The 5 Dumbest Things You Can Do if You Have too Much Debt

U.S. says Obamacare covers married gay

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The White House said, Only Congress can pass broad immigration reform that emphasizes our security and ensures economic, family and community stability,” said National Im-migration Forum .

If you’re struggling with too much debt, you’re not alone. It seems as if the whole nation has a borrowing hangover. For years, credit was easy, and many people became

About 4.2 million people have enrolled in private Obamacare health plans so far, and millions more have been found eligible for the Medicaid program for the poor, according to the administration

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Edition 49 | March 12014

Obama Urges Immigration Advocates To Keep Focus On Congress

As well as providing a ‘superior customer experi-ence the Promise: staff by demonstrating their valuable input; provides a

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P2 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014FRONT PAGE

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Obama Urges Immigration AdvocatesTo Keep Focus On CongressWASHINGTON -President Barack Obama

singled out National Council of La Raza President Janet Murguía at a meeting with immigration advocates for calling him the "deporter-in-chief," according to sources in the room.

The sometimes tense but mostly cordial discussion at the White House, which lasted nearly two hours, boiled down to a debate over strategy as the immigration debate moves forward, according to advocates who attended but were not authorized to discuss the off-the-record meeting publicly. Obama tried to convince the 17 advocates present that they should keep pressuring House Re-publicans to address immigration reform, rather than turning their focus to pushing him to suspend some deportations.

Obama specifically addressed the comment made last week by Murguía, who was present at the meeting. The sources in the room said Obama used it as an example of how criti-cism of the White House can deflect attention

from the House GOP's refusal to move on immigration. He noted that while "deporter-in-chief" was front-page news, the things Murguía said about Republicans didn't make headlines. National Council of La Raza did not respond for a request for comment.

"He basically was challenging those in the room who have started to pivot more and more vocally from legislation to administra-tive action," said one advocate who attended the meeting. "Essentially saying that's bad strategy and now is not the right time."

"It had the feel of him schooling us, but it didn't have the feel of him listening to us," the advocate said later.

While immigration activists have continued to argue for the House to pass immigration reform, many, like Murguía, have also criti-cized Obama for the high deportation rates during his presidency. Obama's meeting with advocates came on the heels of an announce-ment that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh

Johnson will conduct a review to determine how the agency can "more humanely" en-force immigration law.

The White House said in a statement after the meeting that advocates had spoken about families split apart by deportation and Obama "reiterated the deep concern he has for the pain these families face." He also "reiterated his commitment to maintaining consistent and sustained pressure on Congressional Re-publicans to take action on immigration re-form as soon as possible," according to the White House.

Most advocacy groups agreed that pres-sure should continue on Congress, and many said so in statements after the meet-ing.

"Only Congress can pass broad im-migration reform that emphasizes our security and ensures economic, family and community stability," said Na-tional Immigration Forum

executive director Ali Noorani, who attended the meeting. "The ultimate responsibility for the laws and resources that lead to deporta-tion lies with Congress. They must act. This year.”

P3nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014 AD

Congratulations on this well-deserved award!

for his unwavering leadership and many yearsof dedicated service to the Latino community. 

P4 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014FRONT PAGE

About 4.2 million people have enrolled in private Obamacare health plans so far, and millions more have been found eligible for the Medicaid program for the poor, according to the adminis-tration

WASHINGTON - Married gay couples will be eligible for a family health policy under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law, be-ginning in 2015, the U.S. government said on Friday, encouraging insurers to begin offering coverage this year.

The Department of Health and Hu-man Services (HHS) also announced it would extend for one month a tem-porary program that offers insurance to some of the sickest Americans, who have had trouble finding private plans in new health insurance mar-ketplaces set up in all 50 states under Obamacare.

Friday’s announcements add to the series of delays and modifications the administration has made to the Pa-tient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, since the law was enacted in 2010 and formally launched last October.

Obamacare’s six-month enrollment period ends March 31. And with vol-ume expected to surge in the final two weeks, officials say the website HealthCare.gov continues to operate smoothly after technical problems in October and November paralyzed the portal for consumers in 36 states. The remaining 14 states run their own markets.

About 4.2 million people have en-rolled in private Obamacare health plans so far, and millions more have been found eligible for the Medicaid program for the poor, according to the administration.

It continues, however, to wrestle with complicated and controversial issues related to the law.

In its decision on gay couples, HHS exercised federal authority to pre-vent discriminatory insurance market practices on an issue that has been caught up in state marriage laws.

The move follows a February law-suit filed by an Ohio gay couple, who were unable to obtain family cover-age under Obamacare, they said, be-cause their state does not recognize same-sex marriage.

The gay community is a key constit-uency for Democrats, who are facing a Republican onslaught over Obam-acare in this year’s midterm elections for control of Congress.

“If an insurance company offers coverage to opposite-sex spouses, it cannot choose to deny that coverage to same-sex spouses,” Dr. Matthew Heinz, who heads HHS outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual communities, said in a posting to a government website.

“In other words, insurance com-panies will not be permitted to dis-criminate against married same-sex couples when offering coverage. This will further enhance access to health care for all Americans, including those with same-sex spouses.”

A formal clarification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the lead Obamacare agency within HHS, said the admin-istration is encouraging insurers to voluntarily implement the non-dis-crimination policy for the 2014 cov-erage year under the Public Health Service Act.

Compliance will be required start-ing in 2015.

“We expect issuers to come into full compliance with the regulations as clarified in this guidance no later than for plan or policy years beginning on or after January 1, 2015,” CMS said.

“We also expect states to begin en-forcing the regulations in accordance with this clarification no later than for plan or policy years beginning on or after January 1, 2015,” it said.

Administration officials said the gay marriage decision and extension of the program for people with pre-existing conditions, known as the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), were both intended to help Americans transition to the new

healthcare era established by Obam-acare.

The law requires most Americans to pay a penalty unless they are enrolled in insurance coverage by March 31, which is also when the PCIP program was set to expire.

Patient advocates welcomed the move, saying people with cancer, multiple sclerosis or other serious disorders need time to find insurance plans that meet complicated health-care needs.

“We encourage patients in PCIP to look at other insurance options, including the health insurance mar-ketplace at HealthCare.gov, as soon as possible so they are assured of coverage beyond the short term,” the American Cancer Society Cancer Ac-tion Network said in a statement.

The extension came a day after U.S. Health and Human Services Secre-tary Kathleen Sebelius told lawmak-ers in Congress that the enrollment deadline would not be delayed.

Administration officials said the PCIP program was being extended through April 30, under congres-sional authorization that has already allowed for two other extensions. PCIP was originally intended to ex-pire at the end of 2013, but was ex-tended first through January and later through March.“We also expect states to begin enforcing the regulations in accordance with this clarification no later than for plan or policy years be-ginning on or after January 1, 2015,” it said.

Administration officials said the gay marriage decision and extension of the program for people with pre-existing conditions, known as the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), were both intended to help Americans transition to the new healthcare era established by Obam-acare.

The law requires most Americans to pay a penalty unless they are enrolled in insurance coverage by March 31, which is also when the PCIP program was set to expire.

Patient advocates welcomed the move, saying people with cancer, multiple sclerosis or other serious disorders need time to find insurance plans that meet complicated health-care needs.

“We encourage patients in PCIP to look at other insurance options, including the health insurance mar-ketplace at HealthCare.gov, as soon as possible so they are assured of coverage beyond the short term,” the American Cancer Society Cancer Ac-tion Network said in a statement.

The extension came a day after U.S. Health and Human Services Secre-tary Kathleen Sebelius told lawmak-ers in Congress that the enrollment deadline would not be delayed.

Administration officials said the PCIP program was being extended through April 30, under congres-sional authorization that has already allowed for two other extensions. PCIP was originally intended to ex-pire at the end of 2013, but was ex-tended first through January and later through March.

