Federal Services for Constituents Available in Foreign Languages: Selected Sources

Federal Services for Constituents Available in Foreign Languages: Selected Sources

Order Code RL31731
Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Federal Services for Constituents Available in
Foreign Languages: Selected Sources
Updated March 14, 2003
Leneice Wu
Specialist in International Relations
Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division
Sherry Shapiro
Information Resource Specialist
Office of Information Resources Management
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

Federal Services for Constituents Available in Foreign
Languages: Selected Sources
Summary
This report is a directory of sources on various federal constituent services
available in foreign languages, to assist congressional offices in serving non-English
speaking constituents. The topics covered are: access to jobs and workers’ issues,
Americans with Disabilities Act, childcare, consumer protection, disaster relief, elder
care, emergency preparedness, environmental protection, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, food safety, health, higher education, homeland security, housing,
immigration, immunizations, Medicaid, Medicare, the Presidency, retirement, Small
Business Administration, Social Security Administration, taxes, telephone service,
travel and tourism, veterans affairs, and voting.
Some sources were located where information is available in upwards of 30
languages; the most prevalent foreign language is Spanish. This report includes all
foreign-language sources we could locate, including Spanish, and will be updated as
needed. We have also prepared a separate CRS report focused only on Spanish-
language sources: CRS Report RL31732, Federal Services for Constituents
Available in Spanish: Selected Sources. Ultimately, this latter report also will be
available in Spanish.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Access to Jobs and Workers’ Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Americans with Disabilities Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Childcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Consumer Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Disaster Relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Elder Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Emergency Preparedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Environmental Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Federal Bureau of Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Food Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Health Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Homeland Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Immigration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Immunizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Medicaid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Medicare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Presidency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Small Business Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Social Security Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Telephone Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Travel and Tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Veterans Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Voting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Federal Services for Constituents Available
in Foreign Languages: Selected Sources
Introduction
Many congressional offices are representing constituencies that include non-
English speakers, and frequently receive correspondence from constituents in a
foreign language. The federal government has recognized the need for material in
foreign languages for this population by translating much useful information into a
variety of languages. The following report compiles selected sources of federal
information in foreign languages, on a variety of constituent concerns. Information
on foreign language sources is provided in English, where available. Our goal is that
this report will aid English speaking staff of congressional offices in dealing with
concerns of their non-English speaking constituents.
Most of this information is available through the Internet, which is accessible
to patrons of many local libraries.1 Information on Spanish-language sources is
available in this report, as well as in a separate CRS report, CRS Report RL31732,
Federal Services for Constituents Available in Spanish: Selected Sources, dedicated
only to Spanish-language sources. Ultimately, this latter report also will be available
in Spanish. Much of the information located is available in Spanish, and selected
information is available in several other languages, as noted in the text of this report.
General Information
The Federal Citizen Information Center has a multi-language gateway, located
at [http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/multilanguage/multilang.htm], that contains lists of
some federal resources available in foreign languages; the list is organized by
language. The languages are: Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, French,
German, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Laotian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and
V i e t n a m e s e . T h e r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e i n S p a n i s h
([http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/spanish/splinks.htm]) are especially comprehensive.
(The topics covered in Spanish are: children, education, employment, environment,
federal benefits and services, food and nutrition, health, housing, money, safety,
small business, and consumer assistance.) Examples of topics covered in other
languages are discrimination based on national origin, Voice of America, food safety,
medicines for women, smoke detectors, international long distance calling, and a
1 Suzy Platt. How to find information in a library and on the Internet. CRS Report 97-76,
November 25, 2002. 6 p.

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variety of consumer concerns. Not all topics are covered in all languages. For now,
the titles are available only in English. Ultimately, the Federal Citizen Information
Center plans to provide titles in the relevant language.2 Individuals who are
interested in a specific area will find a topical approach in the remainder of this
report, and may find cites to information on that topic, in the desired language,
below.
Access to Jobs and Workers’ Issues
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ([http://www.eeoc.gov])
offers a variety of free publications in several languages, including Arabic, Chinese,
Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The topics they cover
include filing a charge of job discrimination; employment rights of immigrants under
federal anti-discrimination laws, (on the basis of national origin, pregnancy, religion,
race/color, and age); mediation; small business information; Americans with
Disabilities Act; Family and Medical Leave Act; and sexual harassment, among
others.
Brochures on employment rights of immigrants under Federal anti-
discrimination laws are available also in French, Hindi, and Urdu. Information on
employment discrimination based on religion, ethnicity or country of origin is
available also in Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu. Many of these publications are
available online at [http://www.eeoc.gov/publications.html] or there is an online form
to order paper copies by mail.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Wage
and Hour Division, offers several fact sheets in Spanish:

