The recent midterm elections gave us new reasons to hope that Congress will pursue policies to curb the harmful effects of climate change. The election of new members with professional scientific backgrounds, and members who campaigned on a climate platform, brings important momentum to addressing the issue.
With Democrats winning control of the House of Representatives, and the passage of several major criminal justice reform ballot initiatives, the future looks bright for comprehensive criminal justice reform.
When asked what would be most effective in creating long-term peace, most Americans favor diplomacy and policy solutions over military intervention. The new Congress should heed constituent voices and invest in peacebuilding.
In these hyperpartisan times, it can sometimes feel like we spend much of our energy on damage control. Last week demonstrated that our advocacy and lobbying is making real, impactful change.
The President expressed his support for the bipartisan criminal justice reform package the revised FIRST STEP Act. This revised legislation, which includes both prison and sentencing reform was introduced as S.3649. This is a welcome evolution from where we started this Congress.
The bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission co-chaired by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) held a second hearing in a series on preventing mass atrocities.
Momentum to end the Saudi-led war in Yemen is growing. This progress was likely an important factor in the decision by House Republican leadership to block a vote on legislation to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen (H.Con.Res. 138) this week. Given the energy building against the war, if this legislation had come to a vote, it might well have passed.
The elections are over. The new 116th Congress will start on Jan. 3, 2019 with no single party controlling all the levers of power.
Just decades ago, a black person could be asked to count jelly beans in a jar as a test before they were permitted to cast their ballot. Less than 100 years ago the KKK hung recently freed men for daring to exercise their right to vote. We have struggled with our legacy of white supremacy as we have worked to include women as well as racial and ethnic minorities in our common political life. Some of the fiercest campaigns for inclusion have involved extending the right to vote.
People are fleeing violence, corruption, instability, and hunger in the Northern Triangle of Central America and traveling together for safety to Mexico and the United States. What can Congress do?
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