The Hope for Better Policies Through Latina Representation

By Kenneth Romero-Cruz, Executive Director of NHCSL

These past months, the confirmation of two presidential appointments made history for Latinos in our country: Dr. Adriana Kugler, who now serves in the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Anna Gómez, Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission.

Both have a wealth of experience and knowledge in their areas. Dr. Adriana Kugler’s public and private sector career in banking and economics spans over 25 years, including serving as the Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she worked on the development of the American Jobs Act by analyzing the extension of unemployment insurance and policies to encourage re-employment for businesses across the country; and spearheaded the development of a framework to quantify the benefits of regulations. She also served as liaison to the Council of Economic Advisors, National Economic Council and the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, and has taught in Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy. Before her confirmation, she served as the World Bank Group Executive Director for the United States.

Dr. Kugler’s expertise and presence in the Fed’s Board is vital for our communities. Latinos continue to face financial obstacles that hinder potential. We suffer the largest full-time wage and salary gap of any major group, and the disparity affects us more broadly, even to professionals with advanced degrees. Additionally, Hispanics have also been more affected by unemployment. For these reasons and more, it’s vital to have a Board that truly understands the importance of its dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment.

Anna Gómez has 17 years of public service protecting the interest of consumers under her belt, advocating for robust regulatory authorities, pushing for the inclusion of communities of color in the policymaking process, and supporting a pro-competition innovation agenda, including twelve years at the FCC.

Gómez has consistently supported the Commission’s statutory authority to combat violations of consumer protection rules, prevent high fees for international calls, and advance universal service goals so that everyone throughout the country has access to affordable and ubiquitous broadband and voice communications. She deeply recognizes how access to the internet translates into economic mobility and job creation, new educational opportunities for students, and keeping people connected.

She believes that a truly open internet does not allow for discrimination against those who use it to work, learn, and connect with the world. Gómez is committed to supporting the FCC's Title II Authority to protect broadband consumers' ability to use the internet to its fullest potential without barriers.

If she looks familiar, that’s because she participated in an NHCSL conference panel in 2021, on the role broadband plays in federal infrastructure investments and Latino communities.

We hope to see the FCC ensure that any industry consolidation subject to its review does not harm consumers or competition and advances the public interest. We also expect Gómez to apply her invaluable experience and skill set to balance the interests of various public and private sector stakeholders and guide the Commission towards an impactful disbursement of federal broadband funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We’re also eager to see a more robust focus from the Commission to tackling the misinformation and disinformation that disproportionality affect our communities.

NHCSL is proud to have supported the nomination of these two Colombian-Americans, and we believe we’ll see progress thanks to these two outstanding public servants.

Download the 2023 Winter Edition of NHCSL's Newsletter here.