Posts in On Capitol Hill
Little Lobbyists' Top 10 of 2021
Little Lobbyists' Top 10 of 2021
Little Lobbyists Simon gets his vaccine

#1 Vaccines!

Vaccinations for COVID-19 began to roll out at the beginning of the year and we’ve worked hard to raise awareness and advocate for all our kids to be protected. We’re hoping shots for our littlest lobbyists and boosters for big kids will be available soon. Please keep doing all you can to protect yourself, your family, and all of us - wear a mask, get vaccinated and boosted as soon as you can! To learn more, visit vaccines.gov.

In the photo: Little Lobbyists Simon gets his COVID-19 vaccine!

#2 Virtual Meetings, Real Advocacy!

We love introducing legislators to our kids, and COVID didn’t change that. Like so many others, we took our work online and are continuing to make sure kids with complex medical needs and disabilities have a seat at the (virtual) table.

In the photo: Little Lobbyists Taryn and her mom Dawn meet with Senator Sinema and her Team.

#3 Congressional Testimony!

The American Rescue Plan included many provisions to help all our families, like the Child Tax Credit, funding for home and community based services for people with disabilities, and subsidies to make health insurance more affordable. Our Director of Communications, Laura LeBrun Hatcher, was invited to testify in the House of Representatives to explain why these provisions are so important, and why they must be made permanent.

In the photo: Little Lobbyists Simon’s mom and Director of Communications Laura LeBrun Hatcher provides testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives.

#4 Celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act!

This year the ADA turned 31 and Little Lobbyists Executive Director Elena Hung was invited to a celebration marking the occasion in the White House Rose Garden. At the event, President Biden acknowledged that there is still much work needed to remove barriers to freedom and equality for Americans with disabilities and he affirmed his administration's commitment to advancing Disability Rights. Watch the ceremony here.  

In the photo: The president surrounded by the Vice President, disability advocates, Speaker Pelosi and other leaders mark the anniversary of the ADA.

#5 Meeting with the Vice President!

Twice this year, Little Lobbyists had the opportunity to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris to represent our families and discuss what our children with complex medical needs and disabilities need to survive and thrive. Communications Director Laura LeBrun Hatcher joined the Vice President at an event celebrating the Affordable Care Act and Little Lobbyists Claire’s mom Jamie Davis Smith sat down with the Vice President at her own kitchen table to discuss the importance of caregiving. Read Jamie’s account of her experience here.

In the photo: Vice President Kamala Harris sitting at the kitchen table for a conversation on caregiving with Little Lobbyists Claire’s mom Jaime Davis Smith.

#6 Care Can’t Wait!

President Biden’s agenda calls for a major investment in our country’s infrastructure — including social spending on health care, education, and caregiving as part of the critical foundation our country must support to remain strong. The social infrastructure bill is called the Build Back Better Act. Working closely with Senator Casey and Representative Dingell, Little Lobbyists provided input on the policies and funding our loved ones with complex medical needs and disabilities need to thrive at home instead of being forced into dangerous institutions. For the past several months we’ve advocated alongside many other organizations to get this historic legislation passed because for our families ”Care Can’t Wait!” To learn more, visit www.littlelobbyists.org/carecantwait.

In the photo: Activists lit up the night with “Care Can’t Wait” signs in front of the Capitol following a 24 hour rally.

#7 Powerful Partnerships!

In a year full of historic challenges and opportunities, we worked collaboratively with several organizations to advocate for the passage of the Build Back Better Act including: the Arc, Be A Hero, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Caring Across Generations, the Center for American Progress, MomsRising, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, SEIU, and many more. In addition, we partnered closely with Ady Barkan’s organization Be A Hero to help share our families’ stories about the importance of home and community based services on a national platform.

In the photo: Director of Community Engagement and Little Lobbyists Sara and Emma’s mom Stacy Staggs shared her family’s story nationally through our partnership with Be A Hero.

#8 A “mom to mom” conversation with a U.S. Senator!

Executive Director Elena Hung had a mom to mom conversation with Senator Maggie Hassan. Elena and the Senator were both led to national advocacy through their experience as parents and caregivers of disabled children. They discussed the importance of Medicaid home and community based services and the policies we need to ensure our children have the civil rights they deserve. Watch the video here.

In the photo: A screen shot from the video call between Senator Hassan and Little Lobbyists Xiomara’s mom and Executive Director Elena Hung.

#9 The Build Back Better Act passed the House!

The Build Back Better Act includes historic investments in home and community based services, access to health care, education, childcare, paid leave, lower drug costs, and more that our families need. Our Executive Director Elena Hung was invited to the White House with a small group of disability advocates to support the final push to the House vote. Our work to get this bill passed is far from over – the legislation is currently in the Senate and intense advocacy will be needed to get it over the finish line. 

