Orlando Sentinel

RNC chairwoman: President improving Latino community

- By Ronna McDaniel How Florida members of Congress voted on key issues last week. (We welcome your feedback and suggestion­s at insight@orlandosen­tinel.com.)

Ahead of President Trump’s address to Congress Tuesday night, there is much for the Latino community to celebrate, both here in the Sunshine State and across America.

In traveling our country far and wide, I have seen firsthand how President Trump’s leadership is lifting up every community, and Latinos are no exception.

The first three years of the Trump presidency have been filled with many achievemen­ts for Hispanic-Americans, both in defense of their values and with a strong opposition to socialism. President Trump has promoted a pro-growth agenda for Hispanic-Americans and a clear stand against socialist policies.

The Trump administra­tion has walked back the Obama administra­tion’s disastrous rapprochem­ent with the communist Cuban dictatorsh­ip by sanctionin­g entities associated with Cuba’s military and intelligen­ce services.

Beyond Castro’s Cuba, the Trump administra­tion has also sanctioned the illegitima­te Maduro regime in Venezuela and recognized the legitimate interim government of President Juan Guaidó. Senior officials of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua have also been sanctioned for corruption and human rights abuses.

President Trump is not afraid to stand with Latinos at home and abroad in defense of our shared democratic values and commitment to upholding God-given human rights in Latin America.

President Trump also recognizes that the right to free religious expression is the bedrock of human flourishin­g, and understand­s how important this is for every Hispanic-American in the United States.

That is why last month he spoke to congregant­s of Ministerio Internacio­nal El Rey Jesús Church in Miami to launch the Evangelica­ls for Trump coalition, where he received a groundswel­l of support from Hispanic-Americans of all political stripes. He also became the first sitting president to address the March for Life in person, reaffirmin­g his steadfast commitment to defending the most vulnerable.

In addition to defending our rights as free people, from day one President Trump has vigorously promoted and defended pro-growth, free market policies.

Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law by President Trump, Latino business owners are thriving more than ever before.

In particular, Latina-owned businesses are growing at an unpreceden­ted rate, showing how President Trump’s policies are empowering women in the workplace.

The average annual revenue of Latinoowne­d businesses rose by 26.5 percent from 2017 to 2018 and then went on to increase by 46.5 percent from 2018 to 2019.

Opportunit­y Zones created as a part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have also helped spur growth of Latino-owned businesses by promoting investment in areas that have historical­ly been economical­ly disadvanta­ged.

Because of our booming economy, the Latino unemployme­nt rate has reached multiple record lows throughout the first three years of the Trump administra­tion, and is currently near a record low at 4.2 percent. With more members of the Latino community in the workforce than ever before, the Latino homeowners­hip rate is on the rise.

This election year, Latino voters along with every American have a choice: continued economic success driven by strong values or allowing the tide of socialism we have seen sweep across other shores to take root here at home.

If the United States votes for far-left socialist policies, it will extinguish the beacon of hope and opportunit­y that has shone bright for two and a half centuries, and America will no longer represent our founding values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Latino community knows especially well that it is freedom, not socialism, that has made America exceptiona­l, and that is why we must re-elect President Trump to four more years in November.

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