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Dear neighbor, 

Happy Wednesday! I hope all is well with you, your family and close friends. At this time I want to share my condolences with friends and family of Congressman Alcee Hastings. He was a trusted and respected colleague for many members of the Congressional Black Caucus and I am saddened to hear of his passing. 

In lighter news, we are finally in spring and will start seeing some warm weather soon. Please continue to do your part, including wearing a mask and social distancing, to slow the spread of COVID-19. The good news is that ALL adults are now eligible to receive a vaccine in New York, including youth aged 16 and older. To sign up for an appointment or for more information please visit ny.gov/vaccine or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX. 

This was an eventful past month, and we are hard at work to ensure resources are going directly to New York’s 16th Congressional District. Notably, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which invests $1.9 trillion in recovery efforts, direct stimulus payments, resources for safe school reopenings, and more. 

Recently, I joined my colleagues Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Andy Levin to visit the White House and relay our priorities to the Biden administration and discuss how we plan to work with them on a number of issues. 

As always, my heart is with our community at home, so I was grateful to also spend time in the district visiting vaccine centers to check in on our essential workers and the vaccination process in addition to meeting with constituents virtually. 

I also want to say a word to the Asian-American community in our district. During this difficult time, we stand with you against hate and bigotry, in NY-16 and nationwide. We will continue dedicating our work to dismantling white supremacy and racist violence everywhere.

For updates on what occurred this month in the District and with legislation, please read below! As always, do not hesitate to reach out to one of my offices for any questions and/or concerns. 

Legislative Update

This month, I voted for and The American Rescue Plan passed, sending $24 billion in federal aid to the entire state of New York and over $150 million to the District. These funds will be used to lower health-care costs, expand COVID testing and vaccine access, safely reopen schools, and help build our communities back so that they can withstand this turbulent economy and pandemic. 

This month I also introduced the Care for All Agenda to dramatically expand and strengthen the care economy and improve conditions and compensations for care workers nationwide. Every person at some point in their life depends on a healthcare worker, home-care worker, daycare worker, or other form of care worker. It’s time the people taking care of everyone are compensated fairly and receive access to proper work benefits, protections and standards. 

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II and I also introduced a bill to expand affordable broadband to 8 million households. This past year millions of families turned to virtual settings to work, learn, and connect with loved ones. There is no reason every household should not have proper access to broadband. I also released a vision for a $1.16 trillion investment over 10 years into our schools so that kids can study and thrive in modernized, sustainable education environments. More information on this plan can be found here - I had the chance to host a press conference on this plan with leaders and officials from the District. 

As always, I support my colleagues throughout Congress as we work to deliver on our promises to the people. For an update on all bills and resolutions that I have supported please read below. 

Bills and resolutions co-sponsored this March 

• Excessive Force Prevention and Accountability Act       

• HR 8 - Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021        

• Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act   

• HR 1446 - Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021    

• Nonpartisan Postmaster General Act   

• RECLAIM Act 

• HR 1195 - Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act 

• The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act

• Our Homes Our Votes Act       

• Support Sustainable Energy Efficient Public Buildings  

• Taxi Medallion Loan Forgiveness Debt Relief Act             

• BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act         

• Holistic Economic Aid for Low Income Neighborhood Growth (HEALING) Act          

• Automatic Voter Registration Act         

• COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act        

• H.R.1553 - To provide for further comprehensive research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke on unruptured intracranial aneurysms. 

• Resolution To Honor Capitol Complex Essential Workers           

• H. Res. 47 - Oppose the Privatization of the U.S. Postal Service          

• The People's Justice Guarantee Resolution

Additionally, I joined 16 letters with my colleagues to address a range of issues, including: ending the filibuster in the Senate, reducing defense spending, addressing racial disparities in home valuations, ICE detention centers, and including essential workers, Dreamers and TPS in the next economic recovery and jobs package. I also wrote a letter to Postmaster Dejoy about disruptions to service of the United States Postal Service System (USPS) in New York. This letter led to USPS hiring more staff at post offices in the district so that constituents could receive proper and adequate service. 

District Update

As always, our focus remains on working to serve our constituents and address your concerns. Overall, our office is assisting more than 600 constituents with casework, helping individuals and families find answers to their problems or pointing them in the right direction. 

Recently, I joined my colleagues Reps. Mondaire Jones and Tom Suozzi in White Plains to advocate for the repeal of the Trump cap on SALT tax deductions so that we can get money back into the hands of middle-class families in the district.

I also hosted two roundtables to meet with local groups and individuals. In a meeting with small business owners I learned over 80% of small businesses had exhausted their PPP loan funds. Our office is going to work on connecting these businesses with community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to lessen their financial burden. In a meeting with mental health advocates, I met with locals to discuss how COVID-19 has increased mental health issues and we discussed ideas to collaborate and share resources on mental health services. I look forward to more roundtables such as these. 

For all other concerns please feel free to reach out to my office. We are able to assist with the following services: 

• Get a flag flown over the Capitol

• Get nominated to a U.S. Military Service Academy

• Get information on grants

• Request a letter of support 

• Request a program letter

• Request a certificate 

• Receive help with a federal agency including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the IRS or any other federal agency

In everything I do I also want to take the time to honor constituents who deserve to be celebrated and appreciated. If you or someone you know would like to be featured by my office for the work you do or for a special accomplishment please share at this link! 

Kind regards,

Congressman Jamaal Bowman