Sidwell Students Attend FCNL Spring Lobby Week

From March 22 to 25, Sidwell students attended the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) Spring Lobby Week. FCNL Spring Lobby Week is an annual event where young adults from across the country participate in group workshops related to a specific topic and visit Capitol Hill to lobby their local representatives. This year, FCNL’s official ask for Spring Lobby Week was to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, particularly in the budget reconciliation process. Sidwell students lobbied the offices of Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, Virginia Senator Mark Warner, District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey and Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly. Some students were also able to lobby Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin himself. 

Junior Sophie Cao, a co-head of the FCNLxSidwell club, helped coordinate the event with Science Teacher and 9th Grade Dean Laura Barrosse-Antle. Speakers from organizations such as Bread for the World, Caring Across Generations, Hunger Free America and the Coalition on Human Needs educated participants on SNAP and Medicaid and the potential consequences of budget cuts. Participants also heard stories from people who relied on SNAP and Medicaid. According to junior Eyob Sisay, co-head of the FCNLxSidwell club, these speakers and panel sessions, paired with leadership-building workshops, helped set the tone for the week. “The speakers that they chose really gave a human perspective on what Medicaid and SNAP funding is and how important those issues are,” he said. 

According to FCNL’s website, more than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid, and more than 40 million rely on SNAP. Medicaid provides coverage for two out of every five births and three out of five people in nursing homes. 

FCNL’s ongoing support of these issues aligns with its values of equality and stewardship as a Quaker organization. “As Quakers, we believe the government has a responsibility to help the most vulnerable,” FCNL General Secretary Bridget Moix said, “not make their lives harder.”

Quaker practices also influence how FCNL lobbies representatives. FCNL teaches participants Quaker Lobbying, a form of lobbying that emphasizes storytelling over statistics. Each group lobbying a congressperson selects several “storytellers,” delegation members with personal experience on the issue or who know those with personal experience. FCNL believes that this method makes lobbying more approachable for new lobbyists and more memorable for Congressional offices. 

“It promotes a non-violent, while effective method of allowing your representatives to hear your voice,” Cao said. This approach encouraged students from all levels of experience at Sidwell to join. “It was great to have such a range of people who … want to try lobbying and advocacy for the first time,” Sisay said. 

On March 25, Sidwell students split up to lobby their respective Congresspeople along with more than 300 other young adults. FCNL delegations took part in over 100 different lobby visits, according to FCNL’s website.

Meeting with Raskin was especially valuable for Sidwell students, according to Sisay.  Every delegation member was able to share their personal story with Raskin and discuss with him the next steps to protect these programs.

The Senate passed a budget resolution on April 5, followed by the House on April 10, which threatened to cut funding from both SNAP and Medicaid, according to FCNL. Despite these setbacks, FCNL stated that pressure from lobbyists prevented even more cuts from these programs and generated some bipartisan support. According to the Portland Press Herald, Republican Senator Susan Collins voted against the budget resolution, citing her disapproval of cuts to Medicaid. 

The congresspeople that Sidwell students lobbied are also working to protect their constituents from the potential consequences of cuts to these programs. According to Van Hollen’s website, Van Hollen and Warner joined Senators Jerry Moran and Shelley Moore Capito in introducing a bipartisan bill to eliminate food deserts on April 2. 

“Our work doesn’t end here,” added FCNL Senior Director of Communications Greg Williams. “We should not spend our resources on greed and war, but on programs that honor the dignity of all and ensure every person’s potential may be fulfilled.”