Cliff Stearns: “Already, this work has had a tremendously positive impact on us. I am extremely pleased to announce that, since our last…”

“Already, this work has had a tremendously positive impact on us. I am extremely pleased to announce that, since our last meeting, as a direct result of our strategic plan, we have secured three new grants: the Democracy Fund; the Hewlett-Packard Foundation's Madison Initiative; and just last week, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission. These outstanding sponsors join our long-term partners with whom we have worked for many years, including the Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, and The German Marshall Fund of the United States. In addition to this fundraising success, or more accurately because of it, we have added four additional staff members to the Former Members of Congress team, many of whom you will meet throughout the day. We have also launched a new program aimed at connecting, on a bipartisan basis, current district directors from throughout the country with each other to work together on specific issues and benefit from hearing each other's best practices. As you know quite well, district directors are at the very forefront of our representative democracy and tend to be the first interaction between a constituent and his or her Member. The district director functions as a mediator, bridging the gap between the national policy and the district's interest. But the very nature of being in the district means that the congressional professionals do not have the same opportunity their colleagues in D.C.…”