U.S. says Obamacare covers married gay couples under family plan

P5nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014 FINANCE

Debt Settlement

For many people, working with a debt settlement company can actually be a great solution. You’ve probably heard a lot of advertising for these services recently, but what exactly do they do?

Debt settlement is the process of negotiating with creditors to get them to forgive a big portion of your debt.

Why would a credit card company do this? Well, it’s not out of the

generosity of their heart. They have made the financial calculations and determined they are better off knowing for certain that they’ll get paid something, rather than not knowing if they will get

paid anything.

Settlement companies work with individual consumers to deter-

mine a reasonable, monthly amount that they can afford to pay against their debt load. The individual makes the affordable payment every month into a special-purpose account, and as these funds accumulate, the settlement company reaches out to creditors to negotiate a full and final actual settle-ment amount that they will take. The debt settlement company only charges a fee after they have achieved a satis-factory settlement for you.

Typically, these companies have ex-cellent relationships with creditors and are negotiating on behalf of thousands of people every day. The amount of savings they can obtain for consumers can be significant.

While each situation is different, it’s not uncommon for debt settlement companies to negotiate reductions of as much as 50 percent of the outstanding amount and help get their customer debt free in just a few years.

There are many debt settlement agencies, so how do you find a legitimate and trustworthy company to work with? One great way to start is by visiting Preferred Financial Services. They offer a free, no-obligation consultation to evaluate your options. Then, if you choose to proceed, they will develop a plan that meets your specific needs and negoti-ate it on your behalf with your credit card companies. Preferred Financial Services is fully compliant with all FTC rules and they charge no fees until a settlement has been reached.

The 5 Dumbest Things You Can Do if You Have too Much Debt

The five strategies you may want to avoid:

The first piece of advice from experts in the financial field is to be sure you don’t make your situation worse by making com-mon mistakes.  In particular, try to avoid:

1.  Paying  only  the minimum payment  on  your  debt,  as  this will result in the amount you owe actually growing, and your problems will only become worse.

2. Relying on friends and family, as this can damage relation-ships with the most important people in your life.

3. Unscrupulous credit counselors that demand cash upfront or high fees for help they promise, but don’t deliver.

4. Using new, high-interest loans to pay off lower interest rate loans. While it may be easier to just have one payment, it will actually increase the amount you have to pay back.

5. Declaring bankruptcy--this can have permanent and severe consequences on your financial future. Avoid it if you can, es-pecially when debt settlement may work for you.

If you’re struggling with too much debt, you’re not alone. It seems as if the whole nation has a borrowing hang-

over. For years, credit was easy, and many people became overextended. But, we now live in an era of austerity and

it’s time to get our affairs in order.

P6 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014SOCIAL MEDIA

How can companies provide customer experiences superior

to their competition’s?

P7nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014 SOCIAL MEDIA

P8 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014EVENTS

New York-(NYBusinessLatino) La lle-gada del Súper Bowl de la NFL, el evento deportivo más esperado cada año en los Estados Unidos, ha generado una histe-ria co-lectiva entre los Latinos de la zona tri–estatal. Su edición número 48 se va a jugar el próximo 2 de febrero en el esta-dio MefLife en East Rutherford, NJ.

El Súper Tazón, ha generado grandes movimientos de integración entre los la-tinos con diferentes actividades en la ciu-dad de New York en honor al gran juego.

Uno de los eventos latinos más im-portantes de la semana del Súper Bowl, fue realizado en el “Monarch Rooftop Lounge” con el nombre: “Latinos en los deportes y los negocios” organizado por la comunicadora y publicista Rosemary Carrillo de NY business Latino, auspicia-do por Continental Food and Beverage/Inca Kola.

