Established in 1961, JBANC has represented the Baltic-American communities and its three parent organizations, the American Latvian Association, the Estonian American National Council, and the Lithuanian American Council. Our goal has always been to help coordinate their activities in Washington, DC with the U.S. Congress and administration and its related agencies in conjunction with issues related to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. We have taken great pride for nearly half a century in joint Baltic cooperation and in being able to help coordinate and consolidate our common interests.
JBANC helped to support the Baltic countries as they sought membership in NATO, an issue that closely united the activities of Americans of Baltic heritage. That goal was achieved in 2004.
Since then our mission broadened to take on new and more diverse issues related to the security and stability of the Baltic countries, ranging from supporting democratic movements in other regions of Europe to pushing for Baltic membership in the Visa Waiver Program.
We have not forgotten the tragedies of foreign occupation and oppression of the Baltic countries and peoples, or the need to remain vigilant in an era when energy is ever more used as a weapon for political gain, cyber warfare has emerged as a reality, and international economic worries are of growing concern.
JBANC has established close contacts with congressional offices and has helped to expand the Congressional Baltic Caucuses to include over 80 Members in both the House and Senate.
Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus Members as of January 2009
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), co-chair
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)
House Baltic Caucus:
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), co-chair
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), co-chair
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL)
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA)
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI)
Rep. Gerry E. Connolly (D-VA)
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL)
Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY)
Rep. Lincoln Diaz--Balart (R-FL)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. David Dreier (R-CA)
Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI)
Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI)
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI)
Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Rep. John Larson (D-CT)
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)
Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI)
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI)
Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA)
Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Spk. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA)
Rep. David Price (D-NC)
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI)
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Rep. Steven Rothman (D-NJ)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Edward Royce (R-CA)
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY)
Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ)
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)
JBANC is also a member of the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) an umbrella organization uniting 18 national organizations, and representing over 20 million U.S. citizens. The CEEC works closely with the Congressional Caucus on Central and Eastern Europe, co-chaired by Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL).