Rick Dean
Registered
6
http://www.magicvalley.com/news/localstate...sp?StoryID=9311
Delegation gets low marks on Hispanic scorecard ... But Idaho Hispanic leaders give higher ratings to the GOP lawmakers
By Pat Marcantonio
Times-News writer
TWIN FALLS -- Members of Idaho's congressional delegation rated low on how they voted on bills affecting the social, economic, political advancement and quality of life of Hispanics, according to a scorecard tallied by a national coalition.
But some Idaho Hispanic leaders rated the lawmakers higher. Meanwhile, in the current session, a bill offering legal sta
us to some workers in the United States illegally may make an appearance on the next scorecard.
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda released its scorecard for the 2001-02 Congress last fall. The
r
r
gro
p calls itself a nonpartisan coalition of major Hisp
anic national organizations and leaders. Among its goals is promoting greater awareness of and attention to Latino concerns among the nation's policy makers, corporate America, civic leaders and the public. One way is through the scorecard.
The scorecard rated the votes on 22 measures in the areas of civil rights, education, economic mobility and health for Hispanics. Idaho's all-Republican delegation did not fare well on the percentage of its votes lined up with NHLA positions on the bills. Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter came in lowest at 9 percent. Rep. Mike Simpson had 18 percent. Both senators, Larry Craig and Mike Crapo, scored 27 percent.
"They were cherry picking on issues," said Mark Warbis, Otter's spo
kesman. The NHLA chose bills most favorable to its point of view to back up a preconceived notion of where Otter and others are on its slate of issues.
He also called the scorecard old. As
ked
ab
out issues
in the current session affecting Hispanics, Warbis replied, "The idea of sin
gling out one group or another for special attention is not keeping with his (Otter's) approach to good government."
But what of legislation affecting groups such as ranchers or farmers? That legislation "would benefit the greater good of Idaho," Warbis said.
Otter applies a three "C" test to all legislation, Warbis said. Is it constitutional? Can he support it in good conscience? And third, what do his constituents say?
"He is not one trying to grandstand for the benefit of any particular group," Warbis said.
Otter has no bilingual staff members. He speaks Spanish and is brushing up his language skills with weekly classes on Capitol Hill.
Cra
ig communication director Mike Tracy said some of the legislation scored didn't make ideological sense to the senator nor have anything to do with ethnic groups.
Craig has
bilingu
al staf
f members in his B
oise and Washington, D.C., offices, including a former Mountain Home resident and Latina, Lupe Whissel, as a staff director for h
is special committee on aging.
Crapo said the scorecard reflected the perspective of this organization on major policies. For example, the NHLA position on the tax bill was that although there were good provisions, it was mostly skewed toward the wealthy, with which he disagreed. The bill helped small businesses and gave tax relief to many, he said.
"It is a difference of perspective," Crapo said.
"This group does have partisan orientation toward the Democrats," Crapo added.
Generally, Democrats did rate much higher than GOP lawmakers in the scorecard.
"We have a very clear focus on working with the Hispanic
population in Idaho," said Crapo, who has several bilingual staff members.
His office helped the Hispanic Heritage Cultural Center in Nampa obtain a grant to
bring in th
e last mone
y it needed to get it goin
g, Crapo said. He also brought the head of the Small Business Administration to the state and worked with him to highlight Idaho and help Hispanics gain access to cap
ital for new houses.
The scorecard is written to reward Democrats, said Simpson communications director Nikki Watts. National organizations are famous for selecting votes that reflect well on members of Congress they wish to promote.
Simpson is more concerned with Hispanics in Idaho and their needs than national organizations that don't often reflect Idaho's values, she said. Organizations like the Idaho Migrant Council and the Idaho Hispanic Commission have not voiced any concerns about Simpson.
Simpson also worked with the Idaho Migrant Council to try to get start-up funding for a community cen
ter in Burley, she said. While that project did not receive money last year, he was an advocate during the appropriations process. He was instrumental in securi
ng $400,00
0 for the Idaho
Falls School District to institut
e an English as a second language program. Staff members also are heavily involved in the Hispanic Youth Symposium.
Simpson does not have any bilingual staff, she
added.