“El Súper Bowl, representa una parte de los latinos en los deportes, nosotros queremos que los latinos también se in-tegren a este gran juego y gran día en las ciudades de NY y NJ. Nosotros somos una compañía que se dedica básicamente hacer negocios con diferentes compañías, ahora mismo estamos enfocándonos en los deportes, e integrándonos al éxito del Súper Bowl”.

“Este evento es algo que ha crecido, los latinos le están dando ese auge, están en-tendiendo más el juego. Se están integ-rando, es un evento que tal vez diez años antes era un poco diferente en la publi-cidad entre los latinos y no se entendía, pero ahora mismo lo estamos entendi-endo e integrándonos”.

“Con este deporte, es como integrar una nueva cultura deportiva y eso es lo que queremos hacer con los negocios, inte-grarlos a las diferentes oportunidades que representa “El Súper Bowl” para los lati-nos”, dijo la publicista Carrillo”.

“Las personas que están aquí hoy rep-

El Súper Bowl también fue parte de los Latinos en NY, NJ

NY-NJ Súper Bowl KickOff Party

resentando diferentes compañías, entienden la im-portancia de la comunidad latina, la cual debe de ser integrada a las diferentes actividades que están pasando como es el caso del Súper Bowl y por eso están aquí apoyando esta actividad en beneficio de la comunidad y el deporte, que es una base de apoyo y soporte a la juventud”. Declaro Randall Berman, Chief Operating Officer of Inca Kola.

“Seguiremos creciendo con el apoyo de las empre-sas, los medios de comunicación, deportistas y las personas que apoyan este tipo de actividad en favor del progreso de la comunidad.”

Al evento especial asistieron grandes person-alidades, invitados, medios de comunicación, ac-tivistas de la comunidad el cual fue dedicado a la semana del “Súper Bowl” en la ciudad de New York destacándose: El Embajador de la Republica Dominicana antes las Naciones Unidas Dr. Francis Lorenzo, Antonio Ibarria, CEO y presidente Ibarria Group entre otras grandes personalidades del de-porte, arte y la comunicación.

Cabe destacar la presencia de los jugadores de la

P9nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014 AD

Al evento especial asistieron grandes person-alidades, invitados, medios de comunicación, ac-tivistas de la comunidad el cual fue dedicado a la semana del “Súper Bowl” en la ciudad de New York destacándose: El Embajador de la Republica Dominicana antes las Naciones Unidas Dr. Francis Lorenzo, Antonio Ibarria, CEO y presidente Ibarria Group entre otras grandes personalidades del de-porte, arte y la comunicación.

Cabe destacar la presencia de los jugadores de la

NFL: Jonathan Casillas de Tampa Bay Bucaneers, Chad Cascaden NY Jets 1995-2000 y Mariano Be-renstein, CEO of Boca Juniors USA.

Grandes medios de comunicación estuvieron pre-sentes como: CBS Sports NY- WFAN, El Diario la Prensa, ESPN Deportes, CNN ESPANOL, THE IBARRIA MEDIA GROUP entre otros.

La actividad fue patrocinada por: Coca Cola Com-pany, Delta, Macys, CNN ESPANOL, Latín Visión e Inca kola.

P10 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014EVENTS

Stepping out for a promotional appear-ance, America Ferrera and Rosario Daw-son showed up at a screening of “Cesar Chavez” in New York City on Monday night (March 17).Joined by director/pro-ducer Diego Luna, the “Ugly Betty” babe and the “Josie and the Pussycats” dame were both looking fine while hamming it up for the press at the AMC Empire.

Slated to hit theaters on March 28th, “Cesar Chavez” also stars Gabriel Mann, John Malkovich, Michael Pena and Mi-chael Cudlitz.

Per the synopsis, “This film is a biogra-phy of the civil rights activist and labor organizer Cesar Chavez and the mark he made on history.”

NYC Premier Cesar Chavez Movie

P11nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014 EVENTS

LATINO LEADERSHIP LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDSTh

e

NY Business Latino proudly presents the 2014 Annual Leadership Lifetime Achievement Awards recognizing outstanding leaders in the Latino community who are the role models that

inspire others to new heights.

