Whereas the United States celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month every year during September and October to recognize and honor the achievements and contributions from people of the Hispanic diaspora throughout the history of the United States; Whereas Hispanics represent a diverse and heterogeneous racial, ethnic, and cultural group, with members hailing from many countries, including North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Spain, and representing all variations on the spectrum of race; Whereas Hispanics are the fastest growing community living in the United States, making up 18.7 percent of the United States population; Whereas Hispanics contribute to the society of the United States through working in many industries, including the legal profession; Whereas Hispanic lawyers are dedicated public servants, holding posts at the highest levels of State and Federal Government, including the Supreme Court of the United States, Cabinet-level positions, the United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives; Whereas 5.8 percent of the 1,300,000 lawyers in the United States identify as Hispanic; Whereas the current enrollment of Hispanic students in law schools is 14 percent; Whereas the percentage of members of the bar who are Hispanic is less than 5 percent; Whereas Hispanic lawyers account for 2.9 percent of law firm partners; Whereas Hispanic lawyers only represent 7 percent of judicial appointments at the Federal and State judiciary throughout history; Whereas Hispanics are largely underrepresented in the legal industry and within the Federal courts; Whereas tracking historical trends, the number of Hispanic appointments to Federal judgeships has shown a steady increase in the last 10 years; Whereas the first Hispanic judge appointed to the Federal bench was the Honorable Reynaldo G. Garza in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy