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Congressional leaders released a $1.3 trillion government spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year and asked lawmakers to begin voting on it with only hours to read and analyze the 2,232-page text. With less than two days before government funding is set to expire, the measure includes funds for Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border -- but not the wall, combating opioid addiction, and building new roads, along with incentives to bolster reporting to a database for gun-buyer background checks. Congress may still have to pass a stopgap funding bill to keep the government operating until the overall spending measure gets final approval. Without passage, the government would shut down -- for the third time this year -- because lawmakers couldn’t meet a deadline. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, a leading AIDS researcher, proponent of medication-assisted therapy for addiction, Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Co-Founder of the Institute for Human Virology, was appointed Wednesday to oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Facebook news, the social network’s 33-year-old CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, publicly addressed the crisis facing his company, five days after reports about the misuse of data from 50 million of its users -- many of whom have been deleting their accounts. In other news, JAY-Z’s six-part docu-series Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story detailing the injustice surrounding Martin’s death, will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival next month. And national outrage is brewing over the shooting of another unarmed Black man. Police fired 20 bullets at 23-year-old Stephan Clark, killing him in his own backyard Sunday night in Sacramento, CA. Lastly, be sure to pick up the April edition of Vanity Fair. Lena Waithe -- the first Black woman to win an Emmy for comedy writing -- graces the cover, and in an interview offered this on diversity in Hollywood: “I am tired of white folks telling my stories. We gotta tell our shit. Can’t no one tell a Black story, particularly a queer story, the way I can, because I see the God in us.” We’re kicking off Thursday with this...
- CHC Chair Congresswoman Michelle Luján Grisham (D-NM) files a restraining order against former intern.
- Obama Foundation announces youth job corps.
- Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) wants hackers to target the State Department.
- Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) intros legislation to promote best electoral processes and also wants answers from USCIS.
- Barack and Michelle Obama pen heartwarming words to Parkland students.
- The centrist group New Democratic Coalition adds CBC and CHC members.
- Congressman Darren Soto (D-FL) wants a task force to review Census questions.
- Uber names new Deputy General Counsel.
- Ten emerging writers win a prestigious award. Meet them below.
- Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) pushes FCC Chair Ajit Pai on preserving Lifeline program for low-income Americans.
- Tribes say delays in a highly anticipated study on the Dakota Access Pipeline is not their fault but the Trump administration says otherwise.
- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) decries a bill that guts DC’s LGBT anti-discrimination laws.
- Whistleblowers warn of possible Broadcasting Board of Governors shake-up.
- UFW President Arturo Rodríguez and former Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx among new members of the Biden Institute Policy Advisory Board.
- Ford Motor Company loses two top recent hires.
- The Center for Public Integrity staffs up.
- Former First Lady Michelle Obama speaks about her time in the WH at BET’s Leading Women Defined.
- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) tops “worst bosses list” with Congressman Raúl Ruíz (D-CA) coming in second.
- Congress rejects Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' proposed cuts to key agency programs, including after-school initiatives for needy students.
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BET CEO Debra Lee, former FLOTUS Michelle Obama, and Valerie Jarrett Wednesday at the BET Leading Women Defined conference. | |  |
Angela Rye with actor and activist Winston Duke representing #WakandaForever at Saturday's Wearable Art Gala in Los Angeles. | |
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Lieu Wants Hackers to Target State Department
Congressmen Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Ted Yoho (R-FL) yesterday introduced the bipartisan Hack Your State Department Act. The bill will strengthen cyber defenses for the State Department by tapping ethical hackers to identify vulnerabilities in State Department’s networks and data systems. This program will rely on a “bug bounty” system where authorized hackers can enter a State Department system, identify and disclose weaknesses, and receive compensation. “As one of only four Computer Science majors in Congress, I recognize we have a lot of work to do to ensure the U.S. Government is on the cutting edge of combating cyber threats. ... vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty programs are innovative ways to solve what is one of our government’s most pressing concerns: data security. By capitalizing on the skills of some of the best minds in cybersecurity, as well as the general public, we’ll be able to make sure the State Department is able to safely and securely continue its mission as America’s voice abroad,” Lieu said. More here.
