79R7432 KO-D

By:  Noriega                                                      H.R. No. 477



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Founded in 1968, the National Council of La Raza 
(NCLR) is the largest constituency-based Hispanic organization in 
the country and the leading voice in Washington, D.C., and across 
the nation for the Hispanic community; and
	WHEREAS, Reaching more than four million Hispanics, NCLR 
works through a formal network of affiliates, which consists of 
over 300 Hispanic community-based organizations that serve 41 
states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as a 
broader network of more than 35,000 groups and individuals 
nationwide; and
	WHEREAS, In Texas, some of the oldest and most successful 
Latino nonprofit organizations are affiliates of NCLR; education is 
a key focus of these groups, and a number of charter schools that 
are associated with NCLR are visiting the Capitol today; these 
include the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans' 
George I. Sanchez School, which has operated in Houston for more 
than 30 years, and the Mexican American Unity Council's La Escuela 
de las Americas School in San Antonio, an open-enrollment, 
dual-language charter school serving prekindergarten to fifth 
grade; and
	WHEREAS, Other notable organizations include American 
YouthWorks in Austin, a Points of Light Foundation Presidential 
Service Award winner, the Gulf Coast Council of La Raza, which runs 
a successful charter school in Corpus Christi, as well as the Texas 
Migrant Council, Community Council of Southwest Texas, Draw 
Academy, Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe, First Mexican Baptist 
Church, Information Referral Resource Assistance, Inc., Southwest 
Key Program, Tejano Center for Community Concerns, Student 
Alternatives Program, and Latino Learning Center; and
	WHEREAS, Also present at the Capitol today is NCLR president 
Janet Murguia, who previously worked at the White House as deputy 
assistant to President Bill Clinton and deputy director of 
legislative affairs, serving as a senior White House liaison to 
congress; selected by Hispanic magazine for its annual list of "100 
Top Latinas" for the second consecutive year, she was also named by 
Hispanic Business magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential 
Hispanics" and one of "80 Elite Hispanic Women"; and
	WHEREAS, Through its Texas affiliates, NCLR continues to 
improve life opportunities and provide an important voice for 
Hispanic residents of the Lone Star State, and it is a pleasure to 
welcome the organization's president and representatives from NCLR 
affiliates to the State Capitol; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby recognize all those individuals associated with 
the National Council of La Raza here with us today and extend to 
them sincere best wishes for a memorable and rewarding visit to 
Austin.