|
|
Donald Trump heads to Capitol Hill today ahead of the House’s big 1:30P vote on tax reform. On the Senate side, Ron Johnson (R-WI) became the first Republican to declare that he would not vote for the bill. Other Senators also expressed misgivings about the plan’s cost and effect on the middle class. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin didn’t help matters much when he and wife Louise Linton did it for the ‘Gram on Wednesday. In, arguably, one of the most tone deaf moments (and there are plenty to choose from), the pair were photographed ogling the first sheets of $1 bills with his signature during a trip to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. My money says this is definitely going to be their Christmas card. Meanwhile, the Roy Moore scandal got worse when two more accusers came forward with tales of the Alabama Senate candidate pursuing them as teenagers, even calling one girl at her high school. That big gulp you hear is coming from Senate Republicans repulsed at the options they face in the race. Or maybe the gulp is coming from their thirsty leader. During his remarks from the White House yesterday, Donald Trump fumbled through a speech touting yet-to-be-seen successes from his Asia tour when he apparently got thirsty and slowly grabbed his America first Fiji water bottle with both hands and took a few sips, all while staring directly into the camera. That loud laughter you hear is coming from Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). But now to the real scandal dominating the country this morning -- the Sexiest Man Alive. There is much ado about Blake Shelton being picked over British actor Idris Elba for People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. But don’t worry! The Beat DC is on the case! Strictly for research purposes, we will pour over photos, videos, and Instagram posts of Mr. Elba to get to the bottom of this issue. Also, a shout out to Drake for being part of the solution amidst all the headlines highlighting unwanted attention from men. We’ve got a lot to get to today. But read it Despacito! That’s right. The Latin Grammys are tonight, and in true Throwback Thursday fashion, Ricky Martin is up for Record of the Year! It's a vida loca. We’re kicking off today with this...
- Barack Obama hit the fundraising circuit Tuesday night, and Michelle Obama heads to Connecticut today.
- Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) intros bill to close military loophole that allows gun purchases by domestic abusers.
- Senate Dems push DHS to accept DACA renewals delayed by the post office -- and they get results!
- Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) will be UT-San Antonio’s commencement speaker.
- Meet the new leader at LA Weekly.
- Univisión Communications has a new SVP of Music.
- Fortune magazine names POC as their Businessperson of the Year.
- Three congressional hopefuls jump into the race for the seat of retiring Congressman Gene Green (D-TX).
- CHC’s BOLD PAC announces more 2018 endorsements.
- Ford Foundation’s Darren Walker leads new $25 million fund to preserve African American culture.
- HBCUs put billions into the nation’s economy.
- Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) wants federal investment firms to adopt “Rooney Rule.”
- Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) wants to simplify college financial aid.
- USVI Governor calls on Congress to fund hurricane recovery efforts.
- Lawmakers slam Puerto Rico officials over fishy contract.
- Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) want PR’s debt retired so it can better handle post-hurricane rebuilding.
- FCC votes today on a key program to help low-income internet users, and lawmakers aren’t happy about the proposed changes.
- Lawmakers intro bill to suspend immigration raids during natural disasters.
- FBI data shows rise in hate crimes.
- Owner of Cards Against Humanity buys land on the border to challenge eminent domain land seizure for Trump's wall. Read about it in Blogs!
| |
|  | CBS correspondent DeMarco Morgan with longtime Tulsa journo Clayton Vaughn. | |  | Former Deputy Labor Secretary Chris Lu talking news of the day on Sirius XM's POTUS radio show. | |
| | |
Obama Hits Fundraising Circuit
Former President Barack Obama was on the fundraising trail this week attending a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Senate Victory Fund event, hosted by Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and held at the NYC Upper East Side $35m, four-story mansion owned by Dennis Mehiel -- a former candidate for NY Lieutenant Governor and major Democratic donor. The intimate crowd included Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Waiters were seen taking trays of food out to the four SUV Secret Service detail that arrived with POTUS44. More here.
| |
Michelle Obama Heads to Connecticut Today
Former First Lady Michelle Obama is heading to Connecticut today, where she will participate in a moderated conversation at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. The hall where Obama will speak seats about 2,800; the Forum’s block of roughly 1,400 tickets sold out in 14 minutes, with orchestra tickets costing $350 each. To accommodate a larger crowd, the theater has set up an overflow room in the 950-seat Belding Theater, where a simulcast of the speech will be shown. But don’t expect to see too many clips. FLOTUS44 has barred media from attending the event. So the best you’ll get may be some blurry cell phone footage. We’ll keep you posted on any good tidbits from the event. More here.
