Background

At FCNL’s 2020 Annual Meeting, Cherice Bock offered a powerful message for Sunday worship. As participants prepared to lobby on the Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 7129/S.

After the killings of numerous black people at the hands of police in 2020, Americans nationwide have demanded meaningful change to our current policing laws. In response to the public calls for justice and transformation, Congress introduced two pieces of policing reform legislation: The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the JUSTICE Act.

Five Quaker organizations recently issued a joint statement on migration. “A Quaker Statement on Migration” draws on foundations the Religious Society of Friends and their work with migrants and on migration.

Last year, the FCNL Education Fund assumed governance and management of a historic property on Capitol Hill, the William Penn House. It had operated for several decades as a site for Quaker hospitality.

Fierce Love, the 2020 Annual Meeting and Quaker Public Policy Institute, was a record-setting event. A total of 883 people from 47 states registered to attend, nearly half of whom were first-time attendees.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) brings Friends’ spiritual values and testimonies to bear on U.S. public policy decisions, guided by the legislative priorities below.

Since the early days of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), God’s spirit has led Friends to be a prophetic witness and to take action in the world.

Unless the U.S. and Russian governments agree to extend the New START treaty by Feb. 5, 2021, the last remaining limits on their nuclear weapons will expire. Dave Lawler of Axios reports “both sides have warned that without a deal, they’re prepared for an arms race.”

The list of people killed by police is tragically long. Fortunately, Congress has introduced meaningful legislation to address this serious loss of life. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 7120), introduced by Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37), passed the House on June 25, 2020 by a bipartisan vote of 236-181. The Senate companion bill, S. 3912, was introduced by Sens. Cory Booker (NJ) and Kamala Harris (CA) and currently has 36 co-sponsors.

On July 6, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that states have the power to require presidential electors to vote for their party’s candidate for president. One of the plaintiffs as a “faithless elector,” was Esther Little Dove John, a member of the FCNL General Committee and from Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting.