By Dan De Luce and Abigail Williams

President Donald Trump’s envoy to Afghanistan faced tough questioning on Tuesday by Democratic lawmakers who accused the administration of jeopardizing the rights of Afghan women in pursuit of a peace deal.

The grilling of U.S. special representative Zalmay Khalilzad came days after the Taliban and the Afghan government entered into peace talks for the first time, a breakthrough that followed a months-long diplomatic push by the Trump administration.

But Rep. Stephen Lynch, chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, and other Democrats said they feared for the future of Afghan women without a firm guarantee from Washington to safeguard their rights.

“How do we demonstrate to the Taliban that the status of women and girls is a major priority in restoring that country’s stability . . . when we don’t list it as a priority in our negotiations but instead, leave it to the Afghans to fight that fight?” Lynch asked the U.S. envoy.

Khalilzad said women’s rights and minority rights were a top priority for the United States, and insisted that the administration had not abandoned their cause. But he acknowledged that the country’s political future would be determined by talks between the Taliban militants and an Afghan government-led delegation.

“At this hearing, I want to assure the Afghan women that we will be with them,” the Afghan-born diplomat said.

He added that the administration “will express ourselves forcefully” on the issue.

The peace talks that got underway on Sept. 12 followed a U.S-Taliban agreement signed in February. Under that deal, Washington agreed to withdraw American troops by May 2021 in return for the Taliban renouncing terrorism and agreeing to direct peace talks with their foes in the Afghan government. The U.S.-Taliban agreement did not address women’s rights.

Lynch cited a letter from 19 members of the Afghan parliament calling on the United States to stand up for women’s rights in any future peace agreement.

The parliament members appealed to Washington to “let this deal be known as one that preserved the rights of every Afghan man and woman. Not a deal that prevents little girls from going to school, not a deal that leads to the destruction of our institutions, not a deal that backtracks on the great achievements of freedom and democracy,” according to the letter obtained by NBC News.

Khalilzad said future U.S. assistance to Afghanistan would depend on what decisions are made in the peace talks, including on the rights of women.

H. R. McMaster, who served as Trump’s second former national security adviser, has sharply criticized the administration’s negotiations with the Taliban, saying the U.S.-backed peace talks were doomed to failure.

“The consequences for U.S. national security policy are clear: not only do women deserve a seat at the table, but meaningful consideration of their voices and interests will lead to greater security and stability in fragile states and post-conflict environments around the world,” Chairman Lynch said. 

The Subcommittee heard testimony from The Honorable Kelley Currie, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues at the Department of State; The Honorable Michelle Bekkering, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment at the U.S. Agency for International Development; Stephanie Hammond, Acting Deputy Assistant of Defense for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs at the Department of Defense; and Cameron Quinn, Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, announced her intent to introduce legislation that would establish a White House Women, Peace, and Security Council, which would be staffed by senior agency officials who focus exclusively on WPS Strategy implementation and report directly to their secretaries:

“This would send a strong signal about the United States’ commitment to empowering women and girls in political and civic life, both overseas and here at home, while coordinating a whole-of-government implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security Strategy,” Chairwoman Maloney said.  “It’s an investment in peace to invest in the empowerment of women.”

·         The Trump Administration has not demonstrated its commitment to promoting women, peace, and security principles.

o    Despite the State Department’s claim that “protecting the rights of Afghan women and girls and building on the accomplishments to date is an imperative,” President Trump has acknowledged that the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan “possibly will” allow the Taliban to return to power.  Ambassador Currie testified during the hearing that the Taliban’s record on women’s rights is “abysmal.”  

o    Rep. Harley Rouda criticized the Trump Administration for failing to place greater importance on sexual and reproductive healthcare in the WPS Strategy, and argued that the Trump Administration’s repeated attacks on sexual and reproductive health undermine WPS Strategy principles of gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

·         Members and witnesses affirmed the importance of U.S. defense and national security agencies enabling and encouraging more women to serve in senior leadership positions while strengthening a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workforce.

o    Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Hammond testified that “When we recognize and support the important roles women fulfill as agents of change, and when we incorporate their perspectives throughout our plans and operations, we are better equipped to promote our security, confront our near-peer competitors, and defeat our adversaries.”