! Federal Child Labor Laws in Farm Jobs
[http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs40spanish.htm]
! Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for
Nonagricultural Occupations
[http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs43spanish.htm]
! Minimum Wage, Record keeping, and Child Labor Requirements of
U.S. Law Applicable to Foreign Commercial Vehicle Operators and
Helpers
[http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs47spanish.htm]
! Application of U.S. Labor Laws to Immigrant Workers: Effect of
Hoffman Plastic decision on laws enforced by the Wage and Hour
Division
[http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs48spanish.htm]
2 E-mail from Arlene Gallego, Federal Citizen Information Center, January 28, 2003.

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The Department of Labor also provides information in Spanish on pension
c o v e r a g e a n d h e a l t h b e n e f i t s f o r u n e m p l o ye d w o r k e r s a t
[http://www.dol.gov/pwba/pdf/QA.pdf].
Americans with Disabilities Act
The U.S. Department of Justice provides information about the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) through a toll-free ADA Information Line. This service
permits businesses, state and local governments or others to call and ask questions
about general or specific ADA requirements including questions about the ADA
Standards for Accessible Design.
ADA specialists are available Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM until 6:00
PM (eastern time) except on Thursday when the hours are 1:00 PM until 6:00 PM.
Spanish language service is also available. [Emphasis added]
For general ADA information, answers to specific technical questions, free
ADA materials, or information about filing a complaint, call: 800-514-0301 (voice)
or 800 514-0383 (TTY). (Source: [http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/infoline.htm])
Several publications related to ADA are available in different languages, also
through the ADA Information Line (cited above). Lists of these titles can be found
at [http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/publicat.htm]. For example, brochures entitled
“ADA Questions and Answers,” “A Guide to Disability Rights Laws,” and “ADA
Guide for Small Businesses” are available in Spanish, Cambodian, Chinese, Hmong,
Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Other publications are
available in Spanish, for example, “A Guide for People with Disabilities Seeking
Employment,” “Commonly Asked Questions about Service Animals,” and
“Questions and Answers: the ADA and Persons with HIV/AIDS.”
Childcare
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sponsors a “Child Care
Aware” Web site in Spanish. It provides information on finding quality child care,
c h i l d s a f e t y , a n d t h e “ D a i l y P a r e n t ” n e w s l e t t e r . S e e
[http://www.childcareaware.org/sp/].
Consumer Protection
The Federal Citizen Information Center provides a catalogue of consumer
publications available in Spanish at [http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/spanish/]. The
federal government also maintains a Web site that consolidates various aspects of
consumer information: [http://www.consumer.gov/index.htm]. The site is
organized by the following topics: food, products safety, health, home and
community, money, transportation, children, careers and education, technology, and
“Etc.”. Lists of links appear under each heading, with an indication of which

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information is available in Spanish. Current examples are on illegally imported
cigarette lighter recall, a holiday toy recall checklist (under “Products Safety”),
Halloween safety tips and identifying an asthma-friendly childcare setting (under
“Children”), and shopping for and negotiating the best mortgage (under “Money”).
The Federal Trade Commission has extensive information in Spanish on a
n u m b e r o f i s s u e s o f c o n c e r n t o c o n s u m e r s a t
[http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/spanishinfo/consumer.htm]. Hotlinks to information are
available as follows: automobiles, credit, diet, health and fitness, “at home”
(mortgages, bedding, home repair, and holiday shopping), e-commerce and the
internet, franchise and business opportunities, investments, products and services,
seniors’ issues, telephone services, scholarship and employment services, and
telemarketing. There is also information on filing a consumer complaint, identity
theft, business information, media resources, and consumer information.
Information in Spanish, for businesses and consumers, on the National “Do Not
Call” Registry, which deals with issues associated with telemarketers, is available
at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/espanol.html]. The FBI
provides a Spanish version of its publication entitled “A Parent’s Guide to Internet
Safety” at [http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguides.htm]. The Federal
Reserve Board provides information in Spanish on home mortgages, vehicle leasing,
and complaints about a bank. See [http://www.federalreserve.gov/consumers.htm].
Disaster Relief
The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides a translation of its Web
site into Spanish. See [http://www.fema.gov/spanish/index_spa.shtm]. Topics
include minimizing the effects of the next flood, information on amounts of money
made available for disaster assistance, and current information on the status of access
to disaster assistance.
Elder Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging
has information in Spanish on Alzheimer’s Disease
([http://www.aoa.gov/alz/util/util_espanol.asp]). This page also provides a link to
a Web site that provides electronic translations:
[http://babel.altavista.com/translate.dyn?url=http://www.aoa.gov/alz/index.asp].
Emergency Preparedness
The newly created U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides
information for dealing with a wide range of emergency situations, including
disasters; chemical, biological and radiation threats; and potential terrorist attacks.
Information includes definitions of various types of threats, instructions for preparing
emergency kits for the home, and on how to obtain additional information.