Congressmen are informed about which bills will be included in the scorecard and informed about the NHLA position. The scorecard keeps away from bills where votes go strictly down the party line, but instead keeps track of how lawmakers fund education, work force development programs and others important to Hispanics, said Raul Gonzalez, the legislative director with the D.C.-based National Council of La Raza, which is a member of the coalition sponsoring the scorecard.
"I do think the Idaho delegation has moved in a direction a lot more helpful to the Hispanic community. However, people want
to read that," he said.
The hiring of bilingual staff is the easiest thing to do for congressmen, but also a positive step, especially
in field offices w
here they hear from
the constituency that these are important
issues to Hispanics and they should think them important also, he said.
The AgJobs bill
In the 108th session, the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits and Security
Act -- AgJobs -- co-sponsored by Craig and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, will positively affect many Latinos, Tracy said.
The bill would establish a program where agricultural workers in the United States who lack authorized immigration status but who can show they have worked a certain number of days during a set period of time can apply for adjustment of resident status.
The United Farm Workers supports the bill, saying it would allow farm workers to earn the legal right to permanently stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture.
"Ted Kennedy called it (Ag
Jobs) a piece of social justice," Tracy said. "Larry looks at it from the economic perspective for farmers, ranchers and other
s that need outside lab
or and at the same time
to give them stable wages and to give legal remed
ies to workers coming into the country."
AgJobs doesn't have Crapo's support at this point.
"The principle of developing a good, solid guest worker program is needed. Any guest worker
s program we have must be based on the principle that we don't encourage or reward illegal behavior," Crapo said. That is, the bill might be an incentive for more illegal entry into the United States, but not reward the people who follow the legal process.
The AgJobs measure will probably be scored for the 108th session NHLA scorecard, said Gonzalez said.
Concerning other upcoming issues, Simpson said he believes that every issue is a Hispanic issue: taxes, housing, funding for every federal agency, agriculture and so on, Watts said.
A
better rating
Don Pena, the Idaho Migrant Council director of education, employment and training and former director o
f the Idaho Commission on H
ispanic Affairs, said the p
roblem with scorecards is that they usually look at a sma
ll number of issues on a national level.
"The totality of the votes doesn't take into account all the things they've done in Idaho," he said. "... We need to judge our individual congressmen based on what they do on t
he local level -- what things they are getting behind that we are compatible with."
Pena praised Crapo for his work with Hispanics on housing.
Crapo said that when he found out that Hispanics didn't have as much access to housing as non-Hispanics, he brought together Hispanic and financial groups to solve that, and it became evident that lack of financial literacy was a problem.
One result: 27 bilingual people in southwestern Idaho are now trained to get out that financial information, Pena said.
<
br>AgJobs also would help farm workers and is important to Hispanics in Idaho, Pena said.
He has found the
delegation to be "very si
ncere individuals," approa
chable and willing to listen, Pena said. "I don't see it
as posturing. I see it as listening to both sides."
"I feel that both Crapo and Craig have really been putting forth a really good effort," said Gladys Esquibel of Rupert, chairwoman of the Idaho Commission of Hispanic Affairs. She also cited the AgJobs bill and Hispan
ic Heritage Center funding as examples.
She said she has found Simpson receptive, but hasn't met with Otter on any issues affecting Hispanics.
Before this delegation, the only person to show such interest in Hispanic issues was the late Democratic Sen. Frank Church, Esquibel added.
"I would rate them as being OK," said Maria Gonzalez Mabbutt with the Idaho Hispanic Caucus. "Are they setting precedents or doing all they can for the Latino commu
nity? Absolutely not. I think there is always room for improvement."
She was pleased with
Craig's sponsorship of AgJobs
and his hiring of Latino staff memb
ers, as well as Crapo's work on economic development and the Hispanic
Cultural Center.
"I greatly believe it is a good start," she said. "For so long we've had little to nothing by the congressional delegation."
Former Democrat Rep. Richard Stallings also faced criticism for lack of attention to Hispanic issues, she said.
