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Briefing Room

The White House
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2014

Expanding Opportunities for All: White House and Administration Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 16, 2014

Expanding Opportunities for All:  White House and Administration Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Washington, D.C. – The Obama Administration will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 through October 15.  Members of the Cabinet, Senior Administration officials and community partners will participate in conferences, events, and online engagements to highlight the work of the Administration to continue to expand opportunities for the Latino community.  In particular, the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will intensify efforts to inform Hispanic Americans about the benefits and protections of the Affordable Care Act.  These efforts will include highlighting tools and resources about how to enroll in quality and affordable coverage under the Health Insurance Marketplaces during the upcoming open enrollment period beginning November 15.  In addition, the White House will host a Champions of Change event that will celebrate the contributions of Latino educators from across the country.

Please see below for a list of some of the upcoming events for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Kick-Off Week – September 15 – 21

September 16

  • Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro will speak at the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Summit
    • At 3:00PM ET.

September 18

  • Small Business Administration (SBA):  “Hispanics:  A Legacy of History, A Present of Action, and A Future of Success”
    • At 10:00AM ET, Keynote Speaker:  Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA Administrator.
    • Jefferson Auditorium, Washington, D.C.

Week of September 21 – 28

September 22

  • White House Champions of Change Event Highlighting Latino Educators: “Educating the Heart”
    • This event will recognize [Rewarding] Latino educators from across the country for their work in helping engage the Latino community in the academic realm.
    • 9:00AM to 2:00PM ET in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
  • ACA Outreach:  OMH and CMS Health Literacy Webinar
    • In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invite you to learn about tools and resources available to organizations serving Latino communities to help improve health literacy and understanding of the Health Insurance Marketplaces.  This webinar at 2:00PM ET will provide an overview of consumer-friendly information on how health insurance works and how to use it – including the Coverage to Care roadmap – and where to find additional resources.  Join the live event(no pre-registration is needed).  URL:  https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join/, conference number: PW8659436, passcode:  9529414 and dial-in number:  1-888-455-1840.
  • SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet will speak at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
    • Administrator Contreras-Sweetwill deliver keynote remarks at the Women’s Business Leaders Luncheon in Salt Lake City, UT.

September 23

  • HUD Secretary Julián Castro will speak at theU.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Conference
    • HUD Secretary  Castro will deliver keynote remarks at the closing gala in Salt Lake City, UT at 7:30PM MT.

September 25

  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Webinar with National Hispanic Council on Aging
    • At 2:00PM ET, webinar open to anyone interested in learning more about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment as we approach the second period of open enrollment.
    • Call in Number:  1-877-267-1577; Meeting ID:  995 471 776

Week of September 29 – October 5

September 30

  • Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz will speak at theNational Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Summit
    • Cecilia Muñoz will deliver the keynote address at NALEO’s 10th Annual National Summit on the State of Latino Education luncheon in Washington, D.C.
  • Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Policy Conference
    • Secretary of Labor Perez will deliver the keynote address.
    • Deputy Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas will participate in an immigration policy panel at the Conference.

October 1

  • Alejandra Castillo, Latino Leaders Summit Series:  Creating Economic Justice for the Latino Community
    • This summit will address the growing income inequality gap affecting the Latino workforce.  Key efforts being made to address closing this gap and creating economic justice for Latino families include:  support for small businesses, having a fair tax structure for low income workers, and extending tax credits for working families.  The summit will be chaired by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez and will include Director of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Alejandra Castillo.
    • Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington D.C. from 10:45AM-12:15PM ET.
  • The Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (WHIEEH) Alejandra Ceja will deliver brief remarks and sign a memorandum of understanding with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) at their Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. The Executive Director Ceja will highlight the White House Initiative’s 25th anniversary year of action, and will sign a memorandum of understanding with CHCI to collaborate on advancing our mutual goal of increasing the number of Hispanics who attend and graduate from college, in support of the President’s 2020 college completion goal.

Week of October 6 – October 12

October 8

  • USAID:  Screening of "Mala Mala,," a film about the transgender community in Puerto Rico
    • The film will be shown from 4:00-6:00PM ET with a question and answer panel discussion involving the co-directors of the film and an activist from the local transgender community.

Week of October 12 – October 15

October 15

  • Labor Secretary Perez hosts Hispanic Heritage Month event
    • This event for Latino appointees will feature HUD Secretary Julián Castro, SBA Administrator María Contreras-Sweet, and Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta at the Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 4:30-6:30PM ET.
  • Department of Education:  Association of Latino Administrator and Superintendents (ALAS) Education Summit
    • 6:00-7:30PM ET.

To stay up to date on the latest on the Obama Administration’s engagement with the Latino community, check out the online and social media platforms listed below:

o   @LaCasaBlanca

o   @Cecilia44 Domestic Policy Council, Cecilia Muñoz

o   @Vargas44 Director of Hispanic Media, Katherine Vargas

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