in those programs aimed at, or which particularly benefit, Spanish-speaking Americans, such as bilingual education and the various economic and social welfare programs administered by HEW and HUD.

Consider the fact, Mr. Chairman, that of all Federal employees Spanishspeaking Americans represent less than three per cent-a figure which is less than half of our proportion of the general population. Of those who are working in the Federal Government most are concentrated in lower grade categories, primarily in Grades GS 1-7. Too few Spanish-speaking persons are in positions of responsibility or decision-making and there are presently less than 20 Spanishspeaking persons who hold supergrade jobs, GS 16-18, in the entire Federal establishment. Only one-third of one percent of the top echelon of Government positions are filled by Spanish-speaking persons and this proportion is grossly inadequate from a simple population basis of six per cent Spanish-speaking.

During the course of these hearings I assume you will be told about the highlytouted but virtually unpublicized "16-Point Program for Spanish-Speaking Americans" which the President announced in November 1970. I am certain that Civil Service Commission representatives and other will tell you how much progress has been made by this program and the efforts which are ostensibly being taken to increase the employment of Spanish-speaking Americans. Frankly, Mr. Chairman, these claims of progress are spurious and are simply nothing more than hollow, political rhetoric. People in all sectors of the Spanish-speaking community with whom I speak are not only unaware of this program which is supposed to be assisting them but they are continuing to encounter almost insurmountable problems in locating employment, even though the 16-point program has been underway for over a year.

Let us look at these claims of progress a little more closely. In September 1971 Civil Service Chairman Hampton reported to me that "From November 1967 to November 1970, Spanish-surnamed employment increased by about 7,000. . . ." This averages out to an approximate annual increase of 2,300 jobs. Five months later, in February 1972, Mr. Hampton informed me that in the 12-month period of May 1970 to May 1971 "1,500 additional Spanish-surnamed persons were added to the Federal Government's rolls. . . ." With a decrease of some 8,000 positions in one year I fail to see where any progress has been achieved. Further, considering the fact that there are some 15 million Spanish-speaking Americans, a gain of only 1,500 jobs is meaningless.

Looking at a final set of statistics, in a six-month period, November 1970 to May 1971, there was a numerical increase of 46,493 persons in all grades. Spanishsurnamed persons accounted for only 3.9 per cent of this increase or 1,803 positions. Fifty-nine per cent of these positions were in Grades GS 1-8.

How can anyone claim that the 16-point program is being properly promoted and achieving some success when the very agency charged with administering it the Civil Service Commission-has failed to take any affirmative action in relation to itself. Data for 1971 shows that only some 2.6 per cent of the Commission's employees are Spanish-speaking, three quarters of whom are in the lower paying positions.

The claim that more Spanish-speaking persons are being brought into the Federal Service is nothing more than a myth. If any meaningful efforts were actually being made it would not have been necessary for one of our colleagues, my good friend from California, Congressman Edward Roybal, to file a lawsuit against the Federal Government last October in an attempt to secure equal employment opportunities for our people.

One of the primary reasons for this unconscionable state of affairs is the discriminatory employment qualifications. For example, the height requirement of many agencies mitigate against the employment of significant numbers of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and others. However, if the physical requirements are discriminatory, the intellectual requirements are even more so; but this is a more subtle form of discrimination. Frequently standards which either have little or no bearing to the position to be filled and/or an applicant's ability to perform a particular job are applied. Because Puerto Ricans, Chicanos and other Spanish-speaking persons are also victims of educational discrimination and suffer from certain shortcomings in many instances, many of our people are at a distinct disadvantage and are barred from competing equally with others in taking required examinations. Also, Spanish-speaking Americans are victims of this subtle form of discrimination on the Civil Service examinations, such as the Federal Service Entrance Examination. These written tests

have a definite cultural bias and are primarily geared to white, middle class persons who have usually attained at least moderate levels of education. If oral examinations are involved our people are also at a disadvantage as they may have an accent and examiners often consider this as unacceptable.

Mr. Chairman, equal employment opportunities means more than just increasing the number of minority group employees in a particular department or agency. It means allowing qualified Spanish-speaking civil servants the chance to advance and achieve positions of increased responsibility. It also means affording the unskilled with job training or retraining and vocational guidance in order that Spanish-speaking Americans have the necessary skills for upward mobility and that they may serve on a par with their co-workers.

Although such training was to be a part of the 16-point program I know of no requests the Congress has received to authorize the establishment of any training programs or to appropriate any funds to carry out such programs. Certainly any effort to assure all possible employment opportunities must include some effective job training endeavor and, in the case of Spanish-speaking persons, this training must be bilingual in order to be fully effective.

