Making August Recess Count

August recess provides congregations and community organizations an important opportunity to meet with members of Congress while they are home in Nevada.

Committee assignments help us understand which lawmakers are especially well positioned to shape legislation before it reaches the House or Senate floor. While every member votes on final passage, committee members often have the earliest opportunity to influence federal policy.

Every Nevadan is represented by two U.S. senators and one member of the House of Representatives. Constituents should always begin by contacting their own representative, but statewide organizations and ministries may also wish to engage members whose committee responsibilities closely intersect with their work.

LEAN’s Federal Priorities

• Protect SNAP and strengthen the Farm Bill
• Protect Medicaid and health care access
• Support affordable housing and homelessness solutions
• Protect immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers
• Strengthen democracy and civic participation
• Care for creation and strengthen climate resilience

Nevada’s Congressional Delegation

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

Committees

• Finance
• Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
• Energy and Natural Resources
• Indian Affairs

Why this matters

These committees touch many of LEAN’s priorities:

• Medicaid and Medicare
• Affordable housing
• Banking and consumer protections
• Public lands
• Tribal communities
• Energy policy

This makes Senator Cortez Masto an important contact on health care, housing, economic security, tribal concerns, and stewardship of public lands.

Senator Jacky Rosen

Committees

• Armed Services
• Commerce, Science and Transportation
• Foreign Relations
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Why this matters

While Senator Rosen does not serve on Agriculture or Finance, these committees oversee issues including:

• Economic development
• Broadband
• Transportation
• International humanitarian policy
• Small business support

Congregations can share how federal investments strengthen local communities and support working families.

Congressional District 1

Representative Dina Titus

Committees

• Transportation and Infrastructure
• Foreign Affairs
• Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party

Especially relevant issues

• Public transportation
• Extreme heat preparedness
• FEMA disaster assistance
• Community infrastructure
• Humanitarian assistance
• Migration in the Western Hemisphere

Las Vegas congregations may find Representative Titus especially well positioned to discuss transportation, emergency preparedness, resilient communities, and international migration. 

Congressional District 2

Representative Mark Amodei

Committees

• Appropriations
• Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
• Homeland Security
• Financial Services and General Government

Especially relevant issues

• Federal budget
• Public lands
• National parks
• Housing grants
• Wildfire resilience
• FEMA
• Water resources
• Rural communities

As Nevada’s only Republican member of Congress, Representative Amodei also serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, making him an important voice on annual federal funding that supports communities across Nevada.

Representative Susie Lee

Committees

• Appropriations
• Energy and Water Development
• Defense
• Natural Resources
• Federal Lands
• Energy and Mineral Resources

Especially relevant issues

• Federal spending
• Water infrastructure
• Housing investments
• Public lands
• Energy policy
• Wildfire resilience

Representative Lee’s Appropriations assignment makes her an important contact regarding federal investments that strengthen Nevada communities. 

Congressional District 4

Representative Steven Horsford

Committees

• Ways and Means
• Health
• Social Security

Especially relevant issues

• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Social Security
• Affordable Care Act
• Tax policy
• Family economic security
• Poverty reduction

Representative Horsford’s committee oversees many of the federal programs that directly affect Nevada families’ financial and physical well-being, making him a key contact on health care access and economic security.

Where LEAN Priorities Best Connect

LEAN Priority	Key Nevada Members
SNAP & Farm Bill	Entire delegation (no Nevada member serves on Agriculture Committee)
Medicaid & Health Care	Sen. Cortez Masto, Rep. Horsford
Housing & Homelessness	Sen. Cortez Masto, Reps. Amodei, Lee, Titus
Public Lands & Creation Care	Sen. Cortez Masto, Reps. Amodei and Lee
Immigration & Refugees	Sen. Rosen, Rep. Titus
Economic Security	Sen. Cortez Masto, Rep. Horsford
Federal Investments	Reps. Amodei and Lee (Appropriations)

Making August Recess Count

You do not need to be a policy expert to be an effective advocate.

The most powerful advocacy often begins with a simple story:

• What are you seeing at your food pantry?
• How has Medicaid helped someone in your congregation?
• What housing challenges are your neighbors facing?
• How has extreme heat affected your community?
• How are immigrant families experiencing welcome—or barriers—in Nevada?

When meeting with a member of Congress or their staff:

1. Introduce yourself as a constituent and person of faith.
2. Share one story from your congregation or community.
3. Connect that story to the member’s committee responsibilities.
4. Ask one clear question:
   • What will you do to protect SNAP?
   • How will you strengthen Medicaid?
   • How will Congress support affordable housing?
   • How will you ensure immigrant families are treated with dignity?

Faithful advocacy is not about party loyalty. It is about bringing the experiences of our neighbors into the public square and encouraging public servants to pursue policies that promote the common good.

Contacting Your Legislator

Building a More Just Nevada: A Faithful Guide to Advocacy During the Congressional August Recess

Contact your lawmakers today. Customize your message with your experiences and values.