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CHC Chair Files Restraining Order Against Former Intern
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Congresswoman Michelle Luján Grisham (D-NM) has filed a restraining order against a former intern, citing safety concerns. In 2015, Riley Del Rey interned in Luján Grisham's DC office and claims that Luján Grisham fired her after she discovered she's transgender. The Congresswoman, who is the leading Democratic candidate for Governor of New Mexico, vehemently refutes these claims. Del Rey has been attending Luján Grisham's campaign events to protest, using air horns to speak and disrupting the Congresswoman, asking if she will address the discrimination accusations. "Having an air horn at an event is not illegal," Del Rey said. "Disrupting a candidate or voicing political dissidence is not illegal and it's not a danger to anything other than her reputation," Del Ray said. The former Hill intern was arrested earlier this month at the state’s Democratic Party pre-primary convention after police claimed she kicked one man and tried to kick another as police escorted her out. She was charged with disorderly conduct and assault. Former Congressman Mike Honda, whose granddaughter is transgender, has also disputed claims that he outed the intern to Luján Grisham, which Del Rey says led to her dismissal two years ago. The Congresswoman’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Nathan Schelble, said, “I can confirm that a District Court Judge has independently decided to issue a temporary restraining order after reviewing evidence of Ms. Del Rey’s recent escalating threatening behavior toward Rep. Lujan Grisham and those around her ... The Office takes the security of the Congresswoman and her staff very seriously in order to ensure they can continue to serve the people of New Mexico.” More here.
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Joaquín Castro Intros the Global Electoral Exchange Act
Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, along with fellow committee member Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), introduced the Global Electoral Exchange Act. The legislation would promote international exchanges on best election practices and cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world. "Free and fair elections are one of the best litmus tests for healthy democracy. While the United States sustains focus on our own election security, it is also important for us to work with international partners sharing best practices to ensure elections are credible, accurate and transparent,” said Castro. “Such objectives fit squarely within U.S. national interests to advance democracy worldwide, by providing new market opportunities, improving global outcomes, and promoting economic freedom and regional security.” More here.
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IL congressional candidate Lauren Underwood on Tuesday night with supporters. | |  | CA AG Xavier Becerra at SCOTUS on Tuesday. | |
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Coalition of ‘New Democrats’ Welcomes Six New Members of Color
The congressional New Democrat Coalition -- a group of centrist Dems who bill themselves as a “solutions oriented coalition seeking to bridge the gap between left and right by challenging outmoded partisan approaches to governing” -- has added eight new members, including six members of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses. The new members are Vicente González (D-TX), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Al Lawson (D-FL), Donald McEachin (D-VA), Raúl Ruíz (D-CA), and Marc Veasey (D-TX). “The New Democrat Coalition is proud to induct these eight new solutions-oriented Members at a pivotal time in our nation’s history. They will help the Coalition continue to move beyond the partisan divide in Washington to advance innovative, pro-growth policies that will help all Americans and keep our nation secure,” said New Democrat Coalition Chair Congressman Jim Himes (D-CT). The Coalition also added Congressmen Brendan Boyle (D-PA) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), upping their membership to 68. More about the group here.
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Sheila Jackson Lee and Raúl Ruíz Top “Worst Bosses Ever” List
LegiStorm -- the online portal that tracks Capitol Hill’s workforce in detail -- put hard data into the debate over the worst bosses in Congress. New research shows the members of the House and Senate with the highest turnover. The organization used salary data from 2001 to 2016 to determine the 10 offices in each chamber that have the highest annual turnover rate, with a formula that weighs the departure of senior officials higher than lower-level staff. The office of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) topped the list in the House, with an annual turnover rate of 62%. Congressman Raúl Ruíz (D-CA) came in behind her with 60% annual turnover. See who else made the list.
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Darren Soto Wants Task Force to Review Census Questions
Congressman Darren Soto (D-FL) has introduced the 2020 Census Accountability Act. The legislation would ensure a review process of the decennial Census questions and their impact on response rates for minorities, accuracy, redistricting, costs, and funding distribution. Following a request from the Justice Department to include an untested citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the bill would establish a task force to review all new Census questions and report to Congress any potential decrease in participation and negative impact on Census outcome. Soto’s office noted the task force would include representatives from state, local, and tribal governments; academic and non-governmental organizations; and relevant organizations, including nonprofits who specialize in Census work. “It is imperative to get an accurate count of all persons in the United States, regardless of race, citizenship, or legal status. A decrease in participation from immigrant communities due to fear would discredit the accuracy of the census,” Soto said. “The current administration’s discriminatory immigration policies continue to instill fear among immigrant communities – they are less likely to report crimes or enroll their eligible U.S. citizen children in government health and nutrition programs. We must ensure this trend does not repeat during the critical census count.” More here.
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Joaquín Castro Probes Immigration Agency on Internal Oversight Division
Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) led Congressional Hispanic Caucus members in writing to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Francis Cissna on Wednesday, requesting more information on an alleged plan to create a new division that would police caseworkers in the federal agency who oversee visas and residency permits. “The Trump administration’s disregard for immigrant communities has bled into the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services operations. Due to its often unfair vetting processes, altered mission statement, and policing of its own caseworkers, it’s critical that Congress maintains strong oversight and highlights troubling missteps,” said Castro. A WaPo article published Friday reported that USCIS is moving resources to an as-yet-unannounced Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). A spokesman for USCIS denied that personnel had been reassigned to an OPR, and said "no final decisions" had been made regarding the creation of such a division within USCIS. CHC members ask in the letter why an OPR is even necessary, how it would evaluate and reprimand caseworkers, and how the agency will evaluate the level of leniency given in assessing immigration applications. More here.
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|  | Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) on Tuesday wearing his "F" rating pin from the NRA.
| |  | NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt earlier in the month taking a break from an editorial meeting to celebrate his birthday. | |
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Obama Foundation Announces Youth Jobs Corps
The Obama Foundation and Urban Alliance, a national youth development nonprofit organization, today launched the Obama Youth Jobs Corps (OYJC) to bring workforce readiness training to high school sophomores and juniors on Chicago’s South Side over the next five years. The Foundation says the program will help prepare youth from underserved communities for economic self-sufficiency and expanded opportunity. OYJC will also partner with businesses in Chicago to provide paid, professional internships to high school seniors, giving students the skills, experience, and exposure needed to succeed in a 21st century economy. Beginning with a pilot group of students at Hyde Park Academy High School, Kenwood Academy High School, and Little Black Pearl Art & Design Academy, OYJC will provide five workforce readiness training sessions in the 10th grade to lay the groundwork for professional development; weekly job skills training sessions in the 11th grade, delving deeply into professional development, financial literacy, post-high-school planning, and increased exposure to the professional world; and 10-month, paid professional internships in the 12th grade through Urban Alliance’s flagship High School Internship Program, which combines work experience with job skills training, one-on-one mentoring, and comprehensive support services during and after the internship. The program is expected to expand to additional schools for the 2018-2019 school year. More here.
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Barack and Michelle Obama’s Letter to Florida High School Students
Barack and Michelle Obama had some thoughtful words to share with the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the wake of the deadly mass shooting in Florida on February 14th. The letter, obtained by Mic and dated March 10th, details how the Obamas are inspired by the Parkland students for speaking out. “We wanted to let you know how inspired we have been by the resilience, resolve and solidarity that you have all shown in the wake of unspeakable tragedy,” they wrote. “Not only have you supported and comforted each other, but you’ve helped awaken the conscience of a nation.” On Saturday, the students are set to march in DC at the March for Our Lives to continue to draw national attention to the issue of gun violence and put pressure on politicians to enact stricter gun laws. See the full letter here.
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Executive Director (San Francisco)
A state as diverse as California should have a justice system led by advocates of all races and ethnicities. That’s why the California Bar Foundation invests in the next generation of bright, diverse scholars to ensure that they have the opportunity to become tomorrow's legal changemakers. We’re looking for a bold and strategic Executive Director who isn’t afraid to think and act big to solve California’s equity problems. Click here to apply.
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Biden Names Policy Advisory Board
Former VP Joe Biden today named the members of the Biden Institute Policy Advisory Board. The list includes: Managing Partner & Founder, Related Infrastructure and former Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx; Chief Legal Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and former Assistant to the President, Cabinet Secretary, and a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, Danielle Gray; President of the United Farm Workers of America Arturo S. Rodríguez; Founding Principal, Gupta Wessler PLCC and former Senior Counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deepak Gupta; Former Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Vivek Murthy; and other big names. The Biden Institute, established at the University of Delaware's School of Public Policy and Administration, is an intellectual center and destination for scholars, activists, policymakers, and national leaders aiming to influence, shape, and work to solve the most pressing domestic policy problems facing America. Biden announces the new advisory board on the heel of laying out a three-part vision, "A Plan to Put Work — and Workers — First," which he says is aimed at restoring the basic bargain we used to have in this country. All these things sound like a 2020 plan. He’s already in a Twitter beef with Donald Trump. Biden said yesterday he would take Trump "behind the gym" and "beat the hell out of him" if they were in high school over the President's crude comments about women. Trump responded via Twitter, “He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way.” Back to the issue at hand. Here’s a look at the full list of Biden’s newly named Policy Advisory Board.