| |
DHS to Accept DACA Applications Delayed by USPS
Yesterday, a group of Democratic Senators including Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), Cory Booker (NJ), Kamala Harris (CA), Robert Menéndez (NJ), and 20 other colleagues sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, concerned that DHS rejected renewal requests for DACA recipients that were received after the application deadline due to U.S. Postal Service processing delays. The Senators called on the department to take immediate action to reverse this decision. And they got results! Late last night, DHS Acting Director Elaine Duke reversed course and issued guidance to the office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which told them to let applicants resubmit paperwork if they could prove that they had mailed their renewal on time and that mail delays were the reason their application had not been received on time. See the Senators’ full letter here.
| |
Hirono Intros Bill to Close Loophole That Allowed Texas Shooter to Buy a Gun Despite Military Charge of Domestic Violence
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) on Wednesday introduced the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act, legislation to close a loophole in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) that enables convicted abusers to purchase firearms. Federal law mandates that those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are not allowed to purchase a firearm. However, under the current UCMJ, a domestic violence conviction is categorized as assault. This loophole in terminology means that these convictions are rarely reported under the federal law that keeps those convicted of domestic violence charges from buying a gun. Hirono’s bill would create a charge of domestic violence under the UCMJ and require that convictions be reported to federal databases that would keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days. “This bill would close this dangerous loophole and could help prevent mass shootings like last week’s tragedy in Texas from happening again,” Hirono said. Get more here.
| |
Cleaver Wants Federal Investment Firms to Adopt “Rooney Rule”
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) sent letters to several heads of major federal government retirement boards urging them to apply the “Rooney Rule” and interview at least one minority- or woman-owned firm when contracting for asset management opportunities. A 2017 study by the Knight Foundation found that only 1.1% of the $71 trillion asset management industry is managed by women- and minority-owned firms. “Some public plan funds that take money from women and minority employees are sending funds to firms owned exclusively by white males. A federal- level Rooney Rule would direct federal investment firms to at least consider woman-and minority-owned firms, which they have been limited in doing in the past,” said Cleaver. “There’s a problem here. The government is missing out on lucrative investment opportunities simply by overlooking these particular groups.” See the letters here.
| |
Surgeon General Defends Administration's Attacks on Obamacare
During a Wednesday hearing by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Surgeon General Jerome Adams defended the Trump administration’s actions on Obamacare. "I would be remiss if I did not ... check the insinuation from several folks that the current administration is against coverage for folks," Adams said in response to several Dems blasting the Trump administration for supporting Obamacare repeal. "I do agree that there is a direct link between the health of a community and the number of people who are insured. The administration is not against being insured. We have a different mindset about how we can achieve that." Senator Al Franken (D-MN) questioned Adams about the healthcare plan in Indiana, which used funds from Obamacare intended to go to Medicaid expansion. Adams was Indiana's Health Commissioner when the plan was being developed and served part of his time under VP Mike Pence when Pence was Governor. The Washington Examiner reports that the Obama administration gave Indiana a waiver so it could implement the expansion differently, including requiring some enrollees to contribute premiums for their coverage. Under Medicaid expansion, enrollees typically do not pay for their coverage, as it extends to people who make roughly $16,000 a year or less. Adams touted the program during the hearing, but Franken pushed back, saying the program was made possible under Obamacare. "You can't have it both ways," he said. More here.
| |
|  | Rev. Al Sharpton with PR guru Rachel Noerdlinger. | |  | CA State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate John Chiang at Cal State-Irvine. | |
| | |
Fortune’s Businessperson of The Year
Fortune magazine has named Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun “Jensen” Huang as their Businessperson of the Year. The chipmaker’s “graphics processing units,” crunch the complex calculations necessary for cryptocurrency markets and the visual fireworks you see on the big screen. Fortune reports that Nvidia currently owns 70% of the market for GPUs thanks to Huang. The magazine calls Huang a visionary who foresaw a blossoming market for a new kind of computing early enough to reposition his company years in advance. The 54-year-old Taiwan-born American entrepreneur and businessman graduated from Oregon State University before moving to California to earn his Master’s from Stanford University. In 2008, Forbes listed him as the 61st-highest paid CEO in a list of U.S. CEOs. Over the past three full fiscal years, Nvidia has increased sales by an average of 19% and profits by an astonishing 56% annually. In early November, the company reported results that once again blew past Wall Street’s estimates, with earnings per share 24% higher than expected. In its past four quarters, it has generated total sales of $9 billion and profits of $2.6 billion. Others who made the list include Mastercard CEO Ajaypal “Ajay” Banga; Cognizant CEO Francisco D'Souza, who was also part of the team that founded the NASDAQ-100 company in 1994; and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. More here.
