D.C. Scene: RoboCop’s Garcia Wins, Congress Stays at Home
The Congressional Gala for the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health last night had less of Congress than in years past.
On the day of the government shutdown, Senators Edward Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, and Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, attended. Representative Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, and a handful of others skipped.
“He has taken the position that he’s not attending public events at this time,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, on Ryan’s behalf. “His absence is heartfelt.”
Other members who turned out at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium included Representative John Dingell, Michigan Democrat, and Representative Doris Matsui, California Democrat.
“I can’t imagine a place I’d rather be tonight,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.
She reminded guests that 70 percent of the NIH staff is on furlough due to the shutdown and new patients are not being admitted for clinical trials.
The Children’s Inn offers housing and support for families with children being treated at NIH. The gala raised $500,000.
“This too shall pass,” said Blunt of the shutdown.
Salma Hayek
Tonight’s Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala has already lost its most prominent guests: the institute in a statement said President Obama and the first lady will not be at the event they have attended in the past. Actress and cosmetics entrepreneur Salma Hayek, wife of Francois-Henri Pinault, will be honored.
Actress Aimee Garcia, who’s starring in the “RoboCop” remake, accepted an award from the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts on Monday night.
The film, set in financially-strapped Detroit, is due out in February 2014. Garcia plays a scientist who helps turn a buff family man (Joel Kinnaman) into a law-enforcement machine.
“I will be intimately involved in his creation,” Garcia said. Any love scenes? “Not that I know of.”
Garcia is familiar to fans of “Dexter” as Jamie Batista, nanny to Dexter’s son on the Showtime series. She recalled the top-secret nature of the scripts.
“I was always paranoid about someone breaking into my car to steal them,” Garcia said. “It felt like working for the CIA.”
Also attending the “Noche de Gala” at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel were Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, “West Side Story” star Rita Moreno, who was honored, and Jimmy Smits, a founder of the organization.
Clyborn praised the foundation’s president, Felix Sanchez, for advocating for the inclusion of Hispanic artists in the Kennedy Center Honors. This year there are two: Carlos Santana and Martina Arroyo.
(Stephanie Green is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
Muse highlights include Mark Beech on music, Scott Reyburn on art and Ryan Sutton on food.
For Related News and Information:
To contact the writer on this story: Stephanie Green in Washington at sgreen57@bloomberg.net or on Twitter @stephlgreen.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Noche de Gala
Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Aimee Garcia, star of the upcoming "RoboCop" remake, attends a gala for the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts.
Aimee Garcia, star of the upcoming "RoboCop" remake, attends a gala for the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. Photographer: Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Children's Inn Gala
Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Abigail Blunt, Senator Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, and Martha-Ann Alito, wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Abigail Blunt, Senator Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, and Martha-Ann Alito, wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Photographer: Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Children's Inn Gala
Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Representative Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat.
Representative Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat. Photographer: Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Children's Inn Gala
Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Senator Ed Markey, Massachusetts Democrat.
Senator Ed Markey, Massachusetts Democrat. Photographer: Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Noche de Gala
Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Richard Bates, lobbyist for Disney, and Mignon Clyburn, acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Richard Bates, lobbyist for Disney, and Mignon Clyburn, acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission. Photographer: Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Noche de Gala
Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Lyndon Boozer, lobbyist for AT&T, and Jimmy Smits, actor and co-founder of the National Foundation for Hispanics in the Arts.
Lyndon Boozer, lobbyist for AT&T, and Jimmy Smits, actor and co-founder of the National Foundation for Hispanics in the Arts. Photographer: Stephanie Green/Bloomberg
Rate this Page
Bloomberg reserves the right to edit or remove comments but is under no obligation to do so, or to explain individual moderation decisions.