Laredo Mayor Meets Pope Benedict,

President Bush at the White House

Tues., April 15, 2008—City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas was part of a delegation of American citizens invited to the White House to welcome His Eminence, Pope Benedict XVI. Said Salinas, “I was honored when the White House extended the invitation to me to greet the Holy Father. I was extremely humbled to carry the thoughts and prayers of all of Laredo’s citizens with me. Never in my life did I think I could offer Pope Benedict our traditional greeting of ‘Mi casa, su casa.’”

“I hope to bring back with me a number of items that I took to the White House so that they might be blessed by Pope Benedict. I want to share these with the citizens of Laredo. I will be consulting with the city managers on how best to make these items available to all citizens of Laredo.,” he continued.

After attending the meeting with Pope Benedict and President Bush, Salinas visited with Laredo Congressman Henry Cuellar, who was also at the White House for the Rose Garden reception for the Holy Father. Salinas noted, “Laredo is so lucky to have Henry Cuellar fighting for our city in Congress. Border trade and immigration are high on everyone’s list of priorities in Washington, but not all agree with Laredo’s positions on those issues. Henry is an articulate and powerful advocate for our interests.”

Salinas ended the day by attending an invitation only briefing at the White House on housing, economic stimulus legislation and trade. “It is clear that Washington has gotten the message that the mortgage crisis is real. I remain committed to doing everything I can to help in the education process.” Salinas also noted that Congress is considering making funds available through the Community Development Block Grant program for purchasing foreclosed property. “I will work with Senators Hutchison, Cornyn and of course, Representative Cuellar to ensure that Laredo is a beneficiary of any new funding programs.”