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Currently the information is available in English, but the Department intends to
provide information in additional languages in the immediate future. (Source:
[http://www.ready.gov/languages.html])
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) provides information on its website on
Anthrax and Smallpox vaccination programs. This information is available in
Spanish. (Source: [http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/bt/])
Environmental Protection
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site provides a variety
of information in Spanish at [http://www.epa.gov/espanol/]. The topics covered
include the environment in one’s daily life, protecting children, relevant laws and
treaties, technical material for environmental professionals, environmental
emergencies, such as oil spills and the like, and other Spanish-language resources on
the environment. The homepage of EPA at [http://www.epa.gov] includes a variety
of current issues in Spanish, that probably change as events unfold. At this writing,
the site includes a message from the EPA Administrator, Christie Whitman, and
articles on holiday tips for saving money and the environment, and efforts by EPA
and the Department of Agriculture, working together to improve America’s waters.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
We located material in Spanish and French on the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) Web site, by typing in “espanol” or “francais” into the box on the
search screen ([http://www.fbi.gov/search.htm]). Most of the translations are of
selected material concerning individuals among the FBI’s “ten most wanted.” There
is also available in Spanish a publication of the National Instant Criminal
Background Check (NICS), entitled "Requirements and Background of the Brady
Law,” and includes a short background on NICS and the list of reasons why an
application for a gun permit would be delayed or denied. See:
[http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/nics/appbrochspan.htm]).
Food Safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition provides information in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese,
Japanese, German, Korean, Italian, and Portuguese. Topics vary, and include
cosmetics, food additives, foodborne illness, imports and exports; not all topics are
available in all languages. See [http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/internat.html].
As part of [http://www.firstgov.gov], there is a central site on food safety
(Gateway to Government Food Safety Information. Other Languages Documents) at:
[http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/fsglang.html]. This site points to information on
many food safety issues, and provides it in Chinese (traditional and simplified),
French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

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This site also has hot links to several sites that are available in multiple
languages. It includes information from the Foodborne Illness Education Center,
sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
Some of the material is available through interlibrary loan from the National
Agricultural Library, and is available in 33 different languages. Topics include food
safety, food additives, FDA import procedures, pesticides, food and cosmetic
regulatory responsibilities, for example. See
[http://peaches.nal.usda.gov/foodborne/fbidb/forlang.asp].
There is also a link to the Integrated Food Safety Information Delivery System
(sponsored by the Department of Inspections and Appeals, Iowa), which has several
signs and fact sheets in 14 different languages for use by local food establishments,
on topics such as handwashing, smoking, and dishwashing. See
[http://www.profoodsafety.org/]. Finally, the site provides a link to the New South
Wales Australia Multicultural Health Communications Service, with 5 food safety
publications translated into 14 different languages. Choose “Food Safety” from the
list of topics, and a link to the foreign language version of a publication is available
from the English version of the specific publication. See
[http://mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/health-public-affairs/mhcs/publications/langindex.
html].
Health Issues
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains extensive
health information in Spanish on its Web site. For the first page of the Spanish
material with links to various topics, see [http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/default.htm].
They include allergies and asthma, mental health, and tips on quitting smoking. Each
topic then links to Spanish publications on various aspects of that topic. There is also
information on biological terrorism, covering both anthrax and smallpox:
[http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/bt/default.htm]. An index in Spanish of a broad range
of health issues, with links to further information in Spanish, is available at
[http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/indice.htm]. The phone number for help from the CDC
in Spanish is 1-888-246-2857.
The National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health provide
extensive resources in Spanish on a wide variety of topics at:
[http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/hispanicamericanhealth.html]. The
site provides an alphabetical index of health topics, with links to relevant
information, an illustrated health encyclopedia (with 4,000 articles), as well as
interactive tutorials. They also provide a link to an online glossary of technical and
popular medical terms that can be searched by eight different languages. Through
their Web site, at [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dictionaries.html], one can
access the glossaries that provide material in Danish, Dutch, English, French,
German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. (Alternately, see
[http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/welcome.html]).
Through the federal government gateway on food safety
([http://www.foodsafety.gov]), there is a link to a wide range of health topics,