| |
Ford Foundation President to Lead $25 Million African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
Ford Foundation President Darren Walker will lead an advisory panel for a new $25 million fund being set up through the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help ensure that historical sites important to African American history are no longer endangered. The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, announced Wednesday, will be financed through partnerships with groups such as the Ford Foundation and the JPB Foundation, and already has nearly $3 million on hand. The fund was created during the discussion on whether Confederate monuments and memorials should be taken down. “While we think there is a role to play in determining what monuments should remain, we believe that it is equally as important to create monuments and markers for people whose stories have not been told,” Walker said. The money will be used to address critical funding gaps for the preservation of African American historical sites. The advisory panel includes Lonnie Bunch, Director of NMAAHC; Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL); actress Phylicia Rashad; and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Chairwoman of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. More here.
| |
|  | Latino USA’s María Hinojosa with the newest recipient of the RFK Human Rights Award, Alfredo Romero of Venezuela. | |  |
Telemundo and MSNBC anchor José Díaz-Balart with youth advocate Jonathan Dromgoole on Monday at a Georgetown University talk on diversity in public service. | |
| | |
Moore Lawyer Invokes Ali Velshi Background
The embattled Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore story keeps getting more bizarre. Asked during an interview about Moore having allegedly asked mothers for permission to date their daughters, his lawyer Trenton Garmon invoked the “background” of MSNBC host Ali Velshi. “Culturally speaking, I would say there's differences. I looked up Ali's background there, and wow that's awesome that you have got such a diverse background. That's really cool to read through that.” It gets worse. Velshi's co-host, a visibly annoyed Stephanie Ruhle, asked what Velshi's background had to do with dating teenage girls. Garmon offered: “In other countries, there's arrangement through parents for what we would refer to as consensual marriage.” Ruhle replied, “Ali is from Canada.” Garmon pressed on: “And Ali's also spent time in other countries ... so it's not a bad thing.” One of the things we found notable about the entire exchange is how rightfully outraged Ruhle was as Ari calmly sat back and smirked, “I don’t know where you’re going with this.” Why so calm? It’s likely this is not the first ignorant encounter Ali has had to endure. FYI, Velshi is of Indian descent, but he was born in Kenya and grew up in Canada, after his family made brief stops in Pakistan, England, and NYC. See the full exchange here.
| |
Univisión Names SVP of Music
Univisión Communications has moved Ignacio Meyer to a new role within the company -- SVP of Music. He’ll continue to be based in Miami and report to Jorge “Pepo” Ferradas, President of Music. Meyer will focus on driving global strategy and developing business opportunities for Univisión’s portfolio and music industry partners. He’ll also spearhead alternative strategic business efforts for the music team and artist development in the U.S. and globally. Meyer, who joined Univisión as VP of Business Development in 2011, was promoted to SVP of Enterprise Development two years later. The University of Miami graduate most recently led the development and building of cross-platform content and business opportunities focused on strategic alliances, direct-to-consumer businesses, experiential marketing and brand licensing, and was also responsible for the day-to-day operation of UCI Live, the company’s live event and experiential marketing unit. More here.
| |
LA Weekly Gets New Leader
Semanal Media -- the fledgling company buying LA Weekly from Voice Media Group -- has selected Brian Calle to manage the paper’s operations. Calle comes to the role from the Southern California News Group, where he has served as an Opinion Editor for the Orange County Register and ten other daily newspapers. While running the Register’s historically libertarian editorial page, he described himself as a “free-market enthusiast.” But he said Thursday that the new ownership and management would not change LA Weekly’s editorial bent. The 37-year-old said that as an undergraduate at USC and grad student at Cal State Los Angeles, reading the newsweekly was a formative experience. “I just have such a reverence for what LA Weekly is and what it does,” he said. He went on to say that he will emphasize coverage of the arts and offer a guide to cultural issues and activities, along with investigative journalism. More here.