The first equal opportunity executive order was issued some 17 years ago. However, in this period the Spanish-speaking American has failed to achieve full and equal access to Federal employment and equal employment opportunity has been a hollow, meaningless promise. The tokenism and second-class status we have been forced to endure is clearly unacceptable to our community and must be ended at once. It is time for the U.S. Government to follow the principle of employment of Spanish-speaking Americans commensurate with our percentage of the total population. A commitment must be made not only to increase employment opportunities for Spanish-speaking persons but also to end certain requirements or features of Federal personnel policies which discriminate against our people.

Spanish-speaking Americans-Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, Cubans, Dominicans and others-demand fair and just treatment by the Federal Government. Effective action must be taken to significantly accelerate the recruitment and advancement of Spanish-speaking persons. Federal personnel policies and programs must serve as models for the private sector.

I am hopeful that these hearings will result in a new and more forceful awareness of and sensitivity to the problems which the Spanish-speaking community is experiencing in the area of Federal employment. I urge that this Subcommittee recommend that more substantive action be taken in this field and that efforts are made to permit Spanish-speaking Americans to serve in all levels of government service, including management and supervisory positions and that we be actively assisted, through training and placement, to secure responsible positions in the Federal Civil Service.

Thank you.

Mr. EDWARDS. Dr. Ramirez, you may proceed, but would you first identify the two gentlemen with you, please.

TESTIMONY OF HENRY M. RAMIREZ, CHAIRMAN, CABINET COMMITTEE ON OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SPANISH-SPEAKING; ACCOMPANIED BY MANUEL OLIVEREZ, DEPUTY, DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF PROGRAMS FOR THE CABINET COMMITTEE; AND ROBERT BROCHTRUP, CONGRESSIONAL LIAISON

Mr. RAMIREZ. Mr. Manuel Oliverez, Deputy in Charge of programs for the Cabinet committee, and Mr. Robert Brochtrup, who is in charge of our congressional liaison.

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, my name is Henry M. Ramirez and I am the Chairman for the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for the Spanish-Speaking People. This committee was established by Congress and the President to advise Federal departments and agencies in their programs relating to the Spanish-speaking people of the country.

I have in my prepared notes that Mr. Kator was to be here, but he is not.

Thank you for granting me the opportunity of appearing before this committee. I am certain that all the Spanish-surnamed citizens in our country will appreciate hearing of Congress' continued concern for them and especially the interest expressed by this committee.

Thanks to the efforts of President Richard M. Nixon and the Congress, we are now able to point to aspects of progress with regard to the employment of Spanish-speaking people. The President expressed his goals in his recent 16-point programs.

In addition, on August 5, 1971, at the last meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for the Spanish-Speaking People, the President, in no uncertain terms, called upon his Cabinet officers to effectively assure implementation of equal employment opportunities for the Spanish-speaking people. One of his main concerns was to eliminate the disparity between Spanish-speaking employment levels in Federal Government and those of other Americans.

Executive Order 11478, issued on August 8, 1969, clearly cites for official action plans with specific goals and target dates. In addition, the President in his proposed budget for the fiscal year 1973, has requested $602,000 to implement equal employment opportunities both in the public and private sectors.

Congressional support of programs which aid the Spanish-speaking, as well as congressional support of other related legislative acts, have had a positive measurable effect.

I would like to reemphasize the findings of the Civil Service Commission in their May 31, 1971, report with special emphasis on the GS positions of 9 through 15. These are extremely important positions since they are the growth positions, the promotable positions.

Employees at these position levels are not only exposed to agency training programs; but they are also exposed to activities of other agencies in and out of their geographic area. The personnel in these positions thus deal with nationwide issues that affect various segments of our society.

In this important area, the Spanish-speaking have, in the past, been neglected. The Federal Government as of May 1971, had 616,777 employees in GS-9 through 15. Of these, only 7,623 were Spanish-speaking. This represents a mere 1.2 percent.

Although 69,327 other positions are available at $10,000 and above, only 691, or less than 1 percent, of these positions are held by Spanishsurnamed. These figures support the Civil Rights Commission's findings that, "Minority group members remain underrepresented in all professional positions in the Government with increasing severity as the pay grade rises" and that "Rigorous adherence to the existing merit system has impeded equitable representation of minorities at all grade levels."

I would like to suggest some later findings for your consideration. These findings, based on still incomplete data, will nevertheless give you a picture of the problems facing the Spanish-speaking. The Cabinet committee, along with other representatives of the President; namely, Counsellor Finch, visited six regional offices in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, and San Francisco during January

and February 1972 in order to obtain information relating to the status and progress of employment of Spanish-surnamed with Federal agencies.

