Tuesday, April 24, 2007

WHEREAS, The American GI Forum, one of the country's leading



Local Members of the American GI Forum Richard Rocco Chapter (Tony Jimenez (Secretary / Treasurer), TioFilo R De los Santos (Sargeant At Arms), Willie Davila of the Dr. Hector P Garcia Chapter (Founding Chapter) and AGIF National Civil Rights Director Joe A Ortiz were recognized at the State Capital in Austin last week.

To view presentation click on this link and ff or drag time indicator to 3:49:45. Press play from that point the presentation last about 1 minute.

H.R. No. 988

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The American GI Forum, one of the country's leading

civil rights organizations, was founded by Mexican American

veterans in the aftermath of World War II; and

WHEREAS, Mexican Americans have long served with valor in the

armed forces of this country, compiling an exceptional record of

heroism; in the Second World War alone, 12 Mexican Americans, 9 of

them from Texas, earned the Medal of Honor, becoming the nation's

most decorated minority group in that conflict; on returning home,

however, many Latino veterans found themselves denied benefits that

they had earned under the G.I. Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, To redress that injustice, 700 Hispanic veterans,

led by Dr. Hector P. Garcia, founded the American GI Forum in Corpus

Christi on March 26, 1948; successful in its efforts to achieve

equitable treatment from the Veterans Administration, the forum

turned its attention to other veterans' concerns, such as

inadequate hospital care and the lack of Mexican American

representation on draft boards; and

WHEREAS, The forum demonstrated its effectiveness decisively

in 1949, when it intervened to help the family of Private Felix

Longoria, a soldier who had been killed on a volunteer mission in

the Philippines during World War II; when Private Longoria's body

was finally recovered and returned to his home in Three Rivers,

Texas, the local funeral home refused his family permission to use

its chapel for a service; after the forum sought assistance from

members of the Texas congressional delegation, Senator Lyndon

Johnson arranged for the soldier's burial in Arlington National

Cemetery; and

WHEREAS, In the 1950s, the forum began to use the legal system

to combat segregation and other discriminatory practices; forum

lawyers helped to secure a landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme

Court in Hernandez v. the State of Texas, in 1954, a decision

finding that Mexican Americans were discriminated against as a

class and that they were entitled to protection under the 14th

Amendment; the forum also fought to end separate schooling for

Mexican American children, a practice ruled unlawful in 1957; and

WHEREAS, During that same decade, the forum conducted voter

registration drives, confronted incidents of police brutality,

addressed the problems of migrant workers, and sponsored student

scholarships; and

WHEREAS, The group took the name American GI Forum of Texas on

September 29, 1954, and became a national organization in 1958; Dr.

Clotilde Garcia, Dr. Hector Garcia's sister, founded a women's

auxiliary in 1956, and junior GI forums were also launched in some

areas; and

WHEREAS, Today, the forum embraces more than 500 chapters

across the nation and in Puerto Rico; it continues to support

returning veterans and their communities through such endeavors as

the Veterans Outreach Program, which provides training,

employment, and counseling for veterans in the Southwest, and

Ser-Jobs for Progress (SER), whose affiliates operate employment

training centers and residential and other services in Puerto Rico

and the continental U.S.; and

WHEREAS, For more than half a century, the American GI Forum

has played a vital role in our national life, advancing the cause of

social justice and touching the lives of countless Americans, and

it is indeed deserving of commendation for its exemplary efforts in

furthering the highest ideals of this nation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas

Legislature hereby honor the American GI Forum on the 59th

anniversary of its founding and extend to all those associated with

this organization sincere appreciation for their outstanding

service; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

prepared for the American GI Forum as an expression of high regard

by the Texas House of Representatives.

Ortiz, Jr.

Herrero

______________________________

Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 988 was adopted by the House on April

13, 2007, by a non-record vote.

______________________________

A Bill by Juan Garcia (no relation) creating a recognition day in honor of Dr. Hector P. Garcia.


Chief Clerk of the House

Bill:

HB 3535

Legislative Session: 80(R)

Primary Author

Garcia

Date Filed

03/09/2007

Joint Authors

Date Signed On

Herrero

03/27/2007

Ortiz, Jr.

03/27/2007

Escobar

03/27/2007

Gonzalez Toureilles

03/27/2007

Coauthors (15)

Date Signed On

Alonzo

04/04/2007

Anchia

04/04/2007

Burnam

04/04/2007

Farias

04/04/2007

Farrar

04/04/2007

Gallego

04/04/2007

Hernandez

04/04/2007

Hochberg

04/04/2007

Lucio III

04/04/2007

Martinez Fischer

04/04/2007

Martinez, "Mando"

04/12/2007

Naishtat

04/04/2007

Noriega, Rick

04/04/2007

Olivo

04/10/2007

Rodriguez

04/04/2007

HB3535

The chair laid out HB3535.

The chair recognized Representative Garcia to explain the measure.

Testimony was taken. (See attached witness list.)

(Representative Hilderbran in chair.)

The chair recognized Representative Garcia to close on the measure.

The bill was left pending without objection.

By: Garcia

H.B. No. 3535

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to creating a recognition day in honor of Dr. Hector P.

Garcia.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 662, Government Code, is

amended by adding Section 662.053 to read as follows:

Sec. 662.053. DR. HECTOR P. GARCIA DAY. (a) The third

Wednesday of September is Dr. Hector P. Garcia Day in memory of the

significant contributions to the Mexican American civil rights

movement of Dr. Hector P. Garcia.

(b) Dr. Hector P. Garcia Day shall be regularly observed by

appropriate ceremonies and activities in the public schools and

other places to properly commemorate the importance of the

contributions made by Dr. Garcia.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.


HB 3535 Witness List

For:

Akers, Cecilia Garcia (Self)

Elliff, Scott (Self)

Loera, Patsy M. (American GI Forum of Texas)

Maline, John (Self)

Ortiz, Joe A. (The American GI Forum)

Saavedra, Rebecca (University of Texas Medical Branch)

Registering, but not testifying:

For:

Castellon, Tomas V. (Self)

Davila, Willie J. (Self)

De los Santos, TioFilo R. (Self)

Jimenez Jr., Tony (Self)

Perez, Larry (Self)

Ramirez, Miguel (Self)

Salinas, Roberto S. (Self)

Sustaita, Manuel (Self)

Utter, Tom (City of Corpus Christi)

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