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A group photo of 2018’s Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress participants.
Photo courtesy of Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics
Campus & Community
Now in session
23rd Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress to focus on pressing issues
The Institute of Politics (IOP) at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) announced the 23rd edition of its Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress. The program is designed to brief representative-elects about the country’s most pressing challenges and to find common interests and collaboration in policymaking.
This year, the new leaders will discuss fighting COVID-19, rebuilding the economy, America’s role in the world, and the effects of the pandemic and economic recession on educational access, food security, criminal justice, and democratic governance.
“Since 1972, the Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress has been an important part of lawmakers’ orientation to the House of Representatives. While we will miss their presence in Cambridge this year, we are proud to offer the expertise of Harvard faculty and other policy experts as they begin their public service,” said Mark D. Gearan ’78, director of the IOP. “This program allows new members of Congress the opportunity to get to know their colleagues, explore the policy implications of these important topics, and utilize the expertise of our faculty colleagues during the program and during their service.”
The program will also feature current representatives giving guidance on the transition to Capitol Hill, including IOP senior advisory committee members: Joe Kennedy, J.D. ’09, representing Massachusetts’ fourth district; Elise Stefanik ’06; Dan Crenshaw, M.P.A. ’17; and Ayanna Pressley, representing Massachusetts’ seventh district.
The 117th Congress will convene virtually in four sessions beginning Monday and ending Dec. 15. The briefings will be conducted by Harvard faculty and experts, including HKS Dean Douglas Elmendorf; Director of the Center for Public Leadership and Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership Wendy Sherman; Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School Arthur C. Brooks; and Professor of Global Health at the Chan School of Public Health Ashish Jha.
These initial sessions will be closed to the public. For more information, visit the IOP’s website.