Boston Globe 

By The Editorial Board 

It seems President Trump has a trusted commander in his war on Americans’ ability to safely cast absentee votes by mail in November’s election: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a former Trump campaign and Republican mega-donor. With a raging pandemic that has made in-person voting more difficult, it is up to Congress to exercise its constitutional oversight of the US mail by ensuring that all mail, including ballots submitted in November’s election, is protected — even if it means taking the case to court.

Under DeJoy’s oversight, the US Postal Service implemented administrative measures last month that will only serve to slow mail delivery, including eliminating overtime, reducing delivery frequency, and even forcing carriers to leave mail behind at distribution centers, docks, and workroom floors — all ostensibly in the name of cost-cutting, according to publicly released documents.

As congressional Democrats, including Representative Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, pointed out to DeJoy in a July 20 letter: “While these changes in a normal year would be drastic, in a presidential election year when many states are relying heavily on absentee mail-in ballots, increases in mail delivery timing would impair the ability of ballots to be received and counted in a timely manner — an unacceptable outcome for a free and fair election.”

This comes as Trump has railed against absentee voting by mail for months, calling it “fraudulent,” and even drawing a fact-checking rebuke from Twitter for making the false claim.

Trump tried to change the subject Tuesday by declaring absentee voting in Florida “Safe and Secure, Tried and True” in a Twitter post. The tweet isn’t a reversal, given that Trump has repeatedly defended his own absentee votes — cast by mail — in the Sunshine State while excoriating efforts to make it more accessible in other parts of the country. The decision by his campaign, along with the Nevada state and national GOP, to sue over that state’s mail-in voting law is proof that his sudden embrace of mail-in voting in Florida was self-serving.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Trump’s tweet about Florida came hours after Politico reported internal polling that showed Trump’s anti-absentee-voting rhetoric would probably come back to haunt him in his new home swing state and elsewhere. According to the poll cited in the report, 15 percent of Trump voters in Florida, 12 percent in Pennsylvania, and 10 percent in Michigan said they’d be less likely to vote at all if they got a ballot in the mail. The bald hypocrisy — of supporting mail-in voting in a state where he believes it’ll help him and opposing it where he thinks it won’t — is no surprise from a president who has repeatedly demonstrated his desire to hold onto power at all costs, even suggesting that the election be delayed entirely.

The actions of USPS officials to make it harder for Americans to vote by mail in order to keep themselves safe from the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic require an urgent response. And Democrats negotiating the next coronavirus relief bill’s push for billions of dollars in postal service funding — Lynch and other members of the Oversight Committee — have called DeJoy to testify before Congress next month, and in the meantime to reverse the administrative measures that have spurred mail delivery logjams.

“The second direction that we could take is to go the federal courts and ask for injunctive relief from any efforts by the president to interfere with the congressional mandate to deliver the mail,” Lynch said. He noted that such a legal challenge could set up yet another “quasi constitutional crisis between (Congress) and the president.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Lynch said.

But given Congress’ constitutional oversight role over US mail, if it does come to that, lawmakers should not hesitate. The integrity of the election, and the safety and protection of votes, is at stake.

August 1, 2020

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By Lucas Acosta

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization announced a series of endorsements of  U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark, Bill Keating, Stephen Lynch, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Richard Neal, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan.

In 2019, Reps. Katherine Clark, Bill Keating, Stephen Lynch, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Richard Neal, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan co-sponsored and voted for the Equality Act — crucial federal legislation that would finally guarantee explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people under our nation’s existing civil rights laws when it was considered by the U.S. House last year. All voted to lift the Trump-Pence ban on transgender military service, support marriage equality, and have supported numerous efforts to improve access and affordability of health care for people living with HIV. Each member has earned a 100 score on our Congressional Scorecard for the last Congress, should they have been elected to it, and have been among the top stand-out pro-equality members of Congress throughout their time in office.

“Last year, the Human Rights Campaign was proud to stand alongside these champions of equality and pass the Equality Act for the first time. This year, we’re here to stand alongside them again as they seek reelection,” said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “While we were able to make history by passing the Equality Act, we must ensure that we retain our pro-equality majority to pass the bill again through a pro-equality Senate and under a pro-equality President. Each of these members are crucial not just to ensuring the pro-equality majority, but to crafting and effectuating a truly effective legislative agenda to improve the lives of LGBTQ people in Massachusetts and across the country.”

“LGBTQ Americans, particularly Black transgender women, face an alarming rate of deadly violence and discrimination, yet rather than help them, Trump has done everything in his power to bully and erase our LGBTQ families, friends, and neighbors,” said Rep. Katherine Clark.  “Lives are at stake, and I am proud to fight alongside the Human Rights Campaign to defeat Donald Trump in November, elect a pro-equality Congress, and make equality the law of the land once and for all.”

“Over the past four years Donald Trump and his administration have put forth policy designed to bully and discriminate against the LGBTQ+  community,” said Rep. Bill Keating. “I am honored to have the support of the Human Rights Campaign and look forward to working with them in defeating Donald Trump at the ballot box this November. Love wins, equality wins, and I will never waver in my support for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and families.”

“Throughout my years in Congress, I have worked side by side with the Human Right Campaign on important legislative issues and I’m so proud and grateful to have their continued support” said Rep. Stephen Lynch. “HRC was instrumental in helping us to secure support for the Equality Act in the House. On every issue that impacts our LGBTQ community, HRC has been an active partner in advocating, educating and carrying the torch for equality. I look forward to working with HRC to ensure that all Americans can live with dignity and full equality under the law.”

“I’m proud to support the hard work of so many HRC members who have been fighting to elect leaders who understand that none of us are equal until all of us are equal,” said Rep. Jim McGovern. “As Chair of the Rules Committee, I used our new majority to ban workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation in the United States House of Representatives for the first time ever. And now that the Supreme Court has outlawed discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans in the workplace, we need to fight like hell to pass the Equality Act and expand these protections. Our work is just getting started — until LGBTQ+ have the same opportunities and rights as everyone else, I will continue to listen, learn, and use my voice to advocate for human rights and promote equality and justice for all.”

“I’m honored to receive this endorsement. We have a long way to go before everyone in America is truly equal, but all of us have the opportunity—and responsibility—to create change, and that’s what the Human Rights Campaign is doing every day” said Rep. Seth Moulton. “I’m fighting hard to build a Congress that supports LGBTQ+ equality and to elect a president who does too. Let’s keep going forward.”

“I’m deeply honored to have the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, which is the biggest changemaker in this country when it comes to LGBTQ rights and equality,” said Rep. Richard Neal. “At every turn during my time in Congress, I have been driven by a mission to level the playing field for people who need it the most, and it is this same spirit that is integral to the very founding mission of HRC. But on a personal level, and as very proud father of a gay son, I am grateful for their advocacy and dedication. I will always echo their mission and I am grateful for their support.”

“I am so proud to have earned the endorsement of HRC, and I remain deeply committed to organizing, advocating, and legislating alongside members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the continued fight against homophobia, transphobia, racism, and institutionalized oppression,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

“I’m honored to have the support of the Human Rights Campaign, which has been leading the fight for full LGBTQIA+  equality for decades,” said Rep. Lori Trahan. “While we’re closer to full equality under the law than at any point in our nation’s history, three years under this Administration has shown just how far we still have to go. I look forward to continuing that fight alongside our incredible partners at HRC.”

