FSPAC

Spring 2017 Newsletter

Fraternity & Sorority Political Action Committee newsletter

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Paid for by Fraternity & Sorority PAC, P.O. Box 3435, Alexandria, VA 22302, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. P.O. Box 3435 Alexandria, VA 22302 Address Service Requested Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ ΣΤΥΦ ΧΨ Ω THE FRATERNITY AND SORORITY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE For more information, please visit www.fspac.org 2 017 saw the inauguration of our 45th president and the swearing- in of the 115th Congress. In the next few months we expect to see Washington as a beehive of legislative and executive action on issues of importance to all citizens. The fraternity and sorority world public policy agenda faces interesting opportunities and challenges in the new Washington. Congress will take up the reauthorization of higher education laws during the next two years. For fraternity and sorority members, there are several important issues in this reauthorization. No issue is more important to our community than the need to strengthen our rights to exist as single-sex organizations on campus, and to ensure we are not penalized or discriminated against by our host institutions for operating as single-sex groups. A student's fundamental First Amendment right to freedom of association is often undermined by efforts to delay students from joining campus organizations like ours at the time, place, and manner of their choice. It is important that this ongoing erosion of freedom of association rights be halted and reversed. We have watched with alarm as our organizations and individual members find their rights to due process in campus disciplinary proceedings diminished by edicts and ad hoc reactions to a crisis. Fraternity and sorority leaders continue to work with Congress to ensure that a student's rights to be treated fairly when accused of wrongdoing don't disappear when they walk on campus and are not eliminated simply because the student is a member of an organization. Similarly, fraternity and sorority leaders continue to push back against extraordinary instances where our organizations are suspended en masse for alleged misconduct of a few individuals—such actions run counter to American traditions of due process and fair play. We expect to see comprehensive tax reform as one of the top priorities for the new Congress and White House. The House of Representatives will move first and may have a bill by late summer. Fraternity and sorority members, students and alumni alike, continue to work to see the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (CHIA) included in the comprehensive tax reform bill. When passed, CHIA will help fraternities and sororities continue their 150-year tradition of providing safe and affordable housing for hundreds of thousands of students nationwide. 2017 has the potential to be a legislative year of accomplishments that help future generations of students have the leadership and personal development experiences that make fraternity and sorority life so special. We hope all fraternity and sorority members will work to support common sense legislative proposals that will improve student lives in a variety of ways. FSPAC's 11th Annual Reception and Dinner Wednesday, April 26, 2017 Metropolitan Ballroom at the Liaison Hotel 415 New Jersey Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20001 Cocktail Reception: 6 p.m. Dinner: 7 p.m. Cost: $500/person RSVP: dinner@fspac.org Contributions can be made payable to Fraternity and Sorority PAC P.O. Box 3435 Alexandria, VA 22302 You will find a copy of the formal invitation at www.fspac.org. legislative Update—rigHts OF OUr stUdents tOp priOrity The new White House is full of fraternity and sorority leaders. Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN/ΦΓΔ) is a proud fraternity alumnus who often championed our issues while serving as a member of Congress and governor of Indiana. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus is a member of Delta Chi. Rick Dearborn, Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs, is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha. Joyce Meyer, Deputy Assistant to the President and House Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs, is a Gamma Phi Beta.

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