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Dear neighbor, 

I hope you had a great February and Black History Month! I started the month by reintroducing my African American History Act, which would invest $10 million over 5 years to support African American history education programs. To celebrate, we held a press conference with Reps. Joyce Beatty (OH-03) and Kweisi Mfume (MD-07) to support all three of our bills, which would protect and uplift Black history education. It’s a moral imperative that we tell the truth about our past, especially at a time when teaching and acknowledging our nation’s history is under threat throughout the country. 

I also had the honor of attending President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. I welcomed Reverend Dr. Stephen W. Pogue, the Pastor of The Greater Centennial A.M.E. Zion Church, as my guest. He is a pillar of the Mount Vernon community as a faith leader, Air Force veteran, President of the Save Mount Vernon Hospital Coalition, and Chaplain to the Mount Vernon Police Department. I was proud to have such an exemplary leader in our community as my guest.

Also this month, Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) and I introduced the American Teacher Act. As an educator of 20 years, I have first-hand experience of the impact that far too low salaries have on teachers. Nearly 1 in 5 teachers need to take a second or third job just to make ends meet. Educators are the backbone of our democracy and we need to treat them as such. Our bill ensures teachers make $60,000 a year. Educators should not have to work multiple jobs just to get by – they need a living wage now.

In other legislative news, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and I reintroduced my Heating and Cooling Relief Act. Our bill would expand eligibility for financial assistance to pay energy bills and work to ensure no one pays over 3% of their income on energy bills. So many members of our NY-16 community are experiencing high energy burdens, and I want to make sure everyone can afford to turn the heat on this winter. We have to work toward an America that respects our collective humanity and ensures that every family can afford their energy bills.

Back home in the district, our team held eight Mobile Constituent Services events in February. Team Bowman went to Yonkers, White Plains, Rye, Mount Vernon, Wakefield, and Edenwald and helped our neighbors with issues such as tax preparation, passport assistance and immigration cases. We were able to answer 413 phone calls from constituents and close 203 cases this month. If you need assistance with any federal agency, you can come to one of our upcoming Mobile Constituent Services.

You can also email us at Bowman.Casework@mail.house.gov, call our office, or check out our website for more Mobile Constituent Services events. 

We also have more events coming up this month, and you can check them out below ??

Town Hall on the Benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act with special guest New York League of Conservation Voters: We’ll be including more information about rebates and tax credits. Join us on Wednesday, March 15 from 6:30-8:00pm at New Rochelle High School, 265 Clove Road. 

Coffee with the Congressman in White Plains: Join the congressman for a cup of coffee and community conversation Saturday, March 18th from 10:30am-12:00pm at the White Plains Public Library Gallery, 100 Martine Avenue. You can register here.

Education Steering Committee: Join the congressman for a community brainstorm session about the upcoming Youth Leadership Conference. For those that are interested in assisting us organize the event or if you have any feedback you can share please click here.

Congressional Art Challenge: We are looking for all local artists in grades 9-12 to share their artwork and represent NY16 in the Congressional Art Competition. The winner will have their art displayed at the Capitol in Washington, DC. For more information check out our website and to submit a piece of art click here.

We’d also like to celebrate women in our NY-16 community for Women’s History Month, so if you have someone you’d like to nominate, please submit a form here.

Peace and love, 

Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16)