News

Congressional Progressive Caucus Leaders Applaud Senate Passage of 2002 AUMF Repeal Legislation

March 30, 2023

WASHINGTON – Representative Barbara Lee (CA-12), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Peace and Security Task Force, and Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, applauded the Senate passage of legislation to repeal the 2002 and 1991 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Rep. Lee leads the companion legislation on the House side. They issued the following statement:

“This vote was a major victory in our fight to end forever wars. For decades, the Progressive Caucus has worked to ensure Congress takes back the responsibility to debate military action and put the power to declare war back where it belongs: with the people’s representatives. 

“The 2002 AUMF was based on the misguided notion that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Over a decade after Saddam Hussein’s death and the withdrawal from Iraq, there is absolutely no reason why this authorization should still be on the books, and we applaud Senators Kaine and Young for building momentum in the Senate to finally get this done. Now, it’s on the House to do its job and take up this legislation without delay. Alongside our CPC colleagues and with the support of President Biden, we are fully confident we will finally put an end to this forever war and reassert Congress’ power over war and peace, as the constitution intended.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Issues Executive Action Agenda for Biden Administration

March 30, 2023

If enacted, the agenda would lower essential costs, expand worker power, and hold corporations accountable

WASHINGTON — The Congressional Progressive Caucus issued its updated 2023 Executive Action Agenda for the Biden administration today. The agenda calls for President Biden to build on his record of progress by taking administrative action in five areas: to hold corporations accountable, raise wages and empower workers, lower costs of essential expenses, continue action on climate and environmental justice, and advance equity and justice.

The agenda is designed to provide working families relief from the cost of living crisis, take on corporate misconduct, make progress on the fight for gender and racial justice, and continue to take bold action to address the climate crisis. It calls for executive actions, strong rulemaking, progressive implementation of signature Democratic accomplishments like the Inflation Reduction Act, and for federal agencies to enforce the law using all their tools to hold violators, including big employers, accountable. Key policies include: raising the overtime threshold to give millions of workers a raise, enforce actions against excessive and unfair rent hikes, crack down on anticompetitive behavior in the airline industry, strengthen the solvency of our banking system, take on Big Pharma’s greed, protect access to asylum and immigrants’ rights, muster the resources of the federal government to protect abortion access, ensure the safety of railroads, and accelerate clean electricity transmission through federal action.

“I’m incredibly proud of what the CPC’s Executive Action Agenda was able to accomplish in 2022, and I am thrilled to announce our 2023 slate, which is primed for even greater impact,” said Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “Democrats made essential progress in the 117th Congress, and the work continues to lower the cost of living, hold corporations accountable, and keep our promises to our communities. With a divided Congress, President Biden must make full use of his executive authority to continue to deliver for working families.  I look forward to partnering with the President and his administration to enact this agenda and get results for everyone who calls this country home.”

The 2023 Executive Action Agenda has been endorsed by groups from across progressive movement, including: Be A Hero, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Care in Action, CASA, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Center for Popular Democracy, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Community Change Action, Detention Watch Network, Down Home North Carolina, Family Values @ Work, Green New Deal Network, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indivisible, Justice Democrats, MomsRising, MoveOn, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigration Partner (NIPNLG), New York Immigration Coalition, OneAmerica, Our Revolution, P Street/Progressive Change Campaign Committee, ParentsTogether Action, People's Action, Public Citizen, Revolving Door Project, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Social Security Works, Sunrise Movement, The Immigration Hub, Ultraviolet, United We Dream, and Working Families Party.

This is the Caucus’ third comprehensive executive action proposal. Last March, the CPC issued its initial 2022 slate, which was then followed by a comprehensive agenda to protect reproductive freedom.

