On January 18, 2012, Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) President Benny Agosto Jr. met with Senior White House and Agency Officials along with other Latino leaders from across the nation to discuss several policy areas affecting the Latino population. Agosto was also among a select group of Latino leaders to participate in an intimate question-and-answer session recently with Vice-President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
The meetings were aimed at providing the White House with valuable input for President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address. Agosto joined other Latino leaders representing such organizations as the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), along with several other national leaders.
The topics discussed covered a wide variety of issues including: healthcare, support of veterans, comprehensive immigration reform, and the growing cost of higher education. These were several key points outlined by President Obama in his State of the Union Address.
After hearing President Obama’s State of the Union Address, Agosto said “The HNBA is heartened by President Obama’s continued support and dedication to advancing comprehensive immigration reform, the DREAM Act, support of veterans, and addressing the excessive cost of higher education.” Agosto and the HNBA are also “committed to continuing to press the administration and Congress on issues critical to fulfilling this vision.”
The HNBA has a long history of supporting policies that help advance the interests of the Latino community. The HNBA has focused on increasing their national presence through their “Year of the Advocate” agenda, which was initiated by Agosto. The “Year of the Advocate” is designed to “provide leadership, education, advocacy, and guidance to the population” Agosto says. To that end, the HNBA recently announced the launch of their Veterans Legal Initiative Program. This program will organize HNBA members nation-wide to provide free legal counseling to veterans and their families who are otherwise unable to afford legal services.
The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is an incorporated, not-for-profit, national membership organization that represents the interests of the more than 100,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistants, and law students in the United States and its territories. For more information about the HNBA, please visit www.hnba.com. To contact Benny Agosto, Jr. or any of the personal injury attorneys at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, visit the firm’s website at www.abrahamwatkins.com or call (713) 222-7211.