Luis Del Castillo JardinesInca Kola/CEO

Jose R. RuanoMillerCoors

Carlos VelezHispanic media Cousil/President

was born in the small town of Gibara, Cuba. Jar-dines enrolled at the University of La Havana where he received a degree in business. In the midst of the Caribbean country’s political and socioeconomic turmoil, Jardines was forced

to immigrate to the United States. Jardines enjoyed a success-ful career at Davis and Lawrence for 20 years where he led the company to be a global leader in the Flavors and Food ingredi-ent industry. When Jardines retired from Davis and Lawrence he went into business for himself as an international business consultant. Through the relationships he developed over the years one emerged as the future for Jardines, his relationship with the owners of the Inca Kola brand in Peru. Jardines devel-oped a plan to take Inca Kola to an international level. The own-ers of Inca Kola were so impressed with his passion to grow the brand outside of Peru that they offered him the rights to develop the international market. In 1981 Jardines began the interna-tional marketing and distribution of Inca Kola. Jardine’s big-gest accomplishment to date would have to be his involvement with the 1999 negotiations between The Coca Cola Company and Inca Kola where Jardines was instrumental in the nego-tiations that ultimately led to the $386 million dollar partner-ship between The Coca Cola Company and the owners of the Inca Kola brand, J.R. Lindley and Sons. Jardines furthered the negotiations with The Coca Cola Company for the continued manufacturing and distribution rights of Inca Kola in the Unit-ed States and eight countries worldwide. Continental Food and Beverage Inc. was formed in 2001 and is currently the exclu-sive bottlers for Inca Kola in the United States with distribution rights in 7 other countries. Jardines maintains a position as CEO and continues to have the same passion he started with in 1981. Jardines has been the recipient of many awards and recogni-tions throughout his career. Most recently he was honored by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He received a certificate of recognition from Senator Bob Menendez for his commitment to the Hispanic community. He is recognized as an icon in the Beverage Industry and respected for his successful business style that has guided Continental Food and Beverage to be a leader in the Hispanic Food and Beverage industry.

Born in 1947 and raised on his family’s coffee farm near Armenia, a city of 300,000 people 200 miles west of Bogota. Carlos was one of 12 children and was among two sets of twins. He emigrated to the United States after high school in 1964, following other members of

his extended family seeking economic opportunities. After a series of menial jobs, including as a dishwasher, he landed a job as a copyboy at the New York Daily News in 1966. He was one of the first Latinos hired in the newsroom. His career at the Daily News was interrupted when he was drafted in 1967. He spent two years in the Army, most of it at a base in South Carolina. Carlos returned to the Daily News and quickly earned a series of promotions that led to his position as Chief of Copy Boys, where he was in charge of scheduling more than 100 newsroom clerks during the heyday of the newspaper, which was then the largest in America. In the early 1980s, the News recognized Car-los’ value as a bilingual journalist as the Latino population of Queens vastly increased, and he was promoted to reporter in the paper’s Queens bureau. He had hundreds of bylines during nearly a decade as a reporter and columnist for the paper. In this position, he became one of the most recognized figures in the Colombian community in Queens. He left the News in the late 1980s and struck out on his own as a writer, editor and publisher. Among other things, Carlos:

Published a literary magazine, Nosotros.

Spent a decade on the staff at Columbia University’s prestigious Graduate School of Journalism, where he helped students produce a periodic newspaper, The Bronx Beat. Worked as a consultant, de-signer and editor on dozens of publishing projects for newspaper, magazines and organizations throughout the New York region. Wrote columns and contributed freelance articles to numerous Spanish- and English-language publications. Worked as a public relations consul-tant with Bill Neugebauer, his former Daily News colleague. Operated from afar, in partnership with his brother German, a vestige of the old family farm in Colombia, where they grow coffee, fruit and flowers.