| |
|  | New Media Ventures Director Christie George with Blavity CEO Morgan DeBaun at the AfroTech conference. | |  | VA Lt. Governor-elect Justin Fairfax speaking about the importance of access to quality healthcare. | |
| | |
Texas State Senator Launches Congressional Bid
Democratic Texas State Senator Sylvia García announced Tuesday that she will run for Congress, seeking the seat being vacated by retiring Congressman Gene Green (D-TX). “I want to continue fighting for working families, quality education for Texas children, access to healthcare for all, and immigration reform. We need a champion for the people in Washington to stand up against Trump and fight for what matters. That’s why I’m running for Congress,” said 67-year-old García. After graduating from Texas Woman's University, she went on to complete her studies at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. She ran in the district’s first primary in 1992. That year saw three candidates split the Latino vote, helping Green make the runoff and ultimately win. In 2002, García was the first Hispanic and first woman to be elected to the Harris County Commissioner's Court. If elected, she would be the first Latina to represent Houston in Congress. More about her here.
| |
Another Bid for Green's Seat
Tahir Javed has also announced a bid for Congress. He too is aiming for the seat being vacated by retiring Congressman Gene Green (D-TX). The Pakistani-born, American business magnate, entrepreneur, philanthropist, investor, and television personality is the president and founder of various businesses within the consumer packaged goods, healthcare, consulting, and real estate industries." We need a real fighter in Congress, which is why I have filed to run," Javed said in a statement. "I will stand up to Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and the powerful special interests who have polluted our politics." The 52-year-old businessman is fluent in English, Urdu, and Punjabi. More about him here.
| |
Third Bid, Same Seat
Democratic Texas State Representative Armando Walle also threw his hat in the ring Tuesday to represent the district that covers much of eastern Houston and part of Pasadena. The University of Houston graduate, who is serving his fifth term in the Texas House, previously worked for retiring Congressman Gene Green (D-TX) whose seat he is pursuing. "He has a long track record, and we just want to build upon that," said Walle. "At the end of the day, this is a historic opportunity for our community." The 29th Congressional District was drawn in 1991 to reflect the area's Hispanic population but has yet to elect a Latino representative. Thirty-nine-year-old Walle said he hopes to expand healthcare access and job opportunities if elected. Fun fact about this seat? The Beat DC's Brenda Arredondo worked for Congressman Green as his Comms Director in 2009. More about Walle here.
| |
BOLD PAC Announces Endorsements
CHC BOLD PAC announced its latest slate of endorsed Hispanic candidates for the 2018 election cycle. They include Randy Bryce, who’s running to unseat House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI); Gil Cisneros, who is running to defeat embattled Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA); Jay Hulings, who is aiming to unseat the sole Black Republican male in the House, Congressman Will Hurd (TX); Mike Levin, who is pursuing the seat currently held by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA); and MA state Representative Juana Matías, who hopes to take the seat of retiring Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-MA). “As BOLD PAC Chair, I am thrilled to announce our newest slate of endorsed candidates and am impressed with the level of energy each brings so early in the cycle," said Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA). "The American people have made it perfectly clear that they are sick of partisan bickering, divisive rhetoric, and destructive policies. They want real leaders and real solutions." More here.
| |
|  | Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro with twin brother Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) working the phones even as toddlers. | |  | Nina Simone and James Baldwin. #ForTheCulture | |
| | |
Lisa Blunt Rochester Aims to Simplify FAFSA
While most students are eligible for some form of federal student aid, thousands of eligible students fail to access available financial aid each year. Data show that students who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are more likely to attend and complete college than students who do not complete the form. That’s why Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) wants to simplify the FAFSA process. The Simple FAFSA Act of 2017 aims to remove barriers for students by reducing the number of questions on the form, allowing very low-income students and families to qualify for a full Pell Grant, reinstating Pell Grant eligibility for students with drug-related offenses, providing the FAFSA in multiple languages, and increasing support for working students, among other things. Co-leading the bill with the Congresswoman are colleagues Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Susan Davis (D-CA), and Gregorio Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands). More on the bill here.
| |
UNCF Releases Report on HBCUs
The United Negro College Fund released a report Tuesday on the economic impact of the nation’s HBCUs. The report found that HBCUs inject billions of dollars in economic impact into the national economy. The institutions generate an estimated $14.8 billion of economic impact annually, which would rank them among the top 200 corporations in the Fortune 500 list. The institutions create 134,090 jobs for their local and regional economies, which the report said is equivalent to the number of jobs by the data company Oracle. Additionally, for each job created on an HBCU campus, another 1.3 public and private sector jobs are created off campus due to HBCU-related spending. The report was based on the country’s 101 accredited HBCUs. Read the full report here.