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Michelle Obama Speaks at BET’s Leading Women Defined
Michelle Obama spoke at Leading Women Defined, a private gathering of supremely accomplished Black women organized by BET and its CEO Debra Lee. The intimate crowd of approximately 100 women enjoyed a conversation between longtime family friend Valerie Jarrett and Mrs. Obama. FLOTUS44 described the morning they left the White House. Friends of Sasha and Malia had slept over one final time and had to be shooed out of the building amid tears and hugs as the new first couple made their way toward the North Portico. There also had been tears as the Obamas said goodbye to the staff, and Mrs. Obama didn’t want to look as if she was crying when she greeted the Trumps because that would give the media the wrong idea. She also discussed her 2008 campaign learning curve and how she came to the familiar realization that her enthusiasm and passion could easily be turned into angry, scolding sound bites. “I couldn’t count on my husband’s campaign to protect me; I had to protect myself. They were using me like I was a candidate and supporting me like I was a spouse,” she said. “I had to learn how to deliver a message,” she added, noting that often meant not being so passionate and speaking with an ever-present smile. WaPo’s Robin Givhan has more.
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|  | Lin-Manuel Miranda in the '80s. All he needed was one mic and he was already a star. | |  | Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL) with her husband Jerry on their wedding day 30 years ago this week in 1988. | |
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Uber Names New Deputy General Counsel
Uber has named Tammy Albarrán as their new Deputy General Counsel, replacing Angela Padilla. Albarrán was most recently a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling, where she had worked since 2007. She also co-authored the report on Uber’s culture along with former AG Eric Holder, who is also a partner at the firm. Before her time at Covington, she was an Associate at Morrison and Foerster. Fluent in Spanish, she has conducted investigations relating to bribery issues -- including for clients with operations in Latin America, has assisted with anti-corruption due diligence in connection with proposed transactions and has advised clients on their anti-corruption compliance programs. The UC-Berkeley graduate, who spent time studying political science and Spanish at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, went on to complete law school at Harvard in 1999. She will report to Uber’s Chief Legal Officer, Tony West -- the brother-in-law of Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA). Congrats, Tammy! More here.
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Ford Motor Co. Loses Two
Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday that two of its top recent hires had elected to leave the company. Musa Tariq, VP and Chief Brand Officer for Ford, has stepped down. The 35-year-old London School of Economics grad, who joined Ford just over a year ago as its first brand chief, is the fourth executive to leave this year. He had previously worked for Apple, Nike, Burberry, and Deloitte Consulting. Raj Rao, another Silicon Valley hire who was tapped as the CEO of Ford Smart Mobility, is also leaving the company -- for personal reasons -- effective May 1st. Before joining Ford, the Shri Ram College of Commerce at Delhi University grad, who has a Master’s from Boston University, was the Vice President of Digital Business Model Innovation at 3M. More here.
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Center for Public Integrity Staffs Up
The Center for Public Integrity (CPI), an investigative news organization which focuses on abuses of power, has added Rui Kaneya, Pratheek Rebala, and Sameea Kamal. Rui Kaneya joins the state politics team. Previously, the Japan-born Kaneya was an investigative reporter for Honolulu Civil Beat, covering criminal justice, immigration, and other social justice issues. Prior to that, he was a Correspondent for the Columbia Journalism Review and the Investigations Editor at The Chicago Reporter. Pratheek Rebala joins CPI as the News Developer on the data team. The George Washington University grad spent three and a half years as an interactive graphics intern in the DC bureau of Time magazine. He was previously lead developer at The GW Hatchet. Sameea Kamal joins as Digital Editor. The University of California-Berkeley grad, who has her Master’s from Columbia University, previously worked on the digital team at the Los Angeles Times. She has previously reported for trade publications and on local government news in Southern California. CPI also announced that Matt Stroud was joining to cover new military technology and the future of warfare. More about them here.
