“Pushing forward, together”

On the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, in Congress, the work is different. “It’s a place of deliberation—where amendments are made to amendments, where committees debate policies and where progress depends on the cooperation of fellow representatives,” he said. “Politics with a small ‘p’ is inherent to the process because, in the end, you need not only the support of your colleagues but also the president’s signature to turn an idea into law.”

But the power of Congress, in addition to being a putative check on the executive branch, lies in the generational impact of legislation. “Passing a bill can take years—sometimes two or three Congresses—but when it happens, the effects endure,” he said, citing the Affordable Care Act. “The people who drafted it may not be in office anymore, but it continues to shape health care in America. That’s the power of strong legislation—it outlasts the people who create it.”

In his Congressional work on public health, Amo is focused on expanding access to treatment and therapy for young people with mental health issues; regarding the opioid epidemic, he is working on a bill that provides greater access to naloxone.

Addressing the climate crisis is less straightforward, Amo admits, as a loud faction of Congress continues to dismiss climate change as a hoax. “Extreme weather doesn’t discriminate; it’s hitting red states and conservative communities just as hard as anywhere else,” Amo said. “If reframing the conversation around ‘extreme weather’ rather than ‘climate change’ makes action possible, that’s fine. The key is getting people to acknowledge the impact in their own backyards.”

Amo seeks out common ground with younger members of Congress who haven’t yet adopted the same level of climate denialism as their predecessors. He also serves on the Science, Space and Technology Committee in an effort to protect climate science. “The Committee oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is under attack because it produces climate data,” he said. “The push to privatize the National Weather Service is another example of these efforts to suppress inconvenient truths.”

Amo would prefer to have a harmonious Congress that works together to govern ethically. He supports cutting waste, fraud and abuse too—but only when and where it is actually happening. Given the challenges of being in the minority of the 119th Congress, his priority is this: “What are the people in my community asking for? What do they need? And how can I help?”

Amo stressed that public health scientists need to convey their findings so that disinformation doesn’t confuse and deform the issues we face. “The more real-world examples members of Congress have, the stronger our case in hearings,” he said. “When we can say, ‘Here’s the impact of these cuts—this is what’s at stake,’ it makes a difference.”

Above all, Amo implored the audience of students, staff and faculty to hold on to optimism. “Please don’t let this moment take away your hope,” he said. “Hope is the last thing we have, and if we lose that, our spirits will break. But we’re in this together, and we’re going to keep pushing forward, together.”