Trio of causes brings famous songstresses to Capitol Hill

Expect a lot of head-turning on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, when three famed female singers — Barbra Streisand, Cyndi Lauper and Judy Collins — are all in Washington for separate causes.

Streisand, the co-founder of the Women’s Heart Alliance, is poised to meet with senior members of Congress and administration officials to advocate for more research funding for women’s heart disease and to push for the inclusion of more women in biomedical studies.

{mosads}“The current one size fits all approach of treating women with heart disease identical to men is outrageous, unfair and entirely reversible in this century of personalized medicine,” the “Funny Girl” star said in a statement.

Lauper is also taking her mission, to prevent and end youth homelessness, to the halls of Congress. The True Colors Fund co-founder and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer is testifying Wednesday morning at a Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

In a recent op-ed in The Hill, Lauper pushed lawmakers to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, calling it “our nation’s only federal law that specifically funds vital services for homeless youth.”

And folk singer Collins is on hand Wednesday to host a luncheon with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s congressional spouse group. The “Both Sides, Now” singer, who lost her son, Clark, to suicide in 1992, will join the group’s co-chairwomen, Catherine Smith Connolly, the wife of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.); Mary Jo Gibson, the wife of Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.); and Deborah Bonito, the wife of former Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), at the gathering in the House dining room.

After the lunchtime meeting, Collins plans to meet with several House members and senators to talk mental health and suicide prevention.