Find your Member of Congress Here

Senator Catherine Cortez Mastro, 202-224-3542, https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/

Senator Jackie Rosen, 202-224-6244, https://www.rosen.senate.gov/

Rep. Dina Titus, (202)-225-5965, https://titus.house.gov/

Rep. Mark Amodei, (202)-225-6155, https://amodei.house.gov/

Rep. Susie Lee, (202)-225-3252, https://susielee.house.gov/

Rep Steven Horsford, (202)-225-9894, https://horsford.house.gov/

If you would like to schedule time with your legislator, please reach out to Pastor Paul,and he is willing to work with ELCA Advocacy Partners to secure a time.

Amplifying support of the Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Act H.R. 1010 is one meaningful way we can act now.

The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Relatives (MMIWRGR) continues to affect Indigenous communities across the United States and Canada. Indigenous communities continue to experience disproportionately high rates of violence, disappearance and loss, a reality rooted in centuries of colonization and structural violence. “The ELCA, with others in this country, recognizes that this dreadful history must be acknowledged, the status of Native Americans in the United States protected, and efforts at reconciliation and justice increased,” reads the ELCA social statement Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All (p. 68). As a church, we are called not only to awareness, but to repentance, accompaniment and justice. A MMIWRGR resource from the ELCA shares more about the crisis (linked to ELCA.org/MMIW).

With passage in the Senate, this Congress has already made bipartisan steps to enact meaningful legislation in addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis. Action in the House is now required. Amplifying support of the Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Act H.R.1010 is one meaningful way we can act now. If passed, the BADGES for Native Communities Act will:

1. Establish grant funding opportunities to support investigations.
2. Promote collaborative responses to missing person cases.
3. Provide culturally appropriate resources and training for Tribal law enforcement officers.

When discussed recently by the ELCA MMIW Sub Task Force, the group stated: “Since one of the greatest challenges in the MMIW crisis is a lack of support from law enforcement, we encourage all to engage with their representatives in support of the BADGES for Native Communities Act.”

Customize your message to urge your representative to secure justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Relatives.

Contact your lawmakers today. Customize your message with your experiences and values.

Find your Member of Congress Here

Senator Catherine Cortez Mastro, 202-224-3542, https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/

Senator Jackie Rosen, 202-224-6244, https://www.rosen.senate.gov/

Rep. Dina Titus, (202)-225-5965, https://titus.house.gov/

Rep. Mark Amodei, (202)-225-6155, https://amodei.house.gov/

Rep. Susie Lee, (202)-225-3252, https://susielee.house.gov/

Rep Steven Horsford, (202)-225-9894, https://horsford.house.gov/

If you would like to schedule time with your legislator, please reach out to Pastor Paul,and he is willing to work with ELCA Advocacy Partners to secure a time.

Act Now!

Join the Synod Hunger Network to learn how to protect voting rights on August 26 at 7 pm on Zoom. Email Edit Lott at thelotts@gmail.com to register.

Calling all hunger champions — Join this network of the Grand Canyon Synod! Meet to hear updates on national and local Hunger and Food Insecurity efforts and initiatives, to learn from one another, and to share with the group what’s happening in our congregations. Anyone interested in alleviating hunger is welcome. Prepare to be encouraged and supported!

If you have any questions about this group, please contact Melanie Hobden (Desert Cross, Tempe) or Solveig Muus (LAMA).

Join here.

Dear partners,

Today we received very disturbing news about Natalie Abudayyeh, the 21-year-old university student and ELCJHL youth who has now been held in Israeli prison for nearly two months. Though we thank each of you who have advocated for Natalie over the last several weeks, we are both devastated and outraged to share that our voices, and the voices of all others who have called for her release, have not been heard.

Today Natalie had an appearance in Israeli military court. During this hearing, the judge ordered that she remain in prison until the 23rd of September, when she will make another court appearance. Israeli authorities have denied all the family’s requests to have Natalie released on bail for the duration of the proceedings and have refused to allow them to visit or contact Natalie in any way. They are exhausted, troubled, and losing hope that the church, local or global, will be able to help bring Natalie home.

For Natalie to spend another two months minimum in Israeli prison is incomprehensible. She is still being held at Damon Prison, where prisoners have reported terrible conditions and repeated human rights violations.

We are incredibly grieved by this news and deeply worried about her safety. Within this grief, we hold fear and uncertainty for the future of all our youth. This pattern of systemic attacks by Israel on Palestinian universities is just one more element of an occupation that suffocates Palestinian life and drives our young people to consider leaving their home. I ask you to consider how it would feel to be Natalie’s parent, sibling, pastor, or friend. Our community is angry and hurting.

As a church, we continue to cry out for justice and for Natalie’s freedom. At the minimum, we call for her family and a church representative to be able to visit her. We ask that the family’s request for Natalie to be released temporarily on bail be reconsidered. We continue to pray without ceasing, and we ask you to continue to pray and advocate as well, both for Natalie and for all our youth.

“He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Luke 4:18b

Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad

Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land