Blunt reaches out to Missouri's Spanish-speaking population

Southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt in January made his annual Blunt Facts publication available in Spanish. Blunt Facts is a 12-page newspaper insert that contains a complete record of the Congressman's votes for each legislative session. The latest version outlines Blunt's voting activity during the second session of the 107th Congress and an explanation of the 253 votes Blunt made this year.

The Spanish translation of Blunt Facts appeared as in insert in El Tiempo newspaper and also is to be posted to Blunt's Web site at www.house.gov/blunt.

"Our Hispanic population continues to grow in southwest Missouri, creating new job opportunities, new businesses and a growing interest in the Spanish language and Hispanic culture," Blunt said.

In the last decade, the Latino population in southwest Missouri increased by 400 percent.

In the 2000 census, the Latino population was the largest minority group in southwest Missouri, with more than 16,000 people recorded.

"Our English language has a history and culture of helping to integrate our population in the American system of government and commerce," Blunt said. "We must remain an English-first nation, not an English-only nation. We should encourage people to have fluency in a second language so that we can better compete in the marketplace and gain a better understanding of different cultures."