(Washington, D.C., Thursday, February 4, 2021) – There are several important priorities that the new Congress will need to tackle in 2021.
Domestic priorities:
- COVID relief: Much of the aid Congress approved in December will expire in March, and the extent of the pandemic and recession requires bold legislation. Congress needs to pass additional relief to respond to the crisis as well as the underlying structural inequities exposed by COVID;
- Addressing the climate crisis; and
- Providing a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth.
International priorities:
- Ending endless wars;
- Repealing the 2002 AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force);
- End American support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen; and
- Addressing domestic terrorism as a far more urgent threat than international terrorism and developing a non-militarized policy for addressing it.
Diane Randall, general secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), discusses these priorities in detail. FCNL, the Quaker lobby for the public interest, is now on its 78th year. It is considered to be the best-kept advocacy secret on Capitol Hill and one that is equally respected by Republicans and Democrats.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation lobbies Congress and the administration to advance peace, justice, opportunity, and environmental stewardship. Founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), FCNL fields an expert team of lobbyists on Capitol Hill and works with a grassroots network of tens of thousands of people across the country to advance policies and priorities established by our governing General Committee. FCNL is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to live our values of integrity, simplicity, and peace as we build relationships across political divides to move policies forward.