Future Forum Caucus Members Request Executive Actions from the Biden Administration
Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Future Forum Caucus members Rep. Darren Soto, Rep. Haley Stevens, Rep. Mike Levin, Rep. Delia Ramirez and Rep. Nikema Williams urged President Biden to take additional action on issues that are of critical importance to Future Forum and the nation’s youth. Members shared a slate of executive actions on youth engagement, youth civic participation, combatting climate change, and support for veterans, including housing.
Key Excerpts from the Letter:
“As Members of the Future Forum Caucus, we write to you today to share Future Forum’s requested slate of Executive Actions developed by Members of our Caucus. Future Forum appreciates your leadership in mobilizing young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights, including supporting student borrowers by correcting various issues with the current student loan system, and expanding access to essential health services, lowering the cost of living, and making the economy work for young workers,” wrote the Members.
“Millennials and Gen Z are becoming a bigger part of our democracy, dominate our workforce, and are poised to spur actions on issues impacting their generation. President Biden will bridge the divide between young people and their government by identifying issues that primarily and substantially affect young Americans, such as employment issues, education, mental health, housing and climate change, and to advise the President on ways to further engage and involve young people in the federal government.,” the Members continued.
“We look forward to meeting with your respective staff to fully discuss the important requests outlined in this letter. Thank you in advance for your time and attention to these matters,” wrote the Members.
Download a copy of the letter here or read the entire letter below.
Dear President Biden,
As Members of the Future Forum Caucus, we write to you today to share Future Forum’s requested slate of Executive Actions developed by Members of our Caucus. Future Forum appreciates your leadership in mobilizing young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights, including supporting student borrowers by correcting various issues with the current student loan system, and expanding access to essential health services, lowering the cost of living, and making the economy work for young workers.
As we look ahead, the Future Forum Caucus believes there is much more to be done to provide additional relief to young Americans. We believe you can exercise your executive authority to take additional action to address the following issues to bring relief to young Americans across the country.
Slate of Executive Actions
1. Establish an Office of Young Americans within the Executive Office of the President. In addition, we respectfully request that the White House Office of Public Engagement provide information on initiatives and activities, ongoing and planned, related to Youth Engagement; e.g.,Youth Engagement Forum featuring A Starting Point, January 30, 2024.
Reasoning: Millennials and Gen Z are becoming a bigger part of our democracy,1 dominate our workforce,2 and are poised to spur actions on issues impacting their generation.3 President Biden will bridge the divide between young people and their government by identifying issues that primarily and substantially affect young Americans, such as employment issues, education, mental health, housing and climate change, and to advise the President on ways to further engage and involve young people in the federal government. A bill,H.R. 4444, led by Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) and endorsed by the Future Forum Caucus, outlines substantive responsibilities and duties such an office and its staff can execute.
2. Expand Voting Access for Youth.
Reasoning: Our Caucus appreciates the goal of the Promoting Access to Voting Executive Order issued in 20214 to use the reach of the federal government to proactively facilitate access to the ballot. Through the Executive Order, the President mandated working with state, local, tribal, and territorial officials, including federal Departments, to improve voter engagement with the electoral process. While we understand the development of pre-registration processes for minors 16+ nationwide might be complex to achieve due to varying state laws, we respectfully request the Administration consider issuing state guidance for consideration making pre-registration a Best Practice. Furthermore, we respectfully request the Administration make public the reports it requested in the Executive Order and that the Administration outline challenges that prevent the Departments from working with states to declare public institutions of higher education as voter registration agencies under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
3. Improve interagency coordination, cooperation, and for the buildout of transmission infrastructure as a national priority, including establishing clear transmission deployment goals and exercising the ability to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) to combat climate change, and meet our country’s electricity needs and identify potential energy sources.
Reasoning: The biggest challenge facing the United States’ ability to meet its climate goals is the lack of capacity of our electrical grid to connect clean energy generation to the new demand that comes with economy-wide electrification. Renewable energy is only as good as the electrical system upon which it relies. Further, improved transmission infrastructure supports the overall reliability and resilience of our power grid.To support the Administration’s climate goals and generate renewable energy, we need to set clear transmission deployment goals and improve interagency coordination. Further, the Department of Energy (DOE) has authority to designate NIETCs in transmission-constrained or congested areas, within which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may then issue permits for construction or modification of electric transmission infrastructure. DOE has recently released final guidance5 on how it will designate NIETCs, and we encourage DOE to expeditiously designate these NIETCs to help meet our transmission goal needs.
4. Direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to expeditiously appoint a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs in the Office of the Secretary.
Reasoning: In July 2016, President Obama signed the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 20156 (HOTMA), which created the position of Special Assistant for Veteran Affairs in the Office of the HUD Secretary7. This position would be primarily responsible for ensuring veterans have fair access to housing and homelessness assistance, coordinating all programs and activities of HUD relating to veterans, and serving as a liaison for HUD with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), among other responsibilities8. To date, no one has been appointed to serve in this capacity. As such, we respectfully request the appointment of a qualified candidate to fill this vacancy to promote veteran access to housing and homeless assistance, coordinate veterans-related activities at HUD, and liaise with VA and other entities on veterans’ issues.
5. Direct the General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and HUD to streamline implementation of Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
Reasoning: Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless enables organizations to use unutilized, underutilized, excess, or surplus federal properties to address the critical urgent needs of homeless Americans. To ensure this program meets its full intent and potential, and to further streamline its processes, we respectfully request the Administration consider and implement the following recommendations:
- Remove the requirement that Title V applicants have all financing in place before the title is transferred. Instead, allow for some initial transfer of site control so the applicant can apply for tax credits to finance development, while maintaining an option for the deed to revert to the federal government if financing is not secured.
- Transfer HHS’ responsibility of reviewing and approving Title V applications to HUD to reduce bureaucratic redundancy.
- Extend the 36-month timeline by which applicants must place acquired properties into use to 5 years.
- Provide an opportunity to cure noncompliance concerns, rather than immediately moving to revert the property deed.
We look forward to meeting with your respective staff to fully discuss the important requests outlined in this letter. Thank you in advance for your time and attention to these matters.
Sincerely,
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About Future Forum Congressional Caucus: Established in 2015, Future Forum is a generational caucus composed of 53 members from a diverse cross-section of the Democratic Caucus who are 50 years and younger. Future Forum represents the next generation of leaders in Congress and includes members of all ideological and identity caucuses in the House, members of the Democratic leadership, and the first Gen Z Member of Congress.
To learn more about Future Forum: https://futureforumcaucus-allred.house.gov/