In the photo: Disability rights leaders, including our Executive Director Elena Hung, with a White House Associate Director beside the White House.

#10 Little Lobbyists are invited to the White House!

We work hard but also remember to take time to celebrate. At the invitation of the President and the First Lady, we spent some time viewing the beautiful holiday decor at the People’s House. Masks were worn and social distancing observed, but the lights shined just as bright. We appreciated the care taken by the Administration to ensure this year’s subdued holiday celebrations were as COVID safe as possible ahead of the Omicron surge.

In the photo: Members of the Little Lobbyists team, Elena Hung, Laura LeBrun Hatcher, and Jeneva Burroughs Stone stand in front of a stairway lit with candles leading to a festively decorated entrance to the White House before they tour the holiday decor.

In the coming year, Little Lobbyists will keep showing up to represent our families and make sure ALL kids with complex medical needs and disabilities have a seat at the table to inform the policies that affect them. To be a part of our ongoing advocacy, follow us on social media, share your story with us, and if you can, please consider donating to support our family-led and volunteer-powered work. 

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2022!

Wishing You a Happy & Healthy New Year from the Little Lobbyists!
Reflections, On Capitol HillLaura Hatcher
Thank you, Sister Simone (by Laura LeBrun Hatcher)
Thank you, Sister Simone (by Laura LeBrun Hatcher)

I first heard Sister Simone speak at the Women’s March in Washington D.C. on January 21, 2017. Like many people on that unseasonably warm winter day, I’d never been to a protest march before. I was unsure what to expect, and uncertain if I belonged. 

Sister SImone on the jumbotron at the Women’s March. Photo from networklobby.org

Sister SImone on the jumbotron at the Women’s March. Photo from networklobby.org

As I made my way toward the Capitol I joined a growing sea of pink hats and smiling faces. People carried signs quoting Mother Teresa and Dr. King, little girls in kitten-eared beanies bobbed above the crowd upon their mother’s shoulders, and members of the local Black church offered marchers water, granola bars, and words of encouragement as we passed.

By the time I reached the edge of the Mall my nerves had dissipated. The crowd slowed to a stop, and the clear voice of a smiling woman with a neat gray bob rang out from the nearest stage. 

As I listened I realized she was quoting scripture:

“... they say that we were gathered in one place - frightened and afraid … afraid to go out … and then a mighty wind came. A mighty wind that stirred the hearts and lifted the courage and let people know we’re not alone. We’re together. We’re together regardless of our faith, regardless of our color, regardless of who we define as our neighbor. We are all neighbors to each other and that is the deep truth our nation was founded on. We are our sister's keepers. We are our brother’s keepers. It is that truth that will help us to mend the gaps in our society.”

In that moment, I was transported back to my all-girls Catholic high school days in Baltimore City, where the Sisters of Mercy filled our heads and hearts with the knowledge that we were put on this earth to make it better. I was shocked, yet equally unsurprised, to learn the speaker was a Catholic sister – once again calling me to be a happy warrior in the mission for social justice. 

I knew I was right where I belonged.

That day, Sister Simone gave me my marching orders and I’ve been following them ever since. In our quest to make this world a better place through the work of Little Lobbyists, Sister Simone has been a constant support and source of inspiration. 

Sister Simone stands to my right, next to Elena Hung and Ady Barkan, as I speak at a press conference in the Capitol at the invitation of then-Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Sister Simone stands to my right, next to Elena Hung and Ady Barkan, as I speak at a press conference in the Capitol at the invitation of then-Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Later that same year, in December 2017, Sister Simone stood by my side as I spoke at my first “big” press conference with then-Leader Nancy Pelosi. Sister Simone nodded in quiet encouragement as I asked Congress to protect our children with complex medical needs and disabilities. She later invited us to her office at Network Lobby, and asked us to teach her organization about our children and what they needed. Over the next four years, we found there was always room for our families on Network Lobby’s national “Nuns on the Bus” tours, and at stop after stop Sister Simone lifted our families’ voices on her platform. She lent us her strength and amplified our message, adopting our cause as one of her own.

This month, Sr. Simone is retiring as Executive Director of Network Lobby. Though I know we Little Lobbyists and so many others will miss her leadership, I also know she will always be with us. I can think of no better way to honor her than by recommitting ourselves to following her charge –  

“So my friends, can we commit in this moment to exercise joy, to claim our passion, to have curiosity about our neighbors and then, share it around. Because if we each do our part, we the people will triumph, we the people are what our nation needs, and we the people will make the difference. Let’s do it together.”

Thank you, Sister Simone. 

Click here to listen to Sister Simone’s full speech at the Women’s March in Washington D.C., January 21, 2017: https://youtu.be/wcrbgSKF80U




Reflections, The ACA, On Capitol HillLaura Hatcher