In the 2018 midterms, HRC helped register more than 32,000 voters and recruited more than 4,200 volunteers, who worked over 8,500 shifts and clocked more than 30,000 volunteer hours. In the critical final four days of the campaign, HRC staff and volunteers in get-out-the-vote efforts alone knocked on more than 80,000 doors, and held 36,400 conversations with voters at their doors and by phone on behalf of our endorsed candidates. HRC’s unprecedented grassroots mobilization worked to recruit volunteers, mobilize constituents, register voters and grow the organization’s grassroots army in an all-out effort to pull the emergency brake on the hateful anti-LGBTQ agenda of the Trump-Pence administration and elect a Congress that would hold them accountable. In 2020, our engagement and mobilization efforts will only deepen. HRC will have at least 45 full-time staff in seven priority states (AZ, MI, NV, OH, PA, TX, and WI) and an additional 20 staff focused on a second tier of states and districts.

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By Kimberly Atkins

Congressional lawmakers from Massachusetts hailed Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Title VII’s prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sex also applies to gay and transgender workers.

But they also pressed for the Senate to take up broader protections for LGBTQ individuals.

 “Look, this is an important victory,” Rep. Jim McGovern told WBUR Monday of the high court’s decision. “But that’s only limited to the workplace. We need to make sure that discrimination is eradicated and not tolerated in every segment of our life.”

McGovern cited the Equality Act, which would bar LGBTQ bias in a host of areas beyond employment, including housing, public spaces, education. The House passed the legislation, sponsored by Rhode Island U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, in May of 2019.

 “And it’s been collecting dust on [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell’s desk all that time,” McGovern said. “My hope is that he will bring it to the Senate floor, allow there to be a debate and a vote, and I hope and expect it to pass.”

Other Bay State delegation members echoed McGovern’s sentiment.

“For over a year, @senatemajldr McConnell has refused a vote on the #EqualityAct, a bill the House passed that would officially ban discrimination against LGBTQ+ people,” tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “Mitch McConnell should listen to the Court & give that bill a vote.”

Rep. Joe Kennedy III said in a statement that the “Trump Administration threatens the health care and housing of LGBTQ+ Americans, the Senate must pass the Equality Act to finally enshrine these protections in our laws.”

Sen. Ed Markey tweeted: “Workplace discrimination cannot be tolerated.”

“We have come a long way, but before today your employer could fire you because of your sexual orientation or gender identity,” Markey continued. “We still have far to go.”

“Finally! This decision is long overdue and a critical step toward full equality under the law for all #LGBTQ+ people,” tweeted Rep. Lori Trahan. “But we still have a lot of work to do. The #LGBTQIA community remains under attack from this Administration. The Senate must pass the #EqualityAct.”

Rep. Richard Neal called the ruling “a momentous victory for the LGBTQ community and our nation as a whole.”

“I will continue to use my position as Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means to ensure that LGBTQ individuals receive fair treatment in the tax code and to reaffirm the declaration that there is no place for hate or discrimination of any kind here in our country,” Neal said in a statement.

“Progress,” tweeted Rep. Ayanna Pressley. “This is a victory for every #LGBTQ+ person in our country & the organizers who fought tirelessly to make it a reality. No one should face discrimination for who they are or who they love. Today we celebrate, tomorrow we continue fighting for equality & justice for all.”

Rep. Seth Moulton tweeted that he is “thankful to the Justices who chose to be on the right side of history.”

“Finally some good news from the US Supreme Court!” said Rep. Stephen Lynch in a statement. “As a former Labor and Employment Lawyer, this is a welcome and overdue victory for LGBTQ rights and a victory for equal rights for all!”

“Considering the Supreme Court came to their decision by applying the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it seems fitting to close with MLK’s words: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’ ” tweeted Rep. Bill Keating.

This article was originally published on June 15, 2020.

BOSTON —

About 200 people gathered for a Mass on Castle Island Saturday morning as part of a call for change to race relations in America.

The Gate of Heaven Church hosted a “Mass for Racial Justice and Healing” near the Clipper Ship Monument to Donald McKay.

The Mass was held one day after Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declared racism to be a public health crisis in the city.

The Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, celebrated the interfaith service. On June 5, he wrote a message in response to the death of George Floyd and recorded it on video.

“It is encouraging to see that people have been galvanized into action, and that people want to say: ‘No more!'” O’Malley said Saturday. “This has to change.”

O’Malley concluded the Mass with the following message: “If America is to champion democracy in the world, we need to clean up our own act.”

“I certainly believe that his remarks today will be considered historic,” said Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston Branch of the NAACP. “Quite frankly, during this time, they were a call to action.”

Leaders of the black faith community attended the Mass, including Pastor William Dickerson of Greater Love Tabernacle, who addressed the crowd before the service began.

“Let’s drive out fear, let’s drive out bigotry,” Dickerson told the crowd. “I will still have optimism and faith to believe that our city will rise again.”

“It was particularly poignant to have this service and this gathering in South Boston, which has been the place of so much racial tension over the decades,” said Rev. Ray Hammond of Bethel AME Church. “The healing has to begin here, but it has to go throughout the entire city.”

“The pain that people have experienced for generations is very real (and) deep, and we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, also of Bethel AME Church.

Also in attendance were former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and two Massachusetts congressmen — Rep. Joe Kennedy III and Rep. Stephen Lynch, who grew up in the city’s South Boston neighborhood.

“Really, the change that has to happen is in our hearts,” Lynch said. “You know, a lot of people have tried to pack up all the ills of society and stuff them into a blue uniform, and that’s wrong. It’s on all of us. We’ve got to do better. I’ve got to do better.”

On Friday, Walsh announced he is planning to reallocate $12 million from the Boston Police Department’s 2021 overtime budget and put it toward funds across the city, including those that support housing security programs, minority and women-owned business programs and emergency mental health responses.

Boston Police Commissioner William Gross is also on board with Walsh’s call for reform. On Thursday, the Boston Police Department announced changes modeled on the “8 Can’t Wait” Initiative, which pushes for eight specific reforms in police departments nationwide.

“The people that we serve should have the expectation that this department will improve each and every year, and I think we are taking those steps,” Gross said Friday.

Sullivan said the changes are a step in the right direction, but suggested the reallocated funds should be closer to $60 million rather than $12 million.

The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association did not respond to a request for comment from NewsCenter 5.

By MARIE SZANISZLO | Boston Herald

U. S. Reps. Stephen F. Lynch and Ayanna Pressley, along with a group of other House Democrats, have launched an investigation into the Trump administration’s surveillance of people protesting last month’s killing of an African-American man by a white Minneapolis police officer.

“We write with grave concern about the use of Department of Homeland Security resources — including drones and armed uniformed officers — to surveil and intimidate peaceful protesters who were exercising their First Amendment rights to protest the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department,” the members of the Committee of Oversight and Reform wrote.

Lynch, writing as chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, and Pressley, a member of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, joined Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney of New York; Jamie Raskin of Maryland; and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in sending a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding the Trump Administration explain its use of Customs and Border Patrol resources to conduct surveillance of people protesting George Floyd’s killing.

CBP admitted to flying a surveillance drone, commonly known as a “Predator B,” over protests in Minneapolis on May 29.  The drone reportedly was far outside the bounds of CBP’s jurisdiction.  Federal law authorizes CBP to conduct its missions within a “reasonable distance,” not to exceed more than 100 air miles inland, from an external boundary of the United States. 

“This Administration has undermined the First Amendment freedoms of Americans of all races who are rightfully protesting George Floyd’s killing,” the members wrote.  “The deployment of drones and officers to surveil protests is a gross abuse of authority and is particularly chilling when used against Americans who are protesting law enforcement brutality.”

DHS has also deployed armed uniformed officers to police protests in cities across the country, including the nation’s Capital, according to the letter.

The Congressional members asked that DHS provide a full accounting of its activities by Thursday, including a complete list of all jurisdictions where it policed protests, the full cost of those efforts and the legal authority permitting its intervention.