Annotations for Subject-headings: Political Appointments

And I think that they have to do more. They have to be a lot more assertive, like the Black Caucus has been. The Black Caucus made up their own budget. They're not afraid to come out and blast the president and tell him he's wrong, right? And I don't see the same kind of thing coming from the Hispanic Caucus. I think they've got to talk more about issues and talk more about programs and take more leadership than what they're doing now.

But others are willing to give Clinton more time. One of them is Chicago City Treasurer Miriam Santos, the first Latina to oversee the budget of a major city. Santos says she is also disappointed, but she feels it's still too early to pass judgment.

I think the process has been very slow and cumbersome. I'm hoping that the administration rectifies that. In fact, I mean, we should be delighted that we have Henry Cisneros and Federico Peña. There have been a few other Latino key appointments, and I think that most of us -- and I'd certainly like to see more Latino appointments, and we're hoping that that's going to be corrected. We're still sending resumes. We're still working with them. It's a little disappointing, though.

However, the White House defends its appointment record, saying there are 15 Hispanics in high-level positions. Meanwhile, an administration source says the problem is not a lack of commitment to the Hispanic community but more an issue of disorganization within the office in charge of appointments. In fact, Latinos are not the only group complaining. Others also say the White House has been very slow in getting its team in place. For example, the administration took almost half a year to name a Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Director of Presidential Personnel, Jose Villarreal, acknowledges the appointment process has taken longer than expected. Nevertheless, he says President Clinton hopes to name more Hispanics soon. For "Latino USA," I'm Patricia Guadalupe in Washington.