Creating a 9/11-style commission to examine lessons from the pandemic, working with the Chinese to prevent the next pandemic while countering their “exploitative” development practices, and getting things done at home by not giving in to “terrorist politics.”
Those were some of the wide-ranging observations that U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, a Democrat of California, floated during Devex’s Global Leadership Newsmaker event on July 28 at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
Bera is the longest-serving Indian American in Congress, although he didn’t start off in politics. He was a medical doctor for 20 years, practicing in the Sacramento area that he now represents. In addition to serving on the House Intelligence Committee, Bera sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he’s the ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific.
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
