The first major interaction I had with FCNL was at Spring Lobby Weekend, our annual four-day conference that brings young adults to Washington DC to lobby their members of Congress. My experience at SLW profoundly shaped my view of FCNL and led me to where I am today- working as the Program Assistant for Human Rights and Civil Liberties.
While every Olympics is fraught with the political intrigue of hundreds of nations coming together under one roof, this Olympics felt different. The stakes seemed a little higher. And the prospect for diplomatic progress between North and South Korea felt closer than it has for a long time. Now, as the Olympics draw to a close, the U.S., North Korea, and South Korea each have to do their part to keep the diplomatic torch burning.
Friends Committee on National Legislation and Peace Direct co-hosted an event, A Business Plan for Peace: Investing in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in the Quaker Welcome Center, bringing together both peacebuilders and policymakers in a conversation highlighting the importance of locally led peacebuilding initiatives and advocating for more peaceful U.S. foreign policies.
On Feb. 16th a bipartisan group of senators introduced the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act to address hydrofluorocarbons, an incredibly potent greenhouse gas.
In our FCNL lobbying in Washington and around the country, we have demonstrated that both Democrats and Republicans can be moved to question why the Pentagon cannot account for its spending and acknowledge that our country cannot be defended by bullets alone.
The gun violence epidemic is both a public health crisis and a troubling reflection on our country’s spiritual state. As we seek policy solutions to reduce deaths from guns, we must also look critically at the culture that enables so many people to kill each other with guns.
Committee passage of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act advances real criminal justice reform that reduces excessive mandatory minimum sentences and improves prison programming.
Listen to the recording of moderator Riley Robinson, Legislative Director for Domestic Policy Amelia Kegan and Native American Advocate Lacina Onco as they discuss the current state of legislation affecting Native peoples.
After struggling for months to agree upon a budget outline, in the early morning hours of February 9, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. While there were some major disappointments in that budget deal, namely the huge increases to defense spending and the failure to address Dreamers, there were also some notable wins, particularly for a few key domestic policy priorities.
Ahead of floor action and votes this week on immigration legislation FCNL shared the below recommendations with Congress.
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