| |
USTA Taps Joaquín Castro for Commencement
The University of Texas at San Antonio (USTA) has tapped Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX) to deliver the keynote address at their fall commencement ceremony. The December 17th event honors graduates from the colleges of Business, Engineering, Public Policy, and Sciences. According to the University, Castro has provided ongoing support of the school, helping secure federal funding for many UTSA research projects and programs. Castro is rumored to be a potential candidate for Governor of Texas, though he has repeatedly said he plans to run for re-election for his House seat in 2018. More about the commencement here.
| |
|  | Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) speaking against the GOP tax plan. | |  | Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) on Tuesday speaking about how HBCUs generate jobs for local economies. | |
| | |
USVI Governor Testifies on the Hill
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources heard testimony from USVI Governor Kenneth Mapp on Tuesday and indicated that they were willing to support the U.S. Virgin Islands with funding to rebuild infrastructure that would be resilient to future storms. Whether the USVI would receive the $7.5 billion it says it needs to recover is not a certainty, but lawmakers said they would like to see a sustainable plan moving forward relative to rebuilding the islands. VI Consortium reports that members agreed to provide funding for the territory’s hospitals damaged by the storms, including renewable energy, microgrids, and placing power lines underground in certain parts of the islands. Most of the discussion centered around electricity, with Senators outraged that most of the U.S. territories were still without power nearly two months after the storms. More here.
| |
Lawmakers Criticize Puerto Rico Officials over Controversial Contract
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló spent a second day on Tuesday on Capitol Hill lobbying legislators to increase funding for hurricane relief -- the island is asking for nearly $95 billion -- but a good portion of the day was spent discussing the controversial contract with Whitefish Energy to help rebuild the island’s electric grid. While Rosselló told lawmakers he had “zero” input in the since-canceled contract, Puerto Rico Electric Power Agency Executive Director Ricardo Ramos defended his initial decision to approve it, reports The Beat DC’s Patricia Guadalupe. “After reviewing about a half-dozen proposals from potential first responders, we found that only two offered the immediate services that PREPA needed,” Ramos told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “In retrospect there were some steps in our contracting process with Whitefish that we could have done better.” Several Senators said they were perplexed that PREPA did not ask stateside utilities for aid much sooner and questioned signing a contract that stipulated much higher costs than other proposals. Lawmakers also told Rosselló that the island needed to close a “credibility gap” if it expects to see anywhere near the $95 billion it is asking for. Meanwhile, the island government's ethics department is investigating whether any PREPA employees received kickbacks from Whitefish. More here.
| |
Velázquez and Warren Call for the Retirement of Puerto Rico’s Debt
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote the Chairman of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico yesterday, urging the Board to request that the Court overseeing the island’s debt restructuring completely write off the island's debt obligations. “The people of Puerto Rico are demonstrating remarkable spirit in the face of great hardship, but the Island’s longstanding debt could hamper recovery and set the Island back by decades,” said Velázquez. “Congress allowed for this in passing PROMESA and now the Oversight Board and the Court should exercise this option.” See their full letter here.
| |
|  |
Ex-Obama Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett with her former Chief of Staff Yohannes Abraham at the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics. | |  | FCC Commissioner Mignon Moore on Tuesday with Google's Chanelle Hardy at the Full Color Feature launch at Google's office in DC. | |
| | |
Meeks, Moore Lead 56 House Democrats in Letter to FCC Advocating for Lifeline Program
As the FCC today votes on whether or not to begin a public comment period on a proposal that changes its Lifeline program -- which provides a small subsidy so that low-income Americans can afford broadband service -- Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) led a letter signed by 56 House Dems to FCC Chair Ajit Pai expressing concern with its proposal. “The digital divide—which Chairman Pai promised he would seek to minimize—persists today and the Lifeline Program is critical in helping minimize it. Yet, Chairman Pai’s proposed changes would practically decimate the Lifeline program, upon which millions of Americans rely. Indeed, this is nothing more than a poorly disguised attack on our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Meeks. Moore stated, “Chairman Pai’s proposal to cap Lifeline is a direct assault on low-income who depend on phone and internet services as an essential component in their everyday lives ... These services not only save lives during emergencies, as we saw during this year’s devastating hurricane season, but they are also vital when applying for jobs, attending school, scheduling doctors’ appointments, and maintaining finances.” Read their full letter here.
