FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 10, 2019
Philip Bennett (CHSA): 310–384–5815, Philip.Bennett@mail.house.gov
Alex Hetherington (CAPASA): 202–816–1124, Alex_Hetherington@schatz.senate.gov
Brianna Patterson (SBLSC): 301–706–1108, Brianna_Patterson@cardin.senate.gov
Herline Mathieu (CBA): 407–745–9801, Herline.Mathieu@mail.house.gov
Washington, D.C. - Today the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association (CHSA), Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association (CAPASA), Senate Black Legislative Caucus (SBLSC) and Congressional Black Associates released the following statement:
“The Tri-Caucus Staff Associations thank Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and the Senate Diversity Initiative for collecting and publishing demographic data for Democratic Senate staffers. Senate Democratic Leadership’s commitment to collecting this data for a third year is critical to finding solutions to foster greater diversity among Senate staff.
“While the aggregate percentage of staff who identify as non-Caucasian showed marginal improvement in personal Senate offices, we continue to be concerned about the glaring lack of diversity among Democratic committee staff. According to the 2019 data, six Senate committees – including all of the ‘Super A’ or ‘Big Four’ committees – are failing miserably in their mission to diversify, with just zero to thirteen percent diverse staff. This is unacceptable.
“It is clear that much work remains to be done to recruit, retain, and advance diverse staff. This is why we urge leadership to build a robust pipeline of senior staff by implementing initiatives, such as office diversity plans and implicit bias training modules, to help offices improve their hiring practices and retain junior staff of color. To support diverse entry-level staff, we also urge Senate offices to maintain their support for the allocation of appropriated funds to intern programs and encourage the adoption of policies that support low-income interns.
“Furthermore, we continue to call upon Republican Senate offices and the House of Representatives to follow suit in producing data on staff diversity. We also ask that all future data reports, including those from the Senate Diversity Initiative, disaggregate data by position and clearly distinguish between district staff and staff based in Washington, D.C.
“The Tri-Caucus Staff Associations stand ready to be a resource to help all personal and committee offices diversify their workforces across both chambers and at all levels.”