Ask your legislators to join the Americans Abroad Caucus!

In one memorable week, two Members of the House of Representatives joined the Americans Abroad Caucus in response to requests from one (yes, one) of their constituents.  In each case, the Congressmen were simply contacted by an overseas voter in their district and both agreed to join, adding their names to the list of legislators who, by joining the Caucus, are showing they understand and are sympathetic to the concerns of their constituents overseas.

Is your Representative a member?

Launched in February 2007, the Americans Abroad Caucus has grown from its early membership of six to the current twenty-five.  Present members are Republicans and Democrats from such powerful committees as Financial Services, the Joint Economic Committee, Oversight and Government Reform, Rules, Appropriations, and House Administration that oversees the federal election process, and important members of the House leadership.  They represent states as “small” as Maryland and as “large” as Texas and even a territory, the Virgin Islands.  They come from the east – New York, and the west – California; from the north – Massachusetts, and the south – Florida.  But is your state represented?  Is your district represented?

If your Representative is not on the list below (current members listed alphabetically), contact him or her now (all 435 Members can be found through www.house.gov) - be sure to give your local voting address when you write, but to indicate that you are an overseas constituent.
For a Sample Letter to Congress you can personalize for your legislator or a few tips on contacting your legislators (Writing to Congress), see the U.S. Liaison page on the FAWCO website. (And if one of the members below is your legislator, remember to write and say “Thank you!”)

Why should it matter to you?

The original Caucus Co-Chairs Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) officially urged their colleagues in the House three times to make their websites more user-friendly for overseas constituents, and both were original co-sponsors, alongside Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, of House Resolution 287, introduced by Caucus member Alcee Hastings (D-FL), celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first use of the name ‘America’ on the 1507 map by Martin Waldseemuller in St. Dié, France.  Congresswoman Maloney is a long-standing champion of overseas voters and has worked hard in the past to ease restrictions on absentee voting for the military and for overseas citizens. She and her colleague Mike Honda (D-CA) have introduced legislation which makes practical amendments to UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) to eliminate certain barriers to voting from overseas and enfranchise young people who do not yet meet state residency requirements and, most recently, legislation to create a bipartisan federal commission to examine the biggest problems facing overseas Americans.

Just think!  If the Americans Abroad Caucus had existed in 2006, it is possible that TIPRA, the “Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act”, might not have been passed with the provisions that, to offset domestic tax cuts,  imposed significant tax burdens on many Americans overseas and risk depriving the U.S. of valuable advocates for its businesses and services abroad.  If the Caucus had existed in 2006, it is possible that certain states would not have refused absentee ballots because the paper they were printed on was not “standard” US size and weight.  The appropriate staffer of one of the Caucus members might have contacted FAWCO or another overseas advocacy organization and asked: “How does this legislation affect YOU?”

For the first time, overseas citizens have a group in Congress that has officially indicated support for their concerns.  Let’s support them, in turn, and “grow the Caucus” to a size worthy of the 25th state we correspond to, in terms of population!

Current members of the Americans Abroad Caucus in the 114th Congress, in alphabetical order:

(Updated November 2015)