CONTACT THEM via the

email Web Forms located

on each of their official Con-

gressional websites & request

their Co-Sponsorship.

See current Co-Sponsors here:

http://www.borinqueneers.org/

bill-co-sponsor-

countdown.html

US Senators list (Contact 2 of

them): http://www.senate.gov/

general/contact_information/

senators_cfm.cfm

US House of Representatives

list (Contact of 1 of them):

http://www.house.gov/

representatives/find/

Muchas gracias!

Borinqueneers Congression-

al Gold Medal Alliance is

asking YOU to team up with

us & join this historic cause

to honor our legendary he-

roes!

Adoption of the Borinque-

neers Congressional Gold

Medal Act, H.R.1726 in the

House of Representatives &

S.1174 in the Senate, will require

the Co-Sponsorship by a whop-

ping two-thirds of each cham-

ber!

Currently, H.R.1726 has 151 of

the required 290 Co-Sponsors &

S.1174 has 20 of the necessary

67 Co-Sponsors.

Here are effective & easy

ways to contact your US

lawmakers, your one (1) US

House of Representatives

member & two (2)

US Senators:

CALL the Military

Legislative Assis-

tant (MLA) at your

(2) U.S. Senators'

offices and your (1)

US House of Repre-

sentatives member's

office in Washington,

D.C.!

Contact the Military

Legislative Assistant

via telephone. They

will make a record of your

call (legal requirement)!

Here is a Sample Phone

Script:

“Hello, my name is First

Name, Last Name. I currently

reside in City, State. I am re-

questing that my Representa-

tive/Senator Co-Sponsor Bill

H.R. 1726/S. 1174 which will

award the Congressional

Gold Medal to the 65th Infan-

try Regiment Borinqueneers.

If passed, this legislation will

make history for all Latino

Veterans and all Latinos alike.

I look forward to a favorable

response from your office.

Thank you.”

SEND LETTERS to your

US lawmakers at their local

district/state offices, not

Washington, DC (letters to

DC take a ton of time to be

delivered because of extra

security measures) to request

their Co-Sponsorship of the

bills.

BIG BORINQUENEER BLITZ for more

Co-Sponsors in Congress by Veterans Day!

November 1. 2013 In support of H.R.1726 & S.1174!

Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance

See the LATEST HONOR ROLL of

Co-Sponsors of the

Borinqueneers

Congressional Gold

Medal Act: US House of

Representatives bill

H.R.1726

US Senate bill

S.1174

NATIONAL SUPPORTERS INCLUDE:

Website

Facebook Page

Twitter

YouTube Video

In The News

More great links:

Special Hispanic

Heritage Report

LULAC letter to

Members of Congress!

ALERT: Veterans Day is on

November 11th.

Let’s crank things

up a notch to get

many more

Co-Sponsors

by then!!!

Be a part of HISTORY

in the making! Contact your US

lawmakers NOW!

EMPOWER yourself!

You CAN do this!

Thank you!

Contact

Congress

AHORA!

THANK YOU to

H.R.1726

Co-Sponsors!!! Alabama Rep. Martha Roby (R) American Samoa Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D) Arizona Rep. Ed Pastor (D) Rep. Raul Grijalva (D) Rep. Trent Franks (R ) California Rep. Juan Vargas (D) Rep. Tony Cardenas (D) Rep. Raul Ruiz (D) Rep. Xavier Becerra (D) Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D) Rep. Jerry McNerny (D) Rep. Sam Farr (D) Rep. Grace Napolitano (D) Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D) Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) Rep. Judy Chu (D) Rep. Linda Sanchez (D) Rep. Jim Costa (D) Rep. Maxine Waters (D) Rep. Jim Costa (D) Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D) Rep. Mark Tekano (D) Rep. Mike Honda (D) Connecticut Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D) Rep. Jim Himes (D) Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D) Rep. Joe Courtney (D) Rep. John B. Larson (D) Delaware Rep. John Carney (D) Georgia Rep. Tom Price (R) Rep. John Lewis (D) Guam Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D) Florida Rep. Bill Posey (R) Rep. Daniel Webster (R) Rep. Joe Garcia (D) Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R) Rep. Frederica Wilson (D) Rep. Alan Grayson (D) Rep. Corrine Brown (D) Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R) Rep. Jeff Miller (R) Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D) Rep. Alcee Hastings (D) Rep. Steve Southerland (R) Rep. Ted Yoho (R) Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) Rep. Ron DosSantis (R) Rep. John Mica (R) Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R) Rep. Trey Radel (R)

Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D) Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D) Rep. Danny K. Davis (D) Rep. Peter Roskam (R) Rep. Bill Foster (D) Rep. William Enyart (D) Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D) Rep. Bobby Rush (D) Rep. Mike Quigley (D) Rep. Bradley Schneider (D) Rep. Cheri Bustos (D) Rep. Robin Kelly (D) Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D) Rep. Rodney Davis (R) Louisiana Rep. John Fleming (R) Maryland Rep. Andy Harris (R) Rep. John Sabarnes (D) Rep. John K. Delaney (D) Rep. Elijah Cummings (D) Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D ) Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern (D) Rep. Richard Neal (D) Rep. John F. Tierney (D) Rep. Niki Tsongas (D) Rep. Michael Capuano (D) Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga (R) Rep. Tim Walberg (R) Rep. John Conyers (D) Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R) Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum (D) Rep. Michelle Bachman (R) Rep. Erik Paulsen (R) Mississippi Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R) Missouri Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Montana Rep. Steve Daines (R) New Jersey Rep. Albio Sires (D) Rep. Scott Garrett (R) Rep. Frank Pallone (D) Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D) New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D) New York Rep. Charlie Rangel (D) Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D) Rep. Jose Serrano (D) Rep. Yvette Clarke (D) Rep. Grace Meng (D) Rep. Joseph Crowley (D) Rep. Brian Higgins (D) Rep. Peter T. King (R) Rep. Steve Israel (D) Rep. Gregory Meeks (D) Rep. Paul Tonko (D) Rep. Louise Slaughter (D) Rep. Chris Collins (R) Rep. Sean Maloney (D) Rep. Jerrod Nadler (D)

Rep. Nita Lowey (D) Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D) Rep. Eliot Engel (D) North Carolina Rep. Walter B. Jones (R) Northern Mariana Islands Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D) New Mexico Rep. Steve Pearce (R) Rep. Ben Lujan (D) Rep. Michelle Lujan-Grisham (D) Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) Rep. Jim Jordan (R) Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole (R) Oregon Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D) Rep. James Lankford (R) Pennsylvania Rep. Bob Brady (D) Rep. Glenn Thompson (R) Rep. Patrick Meehan (R) Rep. Matt Cartwright (D) Rep. Tom Marino (R) Rep. Charlie Dent (R) Rep. Scott Perry (R) Puerto Rico Rep. Pedro Pierluisi (D) Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) Texas Rep. Steve Stockman (R) Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D) Rep. Michael McCaul (R) Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) Rep. Kenny Marchant (R) Rep. Sheila Jackson (D) Rep. John Carter (R-TX) Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D) Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D) Rep. Pete Gallego (D) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) Rep. Marc Veasey (D) Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf (R) Virgin Islands Rep. Donna Christensen (D) Washington D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) Washington State Rep. Jim McDermott (D) Rep. Rick Larsen (D) Wisconsin Rep. Tom Petri (R) Rep. Reid Ribble ® Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R)

“JOIN the big

push NOW to

get more bill

Co-Sponsors by

Veterans Day!”

Page 2

Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance

The 1st & only Latino 4-star US Army general

got his start as a young Borinqueneer officer in Korea: Richard E.

Cavazos, a Mexican-American hero!

H.R.1726: 151

Co-Sponsors

so far; 139 more

needed!

From some of our National Supporters! National Guard Asso-

ciation of the United

States (NGAUS):

“NGAUS

strongly

supports

H.R.1726

(&

S.1174).

The Congressional

Gold Medal would be

the highest award ev-

er for the 65th Infan-

try Regiment. This

distinction would hon-

or all Hispanic veter-

ans.”

Vietnam Veterans of

America (VVA):

“On be-

half of

the

mem-

bership

of

Vietnam

Veterans of America,

I want you to know

that VVA fully sup-

ports enactment of

H.R. 1726 (& S.1174),

which would award a

Congressional Gold

Medal to the 65th In-

fantry Regiment of

Puerto Rico, known

officially as the

Borinqueneers.”

Military Order of the

Purple Heart

(MOPH):

“The

Military

Order of

the Purple

Heart

(MOPH),

whose membership is

comprised entirely of

combat wounded

veterans, is pleased to

add our support for

H.R.1726.”

National Council of La

Raza (NCLR):

Awarding the Con-

gressional Gold Medal

for the

“Borinqueneers” is

consistent with

NCLR’s organizational

values of patriotism,

public service excel-

lence, and civic em-

powerment. This

honor will affirm the

indelible mark left by

the 65th Infantry Unit

and all Hispanic veter-

ans in society and the

Latino culture. NCLR

strongly urges Con-

gress to recognize the

sacrifices and

obstacles the

“Borinqueneers”

valiantly overcame in

defending our nation.”

Hispanic American

Police Command

Officers Association

(HAPCOA): “(We)

believe

that it is

now time

for Con-

gress to

recognize

the Borinqueneers for

their service, their

sacrifice, and their

bravery with the

Congressional Gold

Medal.”

League of United

Latin American

Citizens (LULAC):

“The Con-

gressional

Gold Medal

will be the

highest

award ever

for the

65th Infantry Regi-

ment and for ALL La-

tino Veterans. This

distinction will cata-

pult Hispanic veterans

into the national spot-

light and will honor all

Hispanic veterans

past, present and fu-

ture.”

American GI Forum

(AGIF):

“We hope

that the

US Con-

gress will

recognize

the sacri-

fices and

obstacles

the “Borinqueneers”

valiantly overcame as

a segregated unit de-

fending our Nation.”

Association of the

United States Army

(AUSA):

“I urge

Congress

to recog-

nize the

service

and sacri-

fice of this unique unit

which has endured the

hardships of segrega-

tion, discrimination,

language and cultural

barriers while serving

this nation.”

