Gearing up to put children first in the new Congress
by Marty Rendon, Vice President Public Policy and Advocacy
The new 114th Congress has been sworn in, committee assignments have been made, and work is underway on a broad range of international issues. Our challenge is to ask the policy-makers to put children first in U.S. foreign policy and global funding.
In Washington, we inform the House and Senate about UNICEF’s work for vulnerable children and promote legislative issues on a wide range of issues, including the annual U.S. government contribution to UNICEF, child survival and maternal health, basic education, and clean drinking water and sanitation. We also advance a host of child protection issues, such as birth registration, trafficking, child labor, child soldiers, the impact of cluster munitions on the well-being of children, and children caught in humanitarian emergencies. And we continue to fight for ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
To set the stage for our advocacy efforts by sharing information about global children’s issues, the Office of Public Policy and Advocacy develops and joins briefings for legislators and their staffs on the issues where we need them to lead for children. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), pictured above at her swearing-in reception in January, co-chairs the Congressional Global Health Caucus with Rep. David Reichert (R-WA). In the last Congress, they co-hosted Caucus briefings on issues advanced by UNICEF, including two briefings on the latest child mortality data shared by UNICEF. Armed with such information, the legislators and their staffers can craft the policies and funding needed to save and improve the lives of more children.
As the Congressional schedule advances and legislation to help more children is introduced, please check our Advocacy Alerts for ways you can let your Senators and Representatives know you want them to support UNICEF and put children first.
Our efforts in Washington for children cannot succeed without you!