Jose R. Ruano has over 36 years of experience in sales, strategic marketing, advertising, consumer promotion, public relations and corporate affairs and community outreach initiatives.

He recently served as Manager Multicultural com-munity commerce and partnerships for MillerCoors. He was re-sponsible for MillerCoors strategic corporate, community and business development initiatives with Hispanic segments. He also provided strategic counsel to MillerCoors executive officers on multicultural issues management, government relations and com-munications, business development initiatives.

Prior to this assignment and his recent retirement from Miller-Coors he held several key positions of responsibility such as Manager Multicultural Relations, Miller’s Priority Market Rela-tions Manager, Hispanic Marketing Manager, Regional Marketing Promotions Manager, and other positions of responsibility in sales and consumer promotions. He directed and led the development of strategic Hispanic advertising and promotional efforts for the company’s brands to fuel sales and in gaining share of this critical market segment.

For the last 36 years He has been recognized with significant awards by several Hispanic, Asian and Multicultural organizations such as, USHCC, KAGRO, MAGA, NSA, NAHP, HACU Adel-ante U.S Education Leadership Fund, LULAC, NPRC, NCLR, NHLI, and named as One of the Top 100 Leaders by the Hispanic Business Magazine for his dedicated efforts to championing op-portunities in economic development, higher education and com-munity empowerment.

He has been instrumental and led effort in creating and establish-ing the National Hispanic Corporate Council (NHCC), Corporate advisory boards for USHCC, MAGA, KAGRO, NAHP, NSA, NPRC, HACU, NHLI, NCLR and many other National, Regional and Local organizations.

Jose is a native of Nochiztlan Zacatecas, Mexico and a graduate of the Rodriguez Davila Academy in Aguascalientes, Mexico and he studied business administration at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and received a Marketing Certificate from the Uni-versity of Michigan.

P12 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014THE WORLD

Venezuela has been rocked by a wave of anti-government protests that first erupted on February 4 in the western city of San Cristobal. They reached the capital Caracas on February 12, when three people were killed in clashes with security forces.

The demonstrations have been fuelled by public fury over deteriorating living conditions in the oil-rich South American country.

Violent crime, inflation and shortages of essential goods have combined to create the most serious challenge yet for leftist President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro has dubbed the protests an attempted coup stoked by the United States.

Since the protests began, opposition leaders and students, as well as govern-ment authorities, have accused each other of backing radical groups that attack demonstrations with firearms.

On Thursday, Ortega Diaz said that 28 people had been killed and 365 injured in the protests.Venezuela has been rocked by a wave of anti-government protests that first erupted on February 4 in the western city of San Cristobal. They reached the capital Caracas on February 12, when three people were killed in clashes with security forces.

The demonstrations have been fuelled by public fury over deteriorating living conditions in the oil-rich South American country.

Violent crime, inflation and shortages of essential goods have combined to create the most serious challenge yet for leftist President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro has dubbed the protests an attempted coup stoked by the United States.

Since the protests began, opposition leaders and students, as well as govern-ment authorities, have accused each other of backing radical groups that attack demonstrations with firearms.

Venezuela protests turn violent

Police in protest-hit Venezuela stepped up a campaign of arrests and raids, as authorities said the death toll from more than a month of anti-government demonstrations

President Nicolas Maduro has vowed to take “drastic measures” to quell the student-led protest movement launched on February 4, fueled by public fury over deteriorating living conditions in the oil-rich country.

Violent crime, shortages of essential goods like toilet paper and inflation have combined to create the most serious challenge yet for the leftist Maduro, who succeeded the late Hugo Chavez last year.

P13nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014

The referendum is denounced by Kiev and the West as illegitimate ; the West is threatening costly sanctions against Rus-sia if it moves to incorporate Crimea. But the result is seen as a foregone conclu-sion — Crimea is almost certain to vote to split off, further aggravating Ukraine’s political crisis and one of the harshest East-West confrontations since the end of the Cold war.

