On Wednesday, July 15, the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) Government Relations Committee and OSDIA’s anti-defamation and positive image arm, the Commission for Social Justice, co-sponsored an event at the OSDIA National Office, welcoming members of the Italian American Congressional Delegation in celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Titled “Pillars of the Republic,” the event was organized by OSDIA’s Government Relations Committee with the aim of strengthening bipartisan ties between OSDIA and Italian American congressional leaders.
Among those present at the event on July 15 were Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rosa DeLauro, U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District, and Thomas Suozzi, U.S. representative for New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
The event also commemorated OSDIA’s role in creating the Italian American Congressional Delegation more than 50 years ago, which now unites nearly 200 members of Congress.
On Monday, July 20th, OSDIA Government Relations Committee Chair Mike D’Amore and the committee’s staff liaison Mia Galasso also attended a summer reception hosted by Michael Rulli, U.S. representative for Ohio’s 6th Congressional District, which gathered members and supporters of the Republican Italian American Delegation on Capitol Hill.
“Both the Pillars of the Republic event and Representative Rulli’s summer reception demonstrated that OSDIA’s relationship with the Delegation’s bipartisan leadership is as strong today as it was 50 years ago for one simple reason” said D’Amore of the events, adding that “some of our members are Democrats, some are Republicans, but they are all united by their love of the Italian American culture, and deserve to know that OSDIA is working on the relationships needed to properly steward that culture for another 250 years.”
