Future Caucus - formerly Millennial Action Project

We've officially kicked off Future Summit 2024 today at the Library of Congress! We're so excited for the next few days.

Thank you to Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky for sharing insights from the Election of 1800 and how our political leaders can continue to display civic virtue.

Our 2023 Impact Report is here!

The Impact Report measures and details the impact and success of Future Caucus programs and that of our members in their respective legislatures.

Read the report and see how Future Caucus has led a decade of shaping the future. https://futurecaucus.org/future-caucus-2023-impact-report/

Political violence is never justified.

Never.

There are only THREE days left to apply for Future Summit!

Join us in Washington D.C., July 24th-27th, for the nation’s largest bipartisan convening of young state legislators.
https://futurecaucus.org/future-summit-2024/

All of us at Future Caucus would like to wish everyone a very happy Fourth of July!

The American experiment is worth celebrating and strengthening.

Gen Z and millennial lawmakers believe this. It’s why they’re fostering a culture of pluralism and improving our democracy, reminding us of our nation's founding promises.

This Fourth of July, we’re thankful for the wonderful freedoms we honor this day, and for all the people building a more perfect union.

Happy Independence Day!

After six terms in Congress, Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA), plans to retire at the end of the current Congressional term.

But not without some wisdom to impart.

Ahead of his departure, Future Caucus had the opportunity to sit down with Rep. Kilmer where he shared his advice on building civic bridges and working across the aisle. He believes that working to narrow the partisan divide is a skill that young lawmakers can practice and learn.

The first step? Listen. Kilmer cites his experiences as co-chair of the Bipartisan Working Group, “Going around the room to talk about what’s going on in Congress that week, even when it’s a tough conversation…” as playing a key role in his ability to understand the way colleagues vote.
Secondly, Kilmer says to travel, after finding great benefit from visiting Republican-held districts and inviting Republican colleagues to visit his own – learn where people are coming from, literally.

Third, have an endgame.

And lastly, take the wins. Finding common ground requires work and gratification is rarely instant, but the long, hard work has payoffs.

On civility, Kilmer says, “It means that we figure out where we can find agreement, and when we have disagreement, we disagree better.”

Rep. Kilmer shares more on the lessons he’s learned from his years of building civic bridges in the latest addition of our Young Lawmakers’ Storybank:

Building Civic Bridges with Rep. Derek Kilmer - Future Caucus In the realm of politics, where bipartisan cooperation often feels out of reach, Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) stands out as a pragmatic and compassionate young leader. With his impending departure from Congress, Future Caucus spoke to Kilmer about his strategies for transcending partisanship t...

Future Summit is the nation’s largest bipartisan convening of young state legislators. This July, we will welcome Gen Z and millennial lawmakers from across the country to connect, engage, and learn across the partisan divide.

We are honored and thrilled to announce our next round of speakers for this year’s Summit including:

✨ Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
✨ Michael Kratsios, 4th Chief Technology Officer of the United States during the Trump Administration
✨ Kara Swisher, Award-winning Journalist & Podcast Host
✨ Frank H. McCourt, Jr., Executive Chairman, McCourt Global & Founder, Project Liberty
✨ Roy Wood, Jr., Comedian & The Daily Show Correspondent

Learn more about Future Summit 2024: https://futurecaucus.org/future-summit-2024/

Their Generation: The Promise of Younger Elected Officials “You can be anything you want to be when you grow up.” Parents and teachers speak these words to children all over the country. With permission to dream, children are unleashed to imagine themselves as professional athletes, firefighters, teachers, and doctors. Less common is the dream of one da...

In the latest issue of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas Future Caucus President & CEO Layla Zaidane writes about the state of young people in politics – the hopes, the challenges, the solutions – providing analysis and data on the Gen Z and millennial generations and their relationship with leadership and public service.

With only 12% of Congress and only 25% of state legislators being Gen Z or millennials, recruitment is only part of the problem. Layla argues, “If we want to help more talented, public service-oriented young people see themselves as legislators, then we need to focus on retention of the Gen Zers and millennials in state and local office today.”

Throughout the article, Layla breaks down the systemic barriers keeping young people from running for public office and forcing early retirement while offering solutions and a call to action to support our young elected leaders.

Read Layla’s full article in The Democracy Journal below and learn what can be done to support young people in politics.

Their Generation: The Promise of Younger Elected Officials “You can be anything you want to be when you grow up.” Parents and teachers speak these words to children all over the country. With permission to dream, children are unleashed to imagine themselves as professional athletes, firefighters, teachers, and doctors. Less common is the dream of one da...

