For Immediate Release:  December 16, 2010                                         

Contact:  Meina Banh, (202) 225-2631, meina.banh@mail.house.gov

Congressional Staff Associations Urge New Republican and Democratic House Leadership to Proceed with House Diversity Initiative

Washington, D.C. –  Four Congressional staff associations have sent a letter to House GOP Transition Team Chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) and House Administration Committee Chairman Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA) urging that the House-wide staff diversity initiative continue into the 112^th Congress. The letter states, “A shift in leadership should not affect the implementation of this program.”

The initiative was developed on a bi-partisan basis with input from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican leader John Boehner. The groups signing the letter, including the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association (CAPASA), the Congressional Black Associates Staff Association (CBA), the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association (CHSA) and the Congressional Muslim Staff Association (CMSA), note that a diversity website and resume bank are close to being finalized and express optimism that the next Congress will continue to move forward on these critical projects.

Support from Congressional Staff Associations:

“We at the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association believe that the diversity initiative holds great potential in strengthening staff diversity in the House of Representatives. We applaud Members of the initiative for their ongoing work; and are hopeful that Members view us as a resource as the initiative continues to move forward,” said Meina Banh of CAPASA.

Simon Tafoya of CHSA said, “Regardless of who is in the majority, we hope that the development of diversity initiatives by leadership and other offices are made a priority so that congressional staff better reflects the diverse make-up of the U.S. population.”

“Diversity on Capitol Hill has been and should remain a bipartisan priority for House Administration. Ensuring a wide net is cast for new staff hires is an essential part of the larger effort to encourage greater citizen participation in the work of Congress,” said Assad Akhter of CMSA.