Indian American Religious Leaders Invited to the White House

Tuesday, October 12th, 2004 Press Releases by IARC

Contact: Jack Hession, IARC Executive Director
Washington, D.C.
(202) 347-1223
October 12, 2004
Victor Joseph, Chairman of the Indian American Republican Council-Pennsylvania (IARC-PA), praised President Bush after Indian American spiritual leaders were invited to the White House for an exclusive briefing with the President’s staff.
“We are very pleased to have met both Mr. Tim Goeglein, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison and Ms. Kristin Silverberg, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. This meeting allowed our spiritual leaders to receive a briefing on behalf of the President about current issues important to our community.
“The President is very focused on providing tax relief to small business owners. We appreciate his stance, considering that many Indian Americans own hotels, motels, restaurants, convenience stores, clothing and jewelry stores. We are creating new jobs and driving this economy forward. It is nice to see the President standing behind us. We also appreciate the President’s focus on the faith-based initiative, which puts spiritual leaders on equal footing with others to partner with the Federal Government within constitutional guidelines to provide compassionate services to their fellow Americans.
“President Bush is pro-life and believes in the sanctity of marriage. He also supports immigration reform and will continue to support family reunification. We are honored to have such a caring, dedicated President leading our nation as terrorists seek to attack our democracy and change our way of life.
“As Indian American Christians, we were honored to receive this invitation to the White House. President Bush has a proven track record of reaching out equally to people of all faiths. Earlier this year, President Bush met with respected spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The White House has officially celebrated Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian religious festivals. The President has appointed more than 20 Indian Americans to positions in his Administration, consisting of both first and second generation Indian Americans, who represent the diversity of our community. These leaders of our community are conservatives who support the President’s vision, energy, dedication and service to America.
“We look forward to future visits at the White House, and we express our sincerest thanks to the President and his staff for meeting with us.”
###