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c o v e r e d i n 4 4 d i f f e r e n t l a n g u a g e s a t
[http://mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/health-public-affairs/mhcs/publications/langindex.
html]. There are some 35 health related topics on the site, from “Abuse” to
“Women’s Health.” Not all topics are covered in each language, but there are links,
by language, that will connect to the topics that are available in that language. This
site is maintained by the New South Wales Australia Multicultural Health
Communications Service.
Consumer education materials about prescription, generic, and over-the-counter
drug products is available in Spanish through the Center for Drug Evaluation and
R e s e a r c h o f t h e U . S . F o o d a n d D r u g A d m i n i s t r a t i o n
([http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/DPAdefault.htm]). Topics covered are
buying drugs overseas, a guide to managing the benefits and risks of medicines, being
an active member of your health care team, and steps to safer health care.

The Department of Labor Web site ([http://www.dol.gov]) has several
documents in Spanish that are related to health issues:
! Work Changes Require Health Choices
[http://www.dol.gov/pwba/pdf/WorkSpn.pdf]
! Life Changes Require Health Choices
[http://www.dol.gov/pwba/pdf/LifeSpn.pdf]
! Top 10 Ways to Make Your Health Benefits Work for You
[http://www.dol.gov/pwba/pdf/Top10Spn.pdf]
Higher Education
The U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs are
the largest source of student aid in America, providing nearly 70% of all student
financial aid. The Federal Student Aid Web site has versions in English
([http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp]) and in
Spanish ([http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/Spanish/index.jsp]).
A variety of publications on federal student aid is available on line in Spanish at
[http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/spanish/publications.jsp],
including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, information on funding an
education, and repaying a student loan.
Homeland Security
For information on this topic, consult the emergency preparedness section of
this guide. See ([http://www.ready.gov/languages.htm]).

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Housing
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has information in Spanish
o n m a n y h o u s i n g i s s u e s , i n c l u d i n g b u y i n g a h o m e
([http://www.hud.gov/buying/index.es.cfm?lang=es]), rental assistance
([http://www.hud.gov/renting/index.es.cfm?lang=es]), housing options for senior
citizens ([http://www.hud.gov/groups/seniors.es.cfm?lang=es]), and for people with
disabilities ([http://www.hud.gov/groups/disabilities.es.cfm?lang=es]). Each of these
links has related links in Spanish on myriad topics such as keeping one’s home
healthy for children, a home-shopping checklist, renters insurance, federal financial
assistance to renters, filing a housing discrimination complaint, and numerous others.
The site also has an English-to-Spanish dictionary of homebuying terms
([http://www.hud.gov/buying/terms_eng-sp.cfm]), and a Spanish-to-English
dictionary: [http://www.hud.gov/buying/terms_sp-eng.sp.cfm].
The site includes a listing by state of HUD-approved housing counseling
agencies throughout the country that give advice on buying a home, renting, defaults,
f o r e c l o s u r e s , c r e d i t i s s u e s a n d r e v e r s e m o r t g a g e s . S e e
[http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hccprof14.es.cfm?lang=es]. Phone service
is also available in Spanish: 1-888-466-3487.
Immigration
The National Customer Service Center (NCSC) of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), provides nationwide assistance by telephone to
customers calling from within the United States about immigration services and
benefits. Service is available in English and Spanish. Both automated information
and live assistance are available, by calling 1-800-375-5283 (press 2 for service in
Spanish); the TTY number is: 1-800-767-1833. Hours of availability for this service
in various parts of the country, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam,
can be found at [http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/services/NCSC.htm#Numbers].
The Web site suggests the best days to call the NCSC for personal assistance are
Tuesday through Friday.
In addition, information in Spanish on the status of a case pending before the
INS can be found at [https://egov.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/cris/jsps_sp/index_sp.jsp].
The INS Web site states that it “offers its many thousands of pages of public
information, forms and services almost exclusively in English.” It then provides links
to free Internet sites that provide translations, for several languages, although it does
not endorse these services nor can it guarantee their accuracy. It cautions that the
translations are prepared electronically, but that the results of using these services
m i g h t s e r v e a s a s t a r t i n g p o i n t . S e e
[http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/translate.htm].