What the current delegation lacks, however, is more La
tino staff to serve as educators and catalysts on issues affecting Latinos, do outreach so people have access to information and resources, as well as provide regular information that is bilingual and bicultural, Mabbutt said. Having someone who is not Hispanic and Spanish-speaking "doesn't quite get you there."
http://www.magicvalley.com/news/localstate...sp?StoryID=9311
Delegation gets low marks on Hispanic scorecard ... But Idaho Hispanic leaders give higher ratings to the GOP lawmakers
By Pat Marcantonio
Times-News writer
TWIN FALLS -- Members of Idaho's congressional delegation rated low on how they voted on bills affecting the social, economic, political advancement and quality of life of Hispanics, according to a scorecard tallied by a national coalition.
But some Idaho Hispanic leaders rated the lawmakers higher. Meanwhile, in the current session, a bill offering legal sta
us to some workers in the United States illegally may make an appearance on the next scorecard.
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda released its scorecard for the 2001-02 Congress last fall. The
r
r
gro
p calls itself a nonpartisan coalition of major Hisp
anic national organizations and leaders. Among its goals is promoting greater awareness of and attention to Latino concerns among the nation's policy makers, corporate America, civic leaders and the public. One way is through the scorecard.
The scorecard rated the votes on 22 measures in the areas of civil rights, education, economic mobility and health for Hispanics. Idaho's all-Republican delegation did not fare well on the percentage of its votes lined up with NHLA positions on the bills. Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter came in lowest at 9 percent. Rep. Mike Simpson had 18 percent. Both senators, Larry Craig and Mike Crapo, scored 27 percent.
"They were cherry picking on issues," said Mark Warbis, Otter's spo
kesman. The NHLA chose bills most favorable to its point of view to back up a preconceived notion of where Otter and others are on its slate of issues.
He also called the scorecard old. As
ked
ab
out issues
in the current session affecting Hispanics, Warbis replied, "The idea of sin
gling out one group or another for special attention is not keeping with his (Otter's) approach to good government."
But what of legislation affecting groups such as ranchers or farmers? That legislation "would benefit the greater good of Idaho," Warbis said.
Otter applies a three "C" test to all legislation, Warbis said. Is it constitutional? Can he support it in good conscience? And third, what do his constituents say?
"He is not one trying to grandstand for the benefit of any particular group," Warbis said.
Otter has no bilingual staff members. He speaks Spanish and is brushing up his language skills with weekly classes on Capitol Hill.
Cra
ig communication director Mike Tracy said some of the legislation scored didn't make ideological sense to the senator nor have anything to do with ethnic groups.
Craig has
bilingu
al staf
f members in his B
oise and Washington, D.C., offices, including a former Mountain Home resident and Latina, Lupe Whissel, as a staff director for h
is special committee on aging.
Crapo said the scorecard reflected the perspective of this organization on major policies. For example, the NHLA position on the tax bill was that although there were good provisions, it was mostly skewed toward the wealthy, with which he disagreed. The bill helped small businesses and gave tax relief to many, he said.
"It is a difference of perspective," Crapo said.
"This group does have partisan orientation toward the Democrats," Crapo added.
Generally, Democrats did rate much higher than GOP lawmakers in the scorecard.
"We have a very clear focus on working with the Hispanic
population in Idaho," said Crapo, who has several bilingual staff members.
His office helped the Hispanic Heritage Cultural Center in Nampa obtain a grant to
bring in th
e last mone
y it needed to get it goin
g, Crapo said. He also brought the head of the Small Business Administration to the state and worked with him to highlight Idaho and help Hispanics gain access to cap
ital for new houses.
The scorecard is written to reward Democrats, said Simpson communications director Nikki Watts. National organizations are famous for selecting votes that reflect well on members of Congress they wish to promote.
Simpson is more concerned with Hispanics in Idaho and their needs than national organizations that don't often reflect Idaho's values, she said. Organizations like the Idaho Migrant Council and the Idaho Hispanic Commission have not voiced any concerns about Simpson.
Simpson also worked with the Idaho Migrant Council to try to get start-up funding for a community cen
ter in Burley, she said. While that project did not receive money last year, he was an advocate during the appropriations process. He was instrumental in securi
ng $400,00
0 for the Idaho
Falls School District to institut
e an English as a second language program. Staff members also are heavily involved in the Hispanic Youth Symposium.
Simpson does not have any bilingual staff, she
added.
