on the California case, the nation’s largest state will be able to resume same sex marriages. This is very important. I commend the Court for these wise decisions. I only wish that the Congress would have simply repealed DOMA itself sooner, rather than wait for the Supreme Court to do it.”

Serrano Blasts Voting Rights Ruling

Congressman Serrano announced his profound disagreement with the Supreme Court’s decision early this week to strike down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act.

“The Voting Rights Act is a key underpinning that ensures our democracy is fair, representative and that voting is free of racial discrimination. Today’s decision strikes a blow at the law, and leaves voters with less protection. As a result our democracy is weakened and minority voting strength is undermined. I believe the conservative justices have made a grave error.

"By dismantling the coverage formula for the preclearance requirements of the Voting Rights Act, the Court has essentially thrown out the preclearance requirement itself. This leaves millions of minority voters at risk of discrimination in state and local voting laws, election requirements, and redistricting efforts.  Congress must quickly enact a new coverage formula.  

“The sad fact is that there continue to be efforts to prevent people from voting based on their race or ethnicity, particularly in those areas under the preclearance formula.  Congress developed a comprehensive record of this ongoing conduct we last debated the Voting Rights Act reauthorization in 2006.  That is why we overwhelmingly passed that reauthorization, with the same coverage formula.  

“We cannot go backwards in protecting voting rights and ensuring truly representative government. I call on the House to immediately begin working to fix a law that the Supreme Court has needlessly broken.”

Serrano Criticizes Ongoing Sequester

On Thursday, during the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations Markup, Congressman Serrano offered an amendment to end the sequester. Specifically, the amendment would replace sequestration for FY 2013 and FY 2014 with a balanced approach to deficit reduction. The replacement would have provided $181 billion in spending cuts and tax savings. The amendment has been offered by Democrats at every Appropriations Committee markup in an effort to end sequestration. Because of sequestration and the Ryan budget, the Appropriations Committee has been unable to adequately fund numerous programs that help hard-working Americans. Sequestration has slowed growth and has cost the economy 750,000 jobs in 2013 alone. See Serrano's remarks in favor of his amendment below:

The Bronx

Serrano Speaks at Bronx Graduations

This past Friday and Monday, Congressman Serrano spoke at the graduations of PS 11, Highbridge Middle School, PS 811, Special Education School, and School for Excellence High School, in the Bronx and presented awards to graduates at the schools. "It is such an honor to be there when these young people have successfully completed a phase of their educational journey," said Serrano after the events. "It is so important to recognize their achievements as they continue towards further educational success. I look forward to hearing about their future achievements as they improve our borough, city, and country."

Serrano presenting an award at the School for Excellence High School

Grant

Environmental Conservation Grant

Deadline: July 31, 2013

The United States’ Fish and Wildlife Service has made funds available for programs designed to engage youth in conservation activities. Public and private nonprofit institutions are encouraged to submit applications for programming that promotes youth participation in conservation activities conducted by the Fish and Wildlife Service, or other federal agencies.

Please visit annoucement on the the grants.gov website for more information.

For more information about other federal grants please visit grants.gov.