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Immunizations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains a Web site on its
National Immunization Program. Information on this topic is available in Spanish at
[http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/inmunizacion.htm]. The site also provides a phone
number where help is available in Spanish: 1-800-232-0233.
Medicaid
According to the Web site for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS), “Medicaid is a jointly-funded, Federal-State health insurance program for
certain low-income and needy people. It covers approximately 36 million individuals
including children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled, and people who are eligible to
receive federally assisted income maintenance payments.” A list of toll free phone
numbers is provided by state. Each state entry indicates whether foreign language
service is available. To determine availability for your state, click on it in the list
provided at [http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/tollfree.asp#tx]. There is also a list
of directors and their contact information, by state, of Medicaid programs at
[http://medicaid.aphsa.org/members.htm]. For most states, there is a hotlink to that
state’s Medicaid Web site, that indicates if foreign language service is available.
Many Medicaid documents are available in Spanish.
Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administers the Medicare
program. CMS has Spanish phone service available at: 1-800-633-4227; press 2 for
Spanish. An overview of the information available in Spanish on the Medicare Web
site can be found at [http://www.medicare.gov/Spanish/Overview.asp]. They also
have 33 publications available in Spanish. Ordering information is available at
[http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Search/View/ViewPubList.asp?Language
=Spanish]. All are available in PDF format online at the same URL.
The Medicare publications catalogue has a complete listing of brochures
available on a variety of topics, including eligibility, nursing homes, Medicare plan
choices, and Medicare claims. This catalogue, in pdf format at
[http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/pubcatalog.pdf], lists titles in
English, and indicates whether a publication is available in Spanish (in some cases,
also in large print Spanish, or as an audiotape), Chinese, and braille. There is also
a publications catalogue in Spanish:
[http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/sppubcatalog.pdf].
All Medicare publications are free and most are available on the Web,
[http://www.medicare.gov], by calling 1-800-733-4227, or through a Web mailing
list. Choose “Subscribe to Our Mailing List” from the Medicare Web site to take
advantage of this last option.

CRS-10
The Presidency
The White House Web site provides information in Spanish on the President
and a variety of public policy issues, such as terrorism, the economy, education, and
Medicare. The gateway is at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/espanol/index.es.html].
See the “Travel and Tourism” section, below, for information on visiting the White
House.
Retirement
For Federal retirees, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provides
information in Spanish at [http://www.opm.gov/retire/spanish/html/faqs/index.asp].
It includes information on planning for retirement, retirement topics, such as criteria
for eligibility, benefits and procedures, and a guide to the most frequently asked
questions. There is also a list of publications that are available in Spanish:
[http://www.opm.gov/retire/spanish/library/index.asp].
The Department of Labor Web site ([http://www.dol.gov]) has two documents
in Spanish that are related to retirement:
! Women and Retirement Savings
[http://www.dol.gov/pwba/pubs/women/womensp.htm]
! Top 10 Ways to Prepare for Retirement
[http://www.dol.gov/pwba/pubs/topten/top10spn.htm]
Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration (SBA) was created to “aid, counsel, assist
and protect. . . the interests of small business concerns.” Its Web site provides
information in Spanish at [http://www.sba.gov/espanol/]. It includes extensive
information on topics such as the programs and services of the SBA, financing small
business, and assistance in case of a disaster. There is also information on contacting
the national ombudsman ([http://www.sba.gov/espanol/Ombudsman_Nacional/]).
Social Security Administration
General information on Social Security is available in the following languages:
Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean,
Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. See
[http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage/]. There are links from each language on this
page to the lists of titles of related publications that are available in that language.
The titles are in English and the relevant foreign language. Although the list varies
for each language, samples of the titles currently available, are:

