Read newsletter as a PDF here. 

Dear neighbor, 

I hope you had a great April! Here’s an update on what our office has been up to this month. 

We kicked off the month by celebrating my 47th birthday! ?????? My staff kindly surprised me with this birthday post. Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! 

To continue fighting against the Willow Project, I sent a letter along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Jared Huffman (CA-02) urging the Biden Administration to suspend the project. The Willow Project would harm our beautiful federal lands and indigenous communities by drilling for massive amounts of oil. These areas need to be protected. Now is the time to plan for a clean energy future instead of continuing to depend on fossil fuels. You can read the letter here. 

I also wrote an op-ed in Lohud with Theo Oshiro, the Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York, on why New Yorkers need the Good Cause Eviction protections. You can read it here. Housing is a human right, but so many in our state struggle to find safe, affordable housing and when they do, they can be evicted for no reason. So I’m calling on New York State officials to do the right thing and put our most vulnerable tenants first. 

My office took a team field trip to NASA’s Goddard Center. NASA staff gave us a fun tour of the facilities and filled us in on all the important work that they’re up to. Take a look at this video of our tour!  

Back in the district, I rallied with UPS Teamsters fighting for higher wages and better working conditions. I’m proud to stand with these incredible workers who keep our economy running. I also celebrated Earth Day in the district and got to talk about the importance of renewable energy and start planting for spring. I also joined the Westchester Muslim Center’s annual community iftar and Eid celebrations. I hope the Muslim community had an Eid filled with peace, joy, and time with loved ones. 

In legislative news, I held a press conference with Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) for the introduction of our RAP Act (The Restoring Artistic Protection Act), which would make song lyrics inadmissible as evidence in court. We need to protect the creativity of Black and brown artists across the country and make sure no artist is criminalized for their art. 

I also spoke at a press conference with the Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention about the importance of passing transformative gun reform legislation. As someone who grew up in a community that was deeply impacted by gun violence, I’ve seen the damage guns cause first hand. I’m calling on my colleagues in Congress to take a stand and put an end to the violence.

Back in the district, we held 4 mobile constituent services hours throughout the month. Stay tuned - we might be in your neighborhood! My office has helped more than 180 constituents in April and assisted more than 50 constituents with their passport requests! So far this year we closed 941 cases and we brought back $4.5 million in constituent savings. If you need assistance with any federal agency, you can find us at one of our upcoming Mobile Constituent Services, email us at Bowman.Casework@mail.house.gov, or call our office.

Check out our upcoming events: 

• May 26, 2023: Veterans Roundtable, White Plains

• June 3, 2023: Youth Leadership Conference, New Rochelle 

• June 20, 2023: Coffee with the Congressman, The Bronx

For more information about the events, call my district office. 

Peace and love, 

Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16)