Last Month, Future Caucus had the opportunity to attend and speak at the Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference hosted by the University of Southern California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy.

Future Caucus' Innovation Lab Director, Paige Ferguson, moderated a conversation between two of our inaugural Strengthening Democracy Innovation Fellows, Representative Kristine Reeves (D-WA) and Representative Mary-Katherine Stone (D-VT). During the session titled “Legislative Oversight of Election Administration: Bipartisan Lessons from Young Legislators on the Frontlines of Election Policy,” Representatives Reeves and Stone discussed challenges and successes they’ve had as legislators working on election policy. Most importantly, the two emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation and collaboration between election administrators and poll workers to ensure effective policies that address real-world challenges.

The conference was followed up by a visit to the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Facility to experience the latest technology in election voting machines.

You can read about the work being done around election policy and our visit to Los Angeles on our Young Lawmakers’ Storybank:

Lessons from the Front Lines of Election Policy - Future Caucus By Paige Ferguson, Innovation Lab Director I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan… to attend the Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference at the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. The USC Schwarzenegger Institu...

The Oregon Future Caucus held a training this past Friday with the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

Seeing the value that the Levin Center’s training could hold for the State of Oregon, Co-Chair Representative Ben Bowman (D-OR) brought the two groups together after attending a similar training through Future Caucus' Innovation Fellowship.

Conversations between the Levin Center and the Oregon Future Caucus centered on opportunities to strengthen democracy and how to conduct bipartisan, fact-based oversight.

Thank you to the Levin Center for meeting with our lawmakers!

Elected into public office in November 2023, Lawrence and Bradford Blackmon became their parents’ successors in the Mississippi State House and Senate.

“Seeing my dad as a legislator who had done so much over a long period of time helped me recognize that I too had something to give to the people not only of my district, but to the state of Mississippi,” said Rep. Lawrence Blackmon.

Today, the pair of brothers are dedicated to continuing their parents’ legacy of service and committed to finding common ground issues affecting the state’s citizens.

To read more, visit the Young Lawmakers’ Storybank at the link in our bio.

Did you know young Americans polled by Sine identified four main factors of their "American Dream?"

Happiness and fulfillment, freedom to make decisions, meaningful personal relationships, and financial success.

Learn more about Sine's American Dream poll, conducted in partnership with Future Caucus - formerly Millennial Action Project, Close Up - Washington D.C. Educational Programs and Generation Lab here: https://www.american.edu/sine-institute/reimagining-poll.cfm

This Memorial Day, we hope everyone enjoys time with their loved ones as we remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. 🇺🇸

Future Summit 2024 is two months away!

As we prepare to welcome our network of Gen Z and millennial state lawmakers to DC, we’re excited to unveil our first round of speakers!

Future Summit is the largest bipartisan gathering of young lawmakers in the nation. We cannot wait for the incredible conversations, connections, and policymaking that will come out of this conference.

Stay tuned for more to come! But in the meantime, we hope this sneak peek excites everyone as much as us.

Learn more and apply today: https://futurecaucus.org/future-summit-2024/

“They’re going through the same problems. They might be a member of a different party… But they’re all struggling to make change, and that change is for the better.” -Delegate Kevin Hornberger (R-MD) on the power of having a national network of fellow young lawmakers with Future Caucus.

“The financial landscape needs to change in order to empower Pennsylvanians to achieve their personal goals.” - Representative Thomas Kutz (PA-R)

At a press conference in March, the Pennsylvania Future Caucus, co-chaired by Rep. Thomas Kutz and Rep. Justin Fleming, unveiled their 2024 legislative agenda – housing affordability, higher education, and childcare.

Rep. Kutz described their legislative priorities as three mortgages that Pennsylvania families are burdened with. “The first is a mortgage on their home. The second is an equivalent payment of a mortgage on their student loans, and the third is an equivalent mortgage payment for the cost of childcare.”

In an effort to combat these “mortgages,” the Pennsylvania Future Caucus addressed plans to prioritize bipartisan legislation that “helps Gen Z and millennial Pennsylvanians, and the next generation, overcome financial challenges.”

We are excited to share that, in the short months since sharing their 2024 legislative priorities, the Pennsylvania Future Caucus has addressed their first priority with the unanimous passing of a bill out of committee.

The bill would eliminate a state real estate tax for first-time home buyers, minimizing financial barriers to housing affordability for Pennsylvanian families due to the rising cost of home prices and mortgage interest rates.

