The Washington Office has been a listening and interpreting post for MCC constituents and a bridge between MCC constituent concerns and the U.S. government. Initially, the office monitored six legislative issues: the draft, military spending versus human needs, international economic development, domestic poverty, racial justice, and preservation of human freedoms and religious liberty. This focus soon expanded to provide MCC staff overseas and locally with information about policies affecting their respective regions and to arrange meetings between MCC workers and government officials in Washington.