Grace Napolitano: “I come to this floor today to honor and pay tribute to all fellow Hispanic Americans and to highlight some of their…”

“I come to this floor today to honor and pay tribute to all fellow Hispanic Americans and to highlight some of their excellent contributions made to us here in the United States. Hispanic Americans have helped shape all aspects of the American experience and have greatly influenced America's culture and our society. Hispanic Americans have played an integral part in our country's exceptional story of success. We have served heroically in every American conflict. You just heard my colleague indicate there were 37 Hispanic Americans who earned the Nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. I believe there were 38. I will settle for 37, but I think it was 38. The United States academic and scientific communities have benefited from the contributions of Hispanic Americans, like physicist Luis Walter Alvarez, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986, while business leader Roberto Goizueta, chairman of Coca-Cola and a Cuban-American business leader is very well recognized and coined the phrase 'Coke is it.' These are only two of the many examples of Latinos that have made invaluable contributions in the United States.”