Delta Grassroots Caucus Events

Credit Michael Hibblen/ KUAR News, Arkansas Public Radio; Former President Bill Clinton speaking to the Delta Grassroots Caucus on May 2, 2013, at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Little Rock

U. S. Senator John Boozman, Arkansas, at a Delta Grassroots Caucus meeting at the US Capitol

Brad Cole, Executive Director of the Municipal League of Illinois; previously a senior aide to former Republican US Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, earlier Mayor of Carbondale, Illinois, veteran Delta regional advocate, speaking at the Delta regional conference in West Memphis, Arkansas on April 26, 2019.

President Bill Clinton makes a comment to Delta Caucus Director Lee Powell at a meeting in Blytheville, Arkansas (in the northeast Arkansas Delta) on Nov. 2, 2014

The Delta Caucus would like to pay tribute to the late, great U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, a powerful force in the US Senate for decades and a champion for the Delta. Sen. Cochran passed away on May 30, 2019. He spoke to the Delta Caucus on many occasions over the years (he is pictured above speaking to a Caucus event on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC) and his thoughtful, courteous and bipartisan leadership will be sorely missed.

Marcie Lawson, Executive Director, Sikeston, Missouri Regional Chamber and Area Economic Development Corporation, speaking at the Delta regional conference in West Memphis, Arkansas on April 26, 2019.

Alan Gumbel, Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce, Memphis, Tennessee, speaking at the Delta regional conference in West Memphis, Arkansas on April 26, 2019.

Mayor Shirley Washington of Pine Bluff, AR, speaking to the Delta Caucus at the Arkansas Capitol Rotunda in 2017.

Economic Equality Caucus Set for May 17-18, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

Posted on January 03, 2017 at 03:37 PM

The Delta Caucus and our national affiliate, the Economic Equality Caucus (EEC), will convene a conference on Capitol Hill on May 17-18, 2017 to have a dialogue with Members of Congress and the new administration of President-Elect Donald Trump about economic development and equality for working Americans.

The focus will be on economically distressed populations across the country, including the Greater Delta Region from southern Illinois and Missouri to New Orleans and east to the Alabama Black Belt, Appalachia, the Southwest Border, the Midwest, Native Americans, the Mid-Atlantic Virginia/Washington, DC/Maryland region, and inner cities such as Baltimore, New York, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and Washington, DC.

We are inviting Members of Congress, Trump administration officials on key job creation and infrastructure issues, and grassroots economic development and equality advocates from across the country on key health care, education, nutrition and other vital issues.

The Mid-Atlantic Region is one of the key regions, because we want to emphasize that even areas like Virginia/Washington, DC/Maryland that are relatively prosperous overall still have significant pockets of poverty. Economic inequality unfortunately is widespread across the country nowadays.

The Delta Caucus is a founding partner of the national EEC and is joining forces with similarly situated regions and populations across the country to amplify our voices in urging the national powers that be to take more effective action for those who have not shared equally in America’s prosperity and opportunity.

The Greater Delta will have an important role due to the unfortunately still economically distressed nature of many areas in the eight-state Delta region.

Job creation at good wages will be a key issue. We will urge Congress and the Trump administration to follow through on promises made during the campaign to make major investments in infrastructure to create jobs and repair America’s deteriorating infrastructure.

Health care, hunger and nutrition, housing, energy and education will be key issues as well; we take a comprehensive approach to economic development and equality and will cover a range of issues. We will select a few of these to prioritize since we can’t cover all these issues, and invite feedback on which three or four of these issues you would most like to see highlighted. Reply by email to leepowell@delta.comcastbiz.net

We are a diverse group including women, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans, whites and people of all demographic backgrounds.

SCHEDULE

HOUSE SESSION: Wednesday evening, May 17, 2017, 4:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. The opening session is at the US House of Representatives Rayburn building, Room 2060.

SENATE SESSION: Thursday morning, May 18, 2017, 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Senate meeting room TBD (Senate rules do not allow room reservations until 90 days before an event)

CLOSING SESSION: Thursday afternoon, May 18, 2017, noon to 2:45 p.m., Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill

Space is limited so please RSVP early by sending in the registration fees ASAP either by PayPal on the website at www.mdgc.us or mailing a check to the address below.

For more information contact Lee Powell, EEC Co-Chair and Delta Caucus Executive Director (202) 360-6347 or by email at LeePowell@delta.comcastbiz.net

REGISTRATION

You register by sending in the early registration fees.

Early Registration fees are $125 each until April 21, 2017. Those who have paid their annual membership dues will receive a reduction down to $100 each.

Late registration fees: After April 21, 2017, registration fees are increased to $160 to provide an incentive to get the fees in on time.

Space is limited so please RSVP by sending in the registration fees ASAP.

You can pay the registration fees in two ways:

Go to the website and use the PayPal process at the top of the site at www.mdgc.us

Send a check by mail. Please make out the check to “Delta Caucus” and mail to:

Delta Caucus

5030 Purslane Place

Waldorf, MD 20601

For more information, contact Lee Powell, Co-Chair, EEC and Delta Caucus Executive Director (202) 360-6347