The Biden Administration has taken action on a number of the CPC’s 2022 proposals. These include: student debt cancellation for 43 million people, closing the Affordable Care Act’s “Family Glitch” to expand coverage access; extension or redesignation of Temporary Protected Status for individuals from 13 high risk countries; protections for immigrant workers from retaliation for reporting workplace misconduct; establishing workplace wind standards for high-risk farm and construction workers; new national standards and data collection on police use of force and revisions to policies that allow for transfer of military weapons to local law enforcement; invocation of the Defense Production Act to catalyze renewable energy technology; equitable implementation of climate funding to ensure at least 40 percent goes to environmental justice communities; transparency requirements for the funding and management of nursing homes; and a Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring public companies disclose their climate risk. The Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services also took a number of actions to protect abortion advocated for by the Progressive Caucus, including protecting the right to contraception, protecting access to treatment for pregnancy-related medical emergencies, pharmacy and mail dispensing of medication abortionl, and aid for travel for abortion care.

The CPC 2023 Executive Action Agenda can be found here.

Progressive movement groups issued the following statements:

"Over the course of this administration, President Biden and the Congressional Progressive Caucus have worked together to make big things happen for everyday people, from making healthcare more accessible, to tackling the student debt crisis. And, there is still a lot more to do,” said Mary Small, Chief Strategy Officer for Indivisible. “In the face of MAGA extremism, it's critical that leaders like the Congressional Progressive Caucus continue to fight for our communities, and advocate for President Biden to continue to take bold actions on combating the climate crisis, raising wages, and protecting reproductive rights."

“With Republicans working round-the-clock to undermine our democracy and bedrock programs like Social Security and Medicare, it's more critical than ever that Biden Administration use the full powers of the presidency to take bold action on popular, progressive issues,” said Emma Lydon, Managing Director of P Street, the government affairs sister organization to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “By cracking down on corporate greed, making prescription drugs more accessible and affordable, taking desperately needed action on climate change, and so much more, the Biden administration can deliver tangible results for working families and help people across the country get ahead."

“With a divided Congress, it is imperative that President Biden continue to use his executive powers to deliver for working people across the country,” said Sulma Arias, Executive Director of People’s Action. “People’s Action appreciates the opportunity to work alongside the Congressional Progressive Caucus to advance an agenda that will bring down healthcare costs, bolster tenant protections and curb greenhouse gas emissions and promote climate resilience and environmental justice.”

“SEIU members and not-yet-union workers thank the Congressional Progressive Caucus for laying out a very thoughtful and robust menu of concrete actions for the Biden Administration to take to create a more inclusive economy that works for all of us,” Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). “Considering the President’s steadfast support and pro-union record, we know he is eager to do more for working people and families in the time he has left in his term, and we urge him to strongly consider all of these proposed actions. In particular, we are eager to see executive action to hold union-busting employers accountable and address the misclassification of low-wage workers by federal contractors. And we remain hopeful that he will also take action to prioritize our care economy, make health care and housing more affordable, and do everything in his power to reclaim our reproductive rights, protect our environment and advance immigrant rights.” 

“People across the country are counting on President Biden to take executive action that will provide a livable, healthy, and just future for all,” said Ben Jealous, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “After the historic passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the administration must use every tool available to ensure that environmental justice communities receive the support they need to access these crucial funds. We’re calling for bold executive action that protects our clean air, safe drinking water, and federal lands. We expect that these actions will be accomplished in line with the administration’s environmental justice commitments, prioritizing the needs and concerns of frontline and fenceline communities.”

"Today, the American people are being ripped off. Medicare is paying drug corporations the highest prices in the world for drugs developed with our tax dollars,” said Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works. “Corporate insurers are stealthily taking over Medicare, then using algorithms to delay and deny care to beneficiaries. Private equity companies are buying up nursing homes and slashing standards of care. The end result is the same: People are hurt, bankrupted and killed while the billionaires pretend that nothing can be done. President Biden should continue to take swift executive action to rein in these corporate abuses. If he does, everyone will win except the billionaires."

“If Democrats are going to win in 2024, President Biden must mobilize our generation by acting immediately on the issues we care about,” said Varshini Praksash, Executive Director of Sunrise Movement. “That begins with following through on the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