Back in the Federal City

All federal buildings are closed today in a national day of mourning for President Ford. But on Thursday the city will dramatically come back to life as the new House of Representatives is sworn in and the 110th Congress begins.

WELCOME NANCY!

For those of you who don't know (as I did not a while ago) the congressional calender is a two year cycle at the end of which the entire House of Representatives and one third of the Senate is up for reelection. This Congress, the 110th, will be the first Democratically controlled congress since 1994. This has a lot of progressive organizations hoping for change and rustling up their bases for a major congressional push, advocating for policies that were largely ignored by the Republican congress.

Our Global AIDS partners are optimistic that we may be able to repeal the abstinence-until-marriage earmarks on prevention funding. Our LGBT coalitions are hoping to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, protecting LGBT folks in the workplace. The congress is expected to take immediate actions to implement all the 9/11 commission recommendations, raise the minimum wage, and reform congressional ethics laws.

BYE-BYE DENNIS!

Personally, I am eager to see how much this shift in power leads to a shift in policy. Many folks believe that while this is a Democratic Congress it is a centrist congress that may not move on more controversial social issues. Given that our main legislative priorities as an office are LGBT rights, comprehensive sex education, and racial justice it is unclear if we will see any major success over the next couple of years. However, we most likely will not have to spend so much of our time tirelessly defending our causes, such as fighting off another federal marriage amendment, so at least our time can be spent on proactive advocacy and education, which may not lead to any immediate successes, but can be viewed as laying the ground work for great success down the line.

So bring on the new year and the new congress. I am ready to work!