USDA Hispanic Leadership Summit
                                           Release No. 0149.00 
Remarks
          As Prepared for Delivery
                               by
             Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
                USDA Hispanic Leadership Summit
                 On Recruitment and Employment
                          May 4, 2000

     "Thank you all very much for joining us today.  We've invited you here
today because we think a strong partnership with you and your organizations
will go a long way toward increasing the number of Hispanics in our employee
ranks at USDA.  I also want to thank Debbie Matz and all of the Departmental
Administration staff who helped put this day together.

     "In the five years that I've been in this job, I have made civil rights
one of my top priorities.  In fact, today we're releasing a progress report
that demonstrates the specific steps we've taken to improve our civil rights
performance.  For example, we now have a new initiative specifically to
address issues affecting farmworkers, especially migrant farmworkers.  We have
stepped up our efforts in the "Colonias" over the last several years.  And we
have become more diligent about providing Spanish-language material to our
customers.

     "As the report indicates, we've approached civil rights from a number of
different angles -- program delivery, procurement, management training and so
on.  But I believe it has to begin with employment.  Abraham Lincoln, when he
founded USDA, called us the "People's Department," because of our ability to
affect the lives of so many people in so many different ways.  But being the
"People's Department" must also mean having a workforce that looks like the
people we serve. 

     "It's no secret that Hispanics are becoming increasingly influential in
the affairs of the nation.  They are our fastest growing minority group. 
Their numbers happen to be greatest in the two largest agricultural states in
the nation, California and Texas.  And the number of American farms operated
by people of Spanish origin increased by nearly a third from 1992 to 1997. 
Our constituency is becoming increasingly Hispanic; so too should the
Department itself.

     "In 1996, I established an internal task force and charged them with
recommending specific actions we could take that would enhance Hispanic
participation in all aspects of USDA's work.  Out of that group came a
permanent Hispanic Advisory Council, whose job it is to follow through on the
task force's recommendations and be a internal advocate for Hispanic
inclusion.

     "Thanks in part to their work, we have made some progress on the
employment issue.  From 1993 to 1999, while the overall permanent USDA
workforce declined 15 percent, the percentage of Hispanic employees increased. 
I'm also proud that, during my tenure, we've been able to hire 5 new, non-
career members of the Senior Executive Service.  

     "So far this year, we have hired 103 Hispanics, well ahead of our 1999
pace.  Of the 40 new Hispanics in professional and administrative jobs, 18 are
entry-level, which demonstrates effective scouting of recent college
graduates.  But we have more work to do at the higher levels.

     "We know that we have plenty of work still to do.  Hispanics are better
represented in the civilian labor force than they are at USDA, even when you
just consider those occupations that are available here.  We have to work
harder to find qualified Hispanics for USDA jobs that they haven't
traditionally held...in places where they haven't historically been a part of
our team.  We are pleased with our Hispanic recruitment in places like
California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and New Mexico.  But we shouldn't stop
there.  We need to do better in the rest of the country.  

     "I'm pleased that many of our inspectors -- who help keep agricultural
pests and diseases from entering the country -- are Hispanic.  But that's not
a major recruitment triumph, since most of those jobs are in Mexican border
communities.  I want to see us cast the net a little wider.  I want to see
more Hispanic foresters, veterinarians, genetic biologists and agricultural
marketing specialists at USDA. 

     "Our Hispanic Advisory Council is hard at work on these very issues. 
And I'm pleased to let you know that we've created a new position at USDA --
an Hispanic Employment Program Manager.  Nancy Robinson, a capable and
experienced member of our human resources staff, will be the first to hold
that job.  

     "Later today, one of the Council's co-chairs, Enrique Figueroa will
outline a detailed, point-by-point Hispanic employment plan that covers
everything from stronger partnerships with Hispanic colleges and universities
to the possibility of requiring Spanish fluency for certain positions.  We are
also coordinating with the Office of Personnel Management as they try to
increase Hispanic employment throughout the federal government.  John
Sep£lveda is here from OPM, and he will tell you more about their efforts in a
moment.

     "But we need your help in this effort.  You know the skills of the
Hispanic community better than anyone else.  You can provide invaluable advice
on recruitment strategy, training and any number of other issues.  You can
help us develop key relationships that we might not have.  You can help us
better tap into the talent in the Hispanic community.

     "Thank you again for coming today.  And I look forward to working with
you all on this vitally important issue for us at USDA."

                                 
                                
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