Congressmen are informed about which bills will be included in the scorecard and informed about the NHLA position. The scorecard keeps away from bills where votes go strictly down the party line, but instead keeps track of how lawmakers fund education, work force development programs and others important to Hispanics, said Raul Gonzalez, the legislative director with the D.C.-based National Council of La Raza, which is a member of the coalition sponsoring the scorecard.
"I do think the Idaho delegation has moved in a direction a lot more helpful to the Hispanic community. However, people want
to read that," he said.
The hiring of bilingual staff is the easiest thing to do for congressmen, but also a positive step, especially
in field offices w
here they hear from
the constituency that these are important
issues to Hispanics and they should think them important also, he said.
The AgJobs bill
In the 108th session, the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits and Security
Act -- AgJobs -- co-sponsored by Craig and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, will positively affect many Latinos, Tracy said.
The bill would establish a program where agricultural workers in the United States who lack authorized immigration status but who can show they have worked a certain number of days during a set period of time can apply for adjustment of resident status.
The United Farm Workers supports the bill, saying it would allow farm workers to earn the legal right to permanently stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture.
"Ted Kennedy called it (Ag
Jobs) a piece of social justice," Tracy said. "Larry looks at it from the economic perspective for farmers, ranchers and other
s that need outside lab
or and at the same time
to give them stable wages and to give legal remed
ies to workers coming into the country."
AgJobs doesn't have Crapo's support at this point.
"The principle of developing a good, solid guest worker program is needed. Any guest worker
s program we have must be based on the principle that we don't encourage or reward illegal behavior," Crapo said. That is, the bill might be an incentive for more illegal entry into the United States, but not reward the people who follow the legal process.
The AgJobs measure will probably be scored for the 108th session NHLA scorecard, said Gonzalez said.
Concerning other upcoming issues, Simpson said he believes that every issue is a Hispanic issue: taxes, housing, funding for every federal agency, agriculture and so on, Watts said.
A
better rating
Don Pena, the Idaho Migrant Council director of education, employment and training and former director o
f the Idaho Commission on H
ispanic Affairs, said the p
roblem with scorecards is that they usually look at a sma
ll number of issues on a national level.
"The totality of the votes doesn't take into account all the things they've done in Idaho," he said. "... We need to judge our individual congressmen based on what they do on t
he local level -- what things they are getting behind that we are compatible with."
Pena praised Crapo for his work with Hispanics on housing.
Crapo said that when he found out that Hispanics didn't have as much access to housing as non-Hispanics, he brought together Hispanic and financial groups to solve that, and it became evident that lack of financial literacy was a problem.
One result: 27 bilingual people in southwestern Idaho are now trained to get out that financial information, Pena said.
<
br>AgJobs also would help farm workers and is important to Hispanics in Idaho, Pena said.
He has found the
delegation to be "very si
ncere individuals," approa
chable and willing to listen, Pena said. "I don't see it
as posturing. I see it as listening to both sides."
"I feel that both Crapo and Craig have really been putting forth a really good effort," said Gladys Esquibel of Rupert, chairwoman of the Idaho Commission of Hispanic Affairs. She also cited the AgJobs bill and Hispan
ic Heritage Center funding as examples.
She said she has found Simpson receptive, but hasn't met with Otter on any issues affecting Hispanics.
Before this delegation, the only person to show such interest in Hispanic issues was the late Democratic Sen. Frank Church, Esquibel added.
"I would rate them as being OK," said Maria Gonzalez Mabbutt with the Idaho Hispanic Caucus. "Are they setting precedents or doing all they can for the Latino commu
nity? Absolutely not. I think there is always room for improvement."
She was pleased with
Craig's sponsorship of AgJobs
and his hiring of Latino staff memb
ers, as well as Crapo's work on economic development and the Hispanic
Cultural Center.
"I greatly believe it is a good start," she said. "For so long we've had little to nothing by the congressional delegation."
Former Democrat Rep. Richard Stallings also faced criticism for lack of attention to Hispanic issues, she said.
What the current delegation lacks, however, is more La
tino staff to serve as educators and catalysts on issues affecting Latinos, do outreach so people have access to information and resources, as well as provide regular information that is bilingual and bicultural, Mabbutt said. Having someone who is not Hispanic and Spanish-speaking "doesn't quite get you there."