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Whiting Award Recipients Named
The Whiting Awards are given every year (since 1985) to ten emerging writers, who each receive $50,000. This year's winners were revealed at a ceremony on Wednesday following a keynote speech by Toni Morrison. The winners include: Patty Yumi Cottrell, who was born in Korea and raised in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Milwaukee. She now lives in Brooklyn. Sorry to Disrupt the Peace, her first novel, won the Best First Book – Fiction 2017 National Medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards; Alabama native Brontez Purnell who is a zinester, writer, dancer, and musician who lives in Oakland, CA. He has written for various publications, including the online edition of Jigsaw, San Francisco Weekly, and Maximum Rock & Roll; Harvard graduate Weike Wang, who’s the author of the novel Chemistry and her short fiction has been published in Glimmer Train, the Alaska Quarterly Review, and Ploughshares, among others; Stanford graduate Esmé Weijun Wang, who is the author of The Border of Paradise: A Novel, which was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2016; New Orleans native Rickey Laurentiis, whose debut book, Boy With a Thorn, won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize. He is currently the inaugural Fellow in Creative Writing at the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics at the University of Pittsburgh; Tommy Pico has authored four books and was a Queer/Art/Mentors inaugural Fellow. He also co-hosts the podcast Food 4 Thot, and is a contributing editor at Literary Hub; Nathan Alan Davis is a playwright from Rockford, IL who is now living in NYC. His play, Nat Turner in Jerusalem, was New York magazine’s critic’s pick. Nathan is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, a Lecturer in Theater at Princeton University, and a 2016 graduate of Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program; Hansol Jung is a playwright and director from South Korea. She holds a Playwriting MFA from the Yale School of Drama and is a member of the Ma-Yi Theatre Writers Lab; Antoinette Nwandu is an NY-based playwright. Her play Pass Over will run at Lincoln Center, and the film version -- directed by Spike Lee -- premiered at Sundance and will stream on Amazon Prime. Congrats, all! More on all the winners here.
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CHLI's Juan Negrón and Mary Ann Gómez Orta earlier in the month with Carlos Pérez of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. | |  | Native American activist Samantha Eldridge last week with civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. | |
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Congress Increases Funding for Office for Civil Rights at Dept. of Ed After DeVos Tried to Slash Budget
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wanted to eliminate funding for after-school programs for needy youth and ax a grant program that helps low-income students go to college in favor of spending more than $1 billion to promote charter schools, magnet schools, and private school vouchers. Her budget proposal also outlined cuts to the Office for Civil Rights because the office had grown more efficient, she said. But Congress said nope. Instead, they increased funding for the Office for Civil Rights and after-school programs. This is the second year in a row that Congress rejected her proposals. DeVos had attempted to spend more than $1 billion promoting choice-friendly policies and private school vouchers. That effort also failed. More here.
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Yvette Clarke Calls on Ajit Pai to Protect Lifeline Program for Low-Income Americans
Congresswomen Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) are calling on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to protect the Lifeline program. In a letter sent to Pai, more than 60 House members led by Clarke and Eshoo urge him to protect the program, which provides access to phone and broadband services to over 13 million low-income Americans -- the majority of whom earn less than $10,000 a year. The FCC recently voted 3-2 along party lines to proceed with a new proposal that will make it more difficult for eligible households to attain Lifeline’s services and would remove nearly eight million current participants from the program. The FCC’s plan includes establishing caps on the Lifeline program, mandating co-pays from participants, and invalidating four out of five of the current providers of Lifeline services. “The Lifeline Program is essential for millions of Americans who use their devices to find jobs, schedule doctor’s appointments, complete their school assignments, call 9-1-1 during an emergency or to communicate with their loved ones,” they wrote. “Policymakers at all levels of government are united in their desire to close the digital divide, but the FCC should be strengthening Lifeline which has brought connectivity to millions of Americans.” See the letter here.
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Tribes v. Trump
The Trump administration is blaming tribes as it delays a highly anticipated study of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Indianz.com reports that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers originally planned to issue the new analysis on or before April 2nd. The study was ordered after a federal judge said the first decision -- made less than three weeks after Donald Trump took office -- was flawed and failed to take tribal concerns into account. Government attorneys now acknowledge the study won't be completed by the deadline. They note that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe only recently submitted more than 300 pages of documents, while the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Ogallala Sioux Tribe, and the Yankton Sioux Tribe have yet to register their concerns. As a result of the difficulties in obtaining requested information from the plaintiff tribes in a timely manner, the Corps no longer believes it will be able to complete the analysis by the April 2nd deadline. The tribes opposed to the $3.8 billion pipeline, which went into service last June, have indeed been slow to explain their concerns about oil spills and treaty rights. But their attorneys say that's because the Army Corps has failed to provide them with critical information and engage in “meaningful" government-to-government consultation. More here.
