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Dear neighbor, 

Happy autumn! I know some of us are sad to see summer go, but there’s a lot of good fun in the last few months of the year, and I hope you’re able to experience a little bit of it — if it’s the leaves changing, sweater weather, or any of the upcoming holidays! Shana Tovah to those who recognize and celebrate Rosh Hashanah – I hope this new year brings peace, fulfillment, happiness, prosperity, and most importantly, health!  G’mar Chatima Tovah and an easy fast to all neighbors observing Yom Kippur. Happy Navrati to those of the Hindu faith celebrating and honoring the Mother Goddess Durga! I also wish all of District 16’s Hispanic communities a good Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Chairing the Education & Labor Committee
Hearing, September 14, 2022

September started with Labor Day, our holiday to honor workers and the labor movement, and think about fair working conditions for all workers. On this note, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing on labor organizing the next week on September 14 with Michelle Eisen from SB Workers United, at which I focused on how important it is that we remove barriers to unionizing because unionizing – from teachers to careworkers and every other worker – is essential in the struggle for a better, more equitable society.  

On September 24, we held a Career Fair with over 30 employers in attendance and workshops in resume building and personal financial planning and budgeting. Over 150 constituents attended, and several received job offers and interviews!

UPS table at the Career Fair, Yonkers Waterfront Library, September 24, 2022

September 1 marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Ida touching down on the East Coast. I vividly remember countless ways how Ida impacted our constituents. The devastation Ida left still impacts many of us, and I worry about future damage compounded by the climate crisis. Over the last year, we’ve made space for constituents to share their stories, and my office and I have visited many impacted sites. I’ve secured funding for flood mitigation and prevention resources and voted for legislation to help make our communities resilient and kickstart the clean energy revolution. All of this is not yet enough, and I pledge to continue fighting for what we need to make our communities and infrastructure stronger and more impervious to weather and climate events.

Unfortunately, on the heels of the anniversary of Ida came Hurricane Fiona in mid-September, causing extreme damage in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, other Caribbean islands, and several of the southeastern U.S. states. My thoughts are with all affected, and I will continue to fight for policies that can protect our planet and people. 

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans are now available to businesses and residents in Florida following the Hurricane Ian disaster declaration and in Puerto Rico following the Hurricane Fiona disaster declaration. For help with disaster loans, call 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. SBA is also hiring temporary employees to assist with disaster relief efforts. Bilingual language skills are a plus.

On September 13, Rep. Cori Bush (MO-1), myself, and thirty colleagues worked together to urge the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive review of non-carceral gun violence prevention strategies in schools and establish a plan to meet all of our students’ safety needs. We need a public health approach to address gun violence as the public health emergency that it is. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for youth. We need to be investing in counselors, nurses, and wraparound services for our school communities - these are the evidence-based investments that keep our schools and communities safe, rather than continuing to increase funding for law enforcement in our schools which evidence shows does not prevent gun violence, but does exacerbate the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Leading Special Order Hour about Youth Mental Health, September 21, 2022

On September 21, I led a Congressional Progressive Caucus Special Order Hour on the topic of Youth Mental Health and the urgency of addressing the nationwide youth mental health crisis with a whole-of-government approach. 

Rep. Bush, Rep. Tlaib (MI-13), and myself introduced the Resolution Recognizing the Human Rights to Utilities on September 15. For us, utilities include access to water, sanitation, electricity, heating, cooling, public transit, and broadband communications. These are basic human rights and not having them has often been a matter of life or death. Inability to pay rising utility bills, failing utility infrastructure systems, and the privatization of our utilities have caused major gaps of equity and access. Equity for Black, brown, and poor people in general is the goal for the powerful Equity or Else campaign, and on September 22, I joined them to explain why it is necessary for us to work on a Quality of Life Agenda for the American people. 

Rep. Jeffries & I at the Town Hall, Mount Vernon, September 27

It was an honor to host our House Democratic Caucus Chair, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) in Mount Vernon on September 27 for a Town Hall. We discussed recent Congressional successes, future work to be done, and answered questions from our audience at the Greater Centennial ME Zion Church. The conversation is available for viewing for those unable to attend. 

September was a busy month, so here are a few more of the highlights: I co-sponsored the LOAN Act to make higher education more accessible; worked with Reps. Meng (NY-06) and Malliotakis (NY-11) to send a bipartisan, bicameral letter to U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) Dennis R. McDonough inquiring about VA facilities in New York; and voted for the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act and sent it to POTUS to sign into law. This legislation is a critical step in helping student loan borrowers sever their debt from abusive or uncommunicative spouses. 

Here’s an update on our constituent service work we’ve done from our District offices: 

• Since January 2022, we’ve: Helped neighbors retrieve $2.7 Million 

• Year to date we closed 1,536 cases 

• This month we helped 164 neighbors. The top three issues were local city, state and municipal inquiries, immigration and IRS. 

• Answered 402 phone calls from constituents. 

As always, call or email us if you need help, have any questions, or want to tell us what you think about current legislation! Our email is Bowman.Casework@mail.house.gov. 

Peace and love, 

Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16)