In Moscow, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters marched in central Moscow against the referendum. Protest-ers carried banners that read: “For your freedom and for ours!” One demonstrator held up a plate of salo — cured pork fat that is a staple of Ukrainian cuisine and adored by many Russians — along with a poster that read: “Make salo, not war!”

Nearby, a rally of several thousand people was held close to the Kremlin in support of Russian intervention in Crimea.

At the United Nations, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution declaring the referendum illegal, and close ally China abstained in a sign of Moscow’s isolation on the issue. Supporters of the U.S.-sponsored resolution knew that Russia would use its veto. But they put the resolution to a vote Saturday morn-ing to show the strength of opposition in the 15-member Security Council to Moscow’s takeover of Crimea. The final vote was 13 members in favor, China’s abstention, and Russia as a permanent council member casting a veto.

The question of whether Crimea, a stra-tegically important Black Sea peninsula that is home to a key Russian naval base, should become part of Moscow’s orbit raises strong passions on both sides.

Crisis in UkraineRussian forces backed by helicopter gunships and armored vehicles

Saturday took control of a village near the border with Crimea on the eve of a referendum on whether the region should seek annexation by Moscow,

Ukrainian officials said.The action in Strilkove appeared to be the first move outside Crimea, where Russian forces have been in effective control

since late last month. There were no reports of gunfire or injuries.

Violence has escalated in Ukraine’s Russia-leaning east in recent days, as pro-Russia demonstrators have seized government buildings and clashed with supporters of the new Kiev government.

Ukrainian servicemen carry flags as they leave Belbek airport in the Crimea regionUkrainian servicemen carry flags as they leave Belbek airport in the Crimea region March 4, 2014. A column of unarmed Ukrainian servicemen arrived at the base for negotiations with Russian troops on Tuesday, local media re

THE WORLD

P14 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014

UNITED STATES HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON - The United States Hispanic Chamber of Com-merce (USHCC) congratulates Congress on reaching a successful bipartisan deal on the Agriculture Act of 2014, commonly known as the Farm Bill. The bill, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama, allocates nearly $1 trillion toward farm sup-port programs and nutritional as-sistance for hardworking families still struggling through America’s economic recovery.

“The USHCC applauds the pas-sage of this bill. It gives homage to our nation’s original small busi-ness owners and entrepreneurs –

American farmers and ranchers,” said President & CEO Javier Palo-marez. “This country was founded and developed from the entrepre-neurial spirit and industriousness of America’s farmers and ranchers. The Agriculture Act of 2014 is a rededication to those who are re-sponsible for the fresh food on our plates, the cotton clothing on our backs and the wood furnishings in our homes. We commend Congress for summoning cooperation on an issue that has a resonating econom-ic effect on all Americans.”

After a 2-year impasse on the bill, Congress has successfully reached a compromise that gives

relief to millions of Americans in underserved communities and farm owners nationwide. While the agreement reached is not ideal, it demonstrates the continued ability of Congress to address our coun-try’s most pressing issues despite divided government.

“While far from perfect, this bill sends the message to Americans ev-erywhere that our nation’s elected officials can still work together for the common good,” said USHCC Chairman of the Board Marc Ro-driguez. “As the United States continues to lead the world in food production, it’s heartening to see the most fundamental needs of

our farmers and ranchers being met. The USHCC is proud to move past the gridlock and into colla-borative compromise.”

About the USHCCFounded in 1979, the USHCC active-

ly promotes the economic growth and development of our nation’s entrepre-neurs. The USHCC advocates on behalf of nearly 3.2 million Hispanic-owned businesses, that together contribute in excess of $468 billion to the American economy, each year. As the leading organization of its kind, the USHCC serves as an umbrella to more than 200 local chambers and business associations across the nation, and partners with more than 220 major corporations.

USHCC Applauds Congress for Bipartisan Passage of the Farm Bill

P15nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014 AD

P16 nY. Business Latino • Edition 49 | March 12014