These data, although not complete, evidence the fact that, while some progress has been made in the implementation of the President's 16point program, that the magnitude and rate of implementation leaves much to be desired at the regional level. We are concentrating our attention on this disparity.

Since some progress has been made in providing equal employment opportunities for the Spanish-speaking, I have measured optimism that, with the continued support of the President and the Congress, we can achieve an increasing rate of equal employment opportunities during the coming years.

One very important element in such achievement must be the education of Federal personnel who have hiring prerogatives and authority, in order to enlist their full cooperation and relieve them of the necessity of making arbitrary judgments.

To this end, then, I would like to recommend the following for your consideration and use:

That the evaluation of every supervisor include his performance in implementing the President's 16-point program and Executive Order 11478.

That quarterly reports be submitted to heads of agencies reflecting specific employment patterns, together with recommendations for corrective action.

That the Office of Management and Budget evaluate agencies' racial and ethnic data collection systems, and where necessary, recommend changes to insure comprehensive civil rights implementation.

That Congress ask agencies about their employment patterns by ethnic and racial breakdowns at the time that the agencies are asking for refunding.

That the heads of agencies make available to Spanish-speaking organizations and leaders the accomplishments of their application of the 16-point program and other related employment directives. That Congress enact the bill H.R. 1746, titled "Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972."

Only by doing these things can we hope to improve the participation of Spanish-speaking people in Government employment and eliminate present disparities at an acceptable rate and with significant impact.

Thank you for your time and attention. I am ready for your questions.

Mr. EDWARDS. Thank you very much, Dr. Ramirez. I am pleased that you are clear in your own mind that we have a long way to go in this country, and as was made rather clear yesterday when the head of the Civil Service Commission's Division for Implementation of the 16-point program, the progress to date is minimal.

More than 5 percent of the national population are surnamed Spanish-speaking people, but they represent only 2.9 percent of all Federal employees and during the past 2, 3 or 4 years this proportion has not increased.

We were disturbed yesterday that the Civil Service Commission here in their Washington headquarters only has three people charged

with enforcing, shall we say, or encouraging the enforcement of the 16-point program. Three people represent an increase of 50 percent in the last few months. There were only two before.

You work very closely with the Civil Service Commission, I would presume. Are you disturbed that they are putting forth perhaps a minimal effort at least with regard to personnel into enforcement of the 16-point program?

Mr. RAMIREZ. Yes, we are very concerned about that. Their answer has often been that their staff as it relates to equal employment opportunity is really much larger and they subsume this area of interest onto their efforts for all minorities.

Viewed in those terms, it would appear that their effort is much larger, but in relation to the 16-point program, I feel that three persons is not sufficient. This is evidenced by the findings we had in the regional offices, where many of the agency heads were not even aware of the 16-point program.

There is a tendency for directives, from Washington, when they reach a regional office of a small city to have had the wording changed from "you shall," to the subjunctive, "perhaps and maybe." And therein is one of the difficulties of directives coming from Washington. They tend to be filed away.

It takes more personnel to follow up on those things.

Mr. EDWARDS. The committee is interested in your comments. You also mention on page 4 of your testimony that much is left to be desired at the regional level, and our staff conversations with civil service personnel in the regions indicate that they in fact get little guidance from the Civil Service Commission here.

Now, of course, my next question, Dr. Ramirez, is what is the Cabinet Committee going to do about it?

Mr. RAMIREZ. We have been working closely with most of the major agencies in exhortations and activity of that sort. We feel that the approach at this time that is available to us and that has the most impact is what we just finished. That is to visit the regional offices where you find the representatives of Air Force, Navy, Marine, Army, GSA, Veterans' Administration and LEAA, and EPA and ACTION and so on to bring the message down to them since the President's personal representative is present, it shows that the President means business in this respect and that he wants things to happen.

As a result of these visits, by March 25, agency heads in the regional areas are to submit reports on activities neglected in the past. Although called for by Executive order, goals and timetables will indicate how soon they will close the gap of the Spanish-speaking minority.

These will in turn be submitted to the Cabinet Committee and then to the President. These reports are scheduled to come in quarterly to demonstrate progress in relation to self-defined goals and timetables. Mr. EDWARDS. The suggestions that you make on page 5 of your testimony are all good. Some would be especially valuable. Will the President require the agencies to implement these suggestions?

Mr. RAMIREZ. The suggestion of the quarterly reports is something that the President already indicated should be submitted to the Cabinet Committee in order to demonstrate their progress in employment, and of course in programing.