CRS-11
! A Snapshot of Social Security
! Interpreter Services Policy
! Supplemental Security Income Benefits (SSA Pub. 05-10734)
! Supplemental Security Income in California (SSA Pub. 05-1176)
! SSI Rights and Responsibilities (SSA Pub. 05-10826)
! Disability Benefits (SSA Pub. 05-10736)
! Update 2002 (SSA Pub. 05-10856)
! Retirement and Survivor Benefits (SSA Pub. 05-10725)
The Social Security Administration Web site has a gateway to comprehensive
information in Spanish [http://www.ssa.gov/espanol/]. Several topics are covered,
including retirement benefits, Medicare, and disability benefits. There are also
glossaries, both English to Spanish and Spanish to English, of terms that the Social
Security Administration uses, located at [http://www.ssa.gov/espanol/glossintro.html]
This Web site recently added a gateway for Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders ([http://www.ssa.gov/aapi/]), with more detailed information available in
Korean ([http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage/Korean/korean.htm]), Tagalog
([http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage/Tagalog/tagalog.htm]), Vietnamese
([http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage/Vietname/vietname.htm]), and Chinese
([http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage/Chinese/chinese.htm]).
Sample Social Security Statements are available in Chinese, Italian, Korean,
Polish, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese at [http://www.ssa.gov/mystatement/]. A
Social Security Statement is “a concise, easy-to-read personal record of the earnings
on which one has paid Social Security taxes during your working years and a
summary of the estimated benefits you and your family may receive as a result of
those earnings.”
The Social Security Administration also provides free interpreter services, to
c o n d u c t S o c i a l S e c u r i t y b u s i n e s s . S e e
[http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage/langlist1.htm] or call 1-800-772-1213, 7 a.m.-
7 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday. The foreign languages covered by this
service are: Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese, French,
Greek, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Polish,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The Web site also
provides a poster with an offer of interpreter services in each of the languages.
([http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage/20X32POSTER10_9_01.PDF])
Taxes
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a gateway to its information in Spanish:
[http://www.irs.gov/espanol/index.html]. It includes a link to its publications in
Spanish ([http://www.irs.gov/espanol/content/0,,id=99758,00.html]), instructions on
h o w t o o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n i n S p a n i s h b y p h o n e
[http://www.irs.gov/espanol/article/0,,id=99715,00.html], and an English-to-Spanish
glossary of terms used in IRS publications [http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p850.pdf].

CRS-12
Telephone Service
In a collection of consumer alerts and fact sheets on its Web site, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
Web site provides information on international long distance calling in Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Russian,
S p a n i s h , T a g a l o g , a n d V i e t n a m e s e . S e e
[http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/information_directory.html]; scroll down to the subhead
“International,” to access the links to the foreign language material. The brochure
covers instructions on placing an international long distance call, information on the
best way to save money on international calls, calling plans, dial-arounds, pre-paid
cards, international callback services, telephone translation services when placing
international calls, and money saving tips for selecting an international long distance
service.
To file a complaint to the FCC on telephone-related issues, a form is provided
in Spanish at [http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html]. According to the Web site,
this form is to be used for “general telephone complaints including billing disputes,
cramming, taxes on phone bill, telephone company advertising practices, telephone
information services, unsolicited telephone marketing calls and faxes, and
accessibility by persons with disabilities to telecommunications equipment and
services.” The FCC asks that the form not be used for filing slamming complaints.
Travel and Tourism
The Transportation Security Administration has prepared a brochure on
prohibited and permitted items for air travel passengers, that is available in Spanish
at [http://www.tsa.dot.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/Chart_Brochure_Spanish.pdf].
The National Park Service gives access to a list of all its parks related to a
specific cultural heritage, although the information about them is in English. See
[http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parksearch/search.cfm], and scroll to the bottom of the page,
to choose from the following ethnic groups: African American, Alaska Native, Asian
American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Pacific Islander.
For visitors to Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian Institution provides guides
in
! German: [http://www.si.edu/guides/german.htm],
! Spanish: [http://www.si.edu/guides/spanish.htm],
! French: [http://www.si.edu/guides/french.htm],
! Russian: [http://www.si.edu/guides/russian.htm],
! Chinese: [http://www.si.edu/guides/chinese.htm], and
! Japanese: [http://www.si.edu/guides/japanese.htm].
Guides to the National Gallery of Art are available in French, German, Italian and
Spanish. See [http://www.nga.gov/collection/ggpdfen.htm]. Information on visiting
t h e W h i t e H o u s e c a n b e f o u n d i n S p a n i s h a t
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/tours/index.es.html].

CRS-13
Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides information in Spanish on
a variety of topics, including compensation and pension benefits, education benefits,
and other benefits, such as assistance to homeless veterans or former prisoners of
war. See [http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/milsvc/benfacts.htm].
Voting
Various publications on voting in the United States are available in Spanish
from the Federal Election Commission Web site, such as information on federal
campaign financing, a citizen’s guide to support for federal candidates, registration,
accounting and reports of expenses for candidates, the role of foreign persons in U.S.
elections, public financing of presidential elections, and volunteer activities related
to elections. See [http://www.fec.gov/pages/espanol.htm].