Rep. Anthony D'Esposito Joins India Caucus; Suozzi & D'Esposito Pledge to Expand Caucus

September 17 :
Congressman Anthony D’Esposito (NY 04) has officially joined the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, following in the footsteps of Congressman Tom Suozzi (NY 03), who joined two months prior. This marks another milestone for the India Caucus Membership Drive Committee, which has been actively working to expand the Caucus’ membership. The Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, a bipartisan group, is focused on strengthening US-India relations through cooperation in bilateral trade, defense, and cultural exchanges.

D’Esposito decided to join the Caucus after meeting with the Membership Drive Committee, which included Chairman Varinder Bhalla and committee members Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Gunjan Rastogi, Gobind Munjal, Hussain Baqueri, and Sudhir Vaishnav. The committee also includes Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Ratna Bhalla, Rajeev Bhambri, Sunil Mehra, and Dev Viswanath. During the meeting, the Congressman was briefed on the rapidly expanding strategic and economic ties between the two nations. Bilateral trade, which stood at $4 billion in 1993 when the Caucus was founded, has since surged to $200 billion in 2023.

Gobind Munjal, who also serves as the National President of the Association of Indians in America, highlighted the growing defense and security partnerships between the U.S. and India, a point that played a key role in securing D’Esposito’s support.

In a show of solidarity, Congressman D’Esposito pledged to reach out and urge his fellow Long Island Republican colleagues, Congressman Nick Lalota and Congressman Andrew Garbarino, to join the Caucus. Congressman Suozzi, who joined the India Caucus in July after meeting with Consul General Binaya Pradhan, is also working to bring more Democratic support, specifically from his colleagues in Connecticut, including Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, and Congressman Joe Courtney. With two recent successes by the Membership Drive Committee, the total strength of the India Caucus now stands at 143 members, The bipartisan Caucus, led by Co-chairs Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat, and Rep. Michael Waltz, Republican is currently the largest country-specific caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.

As efforts to expand its ranks continue, Chairman Bhalla is confident that “U.S.-India relations will continue to deepen with broader support from American lawmakers”.