| |
FBI Data Shows Rise in Hate Crimes
The number of hate crimes reported last year rose by 4.6% compared to the previous year, according to data released Monday by the FBI. The total tally of hate crimes in 2016 was 6,121, compared to 5,850 in 2015. More than half of those incidents were motivated by the victim's race. NPR reports that the FBI statistics are based on voluntary reporting by nearly 16,000 local law-enforcement agencies. Civil-rights groups, however, say the figures are deeply flawed because of what they say is systemic underreporting. Sim Singh (pictured), the National Advocacy Manager of the Sikh Coalition, noted that the FBI statistics count seven anti-Sikh hate crimes in 2016, which he said represents the tip of the iceberg. “If law-enforcement agencies fail to document the true extent of hate crimes against our communities," Singh said, "our nation will have a hard time mobilizing the political will and resources necessary to prevent and combat the problem." More here.
| |
Barragán and Lofgren Intro Bill to Suspend Immigration Enforcement During Natural Disasters
Congresswomen Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) yesterday teamed up to introduce the Safe Emergency Response Act which would require Immigration and the Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies to suspend immigration enforcement operations in areas affected by a major disaster or emergency -- such as this year’s hurricanes and California wildfires. Barragán and Lofgren said this legislation is in response to the ambiguous directives issued by ICE and CBP concerning immigration enforcement in areas affected by disaster. “Undocumented people and mixed-status families must be able to safely evacuate from disaster areas without fear of deportation. It’s unconscionable that ICE and CBP would allow uncertainty around enforcement activities to fester while families are contemplating what could be life and death decisions,” said Barragán. Learn more here.
| |
| FOMO
Today, 6P: The Hill’s Top Lobbyists Reception. 13|U, 1310 U Street N.W., Rooftop. Invite-only. If interested in attending, please email events@thehill.com and copy ksullivan@thehill.com. Click here for more information.
Friday, November 17th: The 24th Annual Caribbean American Heritage Awards to honor visionaries from across the Caribbean. J.W. Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. To learn more about the Caribbean American Heritage Awards, visit: www.caribbeanheritageawards.org
Saturday, November 18th, 9A: Puerto Rican Diaspora Summit -- Washington, DC, a conference to discuss policy issues and responses to Puerto Rico's economic and humanitarian crises from the perspective of Puerto Ricans and other stakeholders in the DC area. UDC Student Center, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Click here to register.
Sunday, November 19th: The National Portrait Gallery Second biennial American Portrait Gala, honoring former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, HIV/AIDs researcher Dr. David D. Ho; artistic director, choreographer, and dancer Bill T. Jones; film director, producer, writer, and actor Spike Lee; and multi-award-winning actress Rita Moreno. Click here for more information.
Sunday, November 19th, 2P: A reception in support of Tallahassee Mayor and FL gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum. Hosted by the Honorable Marie and Wendell Johns. Click here to RSVP.
Wednesday, November 29th, 8P: Join Congressman André Carson (D-IN) for JAY-Z's 4:44 Tour. Capital One Arena, 601 F Street, N.W. For more information or to RSVP, contact Courtney Hodges or Randy Broz at: 202.403.0606 or email: Courtney@ABConsultingDC.com
Thursday, November 30th, 6:30P: A reception in support of Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). 3205 R. St N.W. Click here to RSVP. Wednesday, December 6th, 6P: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute holiday reception in honor of retiring Hispanic members of Congress. Library of Congress, Madison Hall, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Wednesday, December 6th, 6P: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee 2044 Leadership Council holiday party. Library of Congress, Madison Hall, 101 Independence Ave, SE. Click here to RSVP.
Thursday, December 7th, 6P: The Ladies of Twelve Days of Christmas, Inc. Metro DC Chapter’s 15th Annual Holiday Party. SAX Lounge 734 11th Street, N.W. Click here to RSVP.
Thursday, December 14th, 6P: Solidarity Strategies hosts a Holiday Fiesta. Invite only.
Saturday, December 16th, 8P: The National Black MBA DC Chapter Annual Holiday Party. Hard Rock Cafe, 999 E Street, N.W. Click here to purchase tickets.
| |
| Powered by The Raben Group
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