“Team up with

Borinqueneers

Congressional

Gold Medal

Alliance & join

this great cause

NOW!”

Page 3 In support of H.R.1726 & S.1174!

See the full text of

our endorsement

letters, & much

more, on our

website!

Borinqueneers

Congressional

Gold Medal

Alliance

“Many officers at the time thought it was the kiss

of death to be assigned to the Puerto Rican

Regiment. Critics called it the “seeeexty

feeeeth” mockingly imitating the Spanish accent

of most of the regiment’s Puerto Rican soldiers.”

“No platoon member living or dead was left

behind.”

“Arriba muchachos!”

“One general called it a regiment of “colored”

troops, unreliable and inferior to continental

“white” soldiers.”

- from Mambo on Hill 167, a captivating story

of heroism & sacrifice despite prejudice. Follow this link to read the story & learn more

about the legendary 65th Inf. Reg. Borinque-

neers in our Special Hispanic Heritage Report!

20 Co-Sponsors of US Senate bill S.1174 to date;

47 MORE NEEDED to hit the 67 minimum required...

Florida

Sen. Marco Rubio (R)

Sen. Bill Nelson (D)

Georgia

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R)

Hawaii

Sen. Brian Schatz (D)

Illinois

Sen. Dick Durbin (D)

Sen. Mark Kirk (R)

Massachusetts

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) Sen. Edward J. Markey (D)

New Jersey

Sen. Robert Menendez (D)

New York

Sen. Charles Schumer (D)

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

Pennsylvania

Sen. Bob Casey (D)

Sen. Pat Toomey (R)

West Virginia

Sen. Joe Manchin (D)

Thank You Very

Much!!! Alaska

Sen. Mark Begich (D) Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R)

Colorado

Sen. Michael Bennet (D)

Connecticut

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) Sen. Chris Murphy (D)

Delaware

Sen. Christopher Coons (D)

Page 4 Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance

H.R.1726:

At left, pictured with

Borinqueneer

veterans, Rep. Pedro

Pierluisi (D-PR) &

Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL)

introduced H.R.1726

in the US House of

Representatives on

April 25, 2013. It’s

already been six

months since the bill

was introduced.

S.1174: Above, Sen. Richard

Blumenthal (D-CT)

announces his introduction

of the US Senate bill S.1174

on June 18, 2013.

BORINQUENEERS

CONGRESSIONAL

GOLD MEDAL

ALLIANCE

Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance

We think it’s time!

¿Tú también?

Website

Facebook Page

Twitter

YouTube Video

In the News!

US House H.R.1726

Co-Sponsor Countdown

US Senate S.1174

Co-Sponsor Countdown

Email our National Chair

Frank Medina

Executive Sponsor:

You Are Strong! Center on

Veterans Health and

Human Services

See

new

Flan Chart

(pie chart)

at right!

See page 1

for info

on

contacting

your US

lawmakers

AHORA!

Gracias!

Twenty-one new Co-Sponsors of bill H.R.1756 in the US House of Representatives put the

Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance (BCGMA) at 151 or 52% of the 290 Co-

Sponsors needed to pass the House version of the Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal

Act, the alliance reported this morning. The U.S. House of Representatives bill was introduced this

spring by Representatives Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR) and Bill Posey (R-FL). The U.S. Senate companion bill, S. 1174, was introduced in June by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-

CT), and has 20 of the necessary 67 Co-Sponsors. This type of legislation requires two-thirds of the membership of each chamber of Congress to

become Co-Sponsors for passage of the bills. Similar in nature to the famed Tuskegee Airmen and other segregated U.S. military units, the 65th

Infantry Regiment Borinqueneers were the largest, longest-standing, and only active-duty

segregated Latino military unit in U.S. history. Like the Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo Code

Talkers, Nisei Soldiers, and Montford Point Marines who’ve already been recognized with the Con-

gressional Gold Medal, the Borinqueneers overwhelmingly distinguished themselves in battle all the

while enduring the additional hardships of segregation and discrimination. Hailing from Puerto Rico, the US Army unit was active from 1899-1959. Emblematic of all US

military veterans, including the hundreds of thousands of Latino-American veterans, the

Borinqueneers served and sacrificed in the cause of freedom with great pride The youngest of

these remaining Latino-American heroes are in their 80’s and 90’s, having served in the Korean

War, 60 years ago or more. A nationwide, non-partisan, all-volunteer group, the Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal

Alliance has been advocating the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal to these elderly veter-

ans since late last year. Made up of veterans, Latino-Americans, and like-minded patriots, the organ-

ization has worked closely with members of the U.S. Congress to facilitate the successful introduc-

tion and subsequent support of this special bipartisan legislation. The alliance’s national chair, Frank Medina, a 2002 West Point graduate and Iraqi war Veteran, is

coordinating intense efforts this fall, particularly in the lead up to Veterans Day, to encourage

individuals and organizations to reach out to additional Members of Congress to request their Co-

Sponsorship of the bills.

See page 1 of this update to learn how you can help this historic cause by contacting your US

lawmakers! Thank you very much!