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|  | Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt meeting last week with Congressman Henry Cuéllar (D-TX) to talk about opioid funding and other healthcare issues.
| |  | IL congressional candidate Jesús “Chuy” García earlier in the week signing a pledge to take no money from the oil, gas, and coal industries.
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Eleanor Holmes Norton Pushes Back on Bill That Guts DC’s LGBTQ Anti-Discrimination Laws
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)criticized Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) for targeting DC with an anti-LGBTQ bill. Lee’s First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) would prohibit the federal government, but not state governments, from denying benefits, contracts, and the like to individuals, nonprofits, and for-profits that discriminate against LGBTQ people based on a "sincerely held religious belief" or moral conviction. However, buried in the bill is a provision saying that the FADA applies not only to the federal government but to one local jurisdiction as well, the District of Columbia. “Senator Lee has misled the public about the impact of his discriminatory attack on a local jurisdiction and its residents,” Norton said. “[T]his bill abuses the federal government’s power over the local D.C. government, which has granted the District home-rule rights over local legislation. ... District residents, like Americans in many other jurisdictions, value LGBT residents by protecting them from discrimination and intend to continue to do so. I ask Senator Lee to remove the District from his bill. If he won’t do so, the least he should do is be honest about what his bill does.” Norton said FADA could effectively gut DC’s LGBT anti-discrimination laws by not only prohibiting the DC government from enforcing the law, but could also be read to prohibit private citizens from enforcing it, too, either by stripping courts of their authority to impose penalties or by allowing defendants in private civil suits to raise FADA as a defense. More here.
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| FOMO Today, 3P: The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute holds a congressional briefing, “CHLI Tech Talk - How Innovation + Technology Impacts our Daily Lives.” Participants include Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX). Myrna Soto, Corporate Senior Vice President & Global Chief Information Security Officer at Comcast, is the keynote speaker. 902 Hart Senate Office Building. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
Today, 5:30P: District Democrats House and Senate Chiefs of Staff Meet and Greet. A career development-focused event where junior staffers can talk with some of the Chiefs of Staffs and hear about how they climbed the Hill ladder. National Democratic Club, 30 Ivy Street, S.E. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
Today - Sunday, March 25th: The National Hispanic Medical Association 22nd Annual Conference, "Conquistando el Futuro: Clinicians Leading Latino Health Care.” Gaylord National, 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD. Click here for more information and to register. Congressional staffers or federal government workers: email pmontenegro@nhmamd.org for a discount code.
Thursday, March 29th, 8P: Jazz, hip hop, and soul combine in August Greene, the newly formed supergroup featuring emcee Common, pianist and composer Robert Glasper, and percussionist and producer Karriem Riggins. Kennedy Center. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Tuesday, April 3rd, 9A: The National Civil Rights Museum's MLK 50 Symposium. Scholars, historians, and thought leaders from across the country will present on the state of civil and human rights issues including Moving Memphis Forward, Economic Equity & Justice for All, and The Promise of Education. Moderated by former NPR Host Michele Norris. Rose Theatre, University of Memphis, 470 University, Memphis, TN. Free. Click here to register.
Wednesday, April 18th, 6P: The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) 2018 Gala and Awards. Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. To purchase tickets, contact Heaven Ocampo, hocampo@maldef.org or 213.629.2512 ext. 143.
Wednesday, April 18th - Saturday, April 21st: The National Action Network hosts its annual conference, this year commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Sheraton Times Square, NYC. Click here for more information.
Thursday, April 19th: The University of North Dakota sponsors a conference on the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Standing Rock protests. Click here for more information.
Wednesday, April 25th - Friday, April 27th: The African American Mayor Association 2018 Annual Conference. DoubleTree Hotel, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA. Click here to purchase tickets.
Thursday, June 21st - Sunday, June 24th: The Black Millennial Political Convention, which aims to increase engagement of Black millennials in the political sphere and shed a light on policy issues impacting black communities. This year’s theme is The Advocacy of Policy, Pipeline and Power for the People. Hyatt Regency, Crystal City, VA. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
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