Congress to Campus: Foreign Policy and Trade

Democracy in action is the focus of a bipartisan conversation next week when two former Congressman visit UCF.

Former U.S. Reps Gary Franks (R-CT, 1991-1997) and Mike Capuano (D-MA, 1999-2019) come to Orlando for a public forum titled “Congress to Campus: Foreign Policy and Trade.” The talk will be moderated by David Dumke, director of the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives (GPII), which is hosting the event.

The event starts at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept, 18, in the UCF Global Building Room 101.

The talk is a part of the Congress to Campus program of the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress. Colleges and universities around the U.S. and the world have hosted visitors through this program for over 30 years. Students will gain an inside look at Congress and an opportunity to interact with former members, who can share their unique experiences in Congress.

U.S. Representative Gary Franks (R-CT, 1991-1997)

• First black Republican elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in nearly 60 years.
• Wrote the Urban Entrepreneurial Opportunities Bill, which helped provide equity investments and technical assistance to small businesses in low-income areas.
• As Chairman of the Republican Party Task Force on Civil Rights, Franks helped to produce a 1991 Civil Rights Bill that passed by the largest plurality of any past Civil Rights Bill.

U.S. Representative Mike Capuano (D-MA, 1999-2019)

• When Democrats took back a majority in the House, he was appointed to head the transition by then Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi.
• His resolution establishing an Office of Congressional Ethics passed in March of 2008, involving non-members of the House in ethics matters for the first time in history.
• As co-founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Sudan and South Sudan, he secured $50 million for peacekeepers and advocated for a strong response to the humanitarian crises there.