This is just the first step towards real legislative change, but it’s a testament to the Pennsylvania Future Caucus’ commitment to “working together and being unified on these three issues we can advocate not only for this generation, but for future generations of Pennsylvania residents.”

Congratulations to Representative Kutz and to the entire Pennsylvania Future Caucus on this accomplishment!

Pa. House committee votes to eliminate real estate transfer tax for first-time homeowners • Pennsylvania Capital-Star An identical 1% tax would also be waived for people selling their homes to first-time owners in an effort to give new buyers a leg up in the market.

Legislative sessions are wrapping up, but the work doesn't stop there!

If you’re a Gen Z or millennial lawmaker with passion for bridging the partisan divide, and discovering ways to govern more effectively – Future Summit is the conference for you!

Join us July 24-27 in Washington, DC.

The application can be found on our website and at the link below.

https://futurecaucus.org/future-summit-2024-application/

Future Caucus members, Rep. Mary-Katherine Stone for Vermont and Rep. Rep. Kristine Reeves participated in a panel today at the USC Schwarzenegger Institute’s Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference.

The discussion centered on lessons they’ve learned as young legislators at the forefront of election policy and legislative oversight.

We’re thankful to the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for inviting us to lead such a dynamic and crucial conversation and to our members Rep. Stone and Rep. Reeves for the work they are doing in this field.

Pivotal Ventures and Cosmopolitan have partnered for “How to Succeed in Office,” a project that seeks to highlight the challenges women in public office face, while also promising solutions and helping level the playing field.

Thank you Melinda French Gates for recognizing Future Caucus and the work we do! We are honored to have the opportunity to connect with young lawmakers and aid them in their impact.

You can read the full article below, and be sure to check out the “How to Succeed in Office” series!

Melinda French Gates on Why “Being Yourself” Doesn’t Always Work for Women At the launch of How to Succeed in Office, our joint project on what happens after women win elections, the Pivotal Ventures founder chats with Cosmo editor-in-chief Jessica Giles about fighting for the representation you deserve.

When young legislators come together across lines of difference to work on solutions, they set a powerful example.

It inspires citizens to participate in democracy when they see the results achieved through healthy conflict.

Sometimes it even inspires a president.

Thank you, President Barack Obama, for sharing the story of Future Caucus!

Opinion | Buck up, America. Help is on the way. Today’s young people have the most at stake — so who better to lead the evolution of our nation?

You can read about Future Caucus in today’s Washington Post!

Last summer we invited a Post columnist to join us for Future Summit. His article captures the spirit and hope we see Gen Z and millennial lawmakers bring to their communities every day.

“Young people have always been in the halls of power. And more often than they get credit for, they are the adults in the room — the ones putting politics and selfish pursuits aside to do the most good for the most people...”

“Last summer, I was part of a bipartisan summit for young state legislators, all of them millennials and Gen Z. It’s an annual event hosted by Future Caucus, a national nonprofit that connects the youngest generation of elected officials to resources and each other. In Washington, the first millennial arrived in the Senate only in 2021, and the first Gen Z member of the House is a freshman. But the summit was a groundswell of talent in local and state governments.
�As a Gen Xer, I felt odd being the oldest person in the room. But surrounded by our democracy’s freshest faces, representing all sides of public debate, I found their principled and pragmatic optimism — a wisdom in its own right — reassuring. Inspiring, even. Maybe enough to help the grown-ups in our nations’ capitals act like adults.”

Opinion | Buck up, America. Help is on the way. Today’s young people have the most at stake — so who better to lead the evolution of our nation?

“In a world where you have many, many people whose job it is to raise the temperature, having an organization where we can maybe lower it and focus on the policy itself is useful.” - New York Future Caucus Co-Chair, Assemblymember Alex Bores

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The Pennsylvania Future Caucus is gearing up for an active legislative session focusing on the “three mortgages” that young people are responsible for: housing, higher education, and child care.

Great to see Oklahoma Future Caucus Co-Chair Sen. Jo Anna Dossett on The Science of Happiness podcast! Listen below 👇

How to Talk to People You Disagree With (The Science of Happiness Podcast) We learn techniques for working across the aisle without compromising our values from a Democratic politician in one of the most conservative states, Oklahoma.

We're so excited to partner with HerCampus.com for the "Her Campus Voices: Election 2024 Tour!" We look forward to sharing the powerful examples of young legislators working together across the political divide with students across the country.

Learn more:

Her Campus Voices: Election 2024 Tour We're hosting intimate, thoughtful, and productive conversations on college campuses around the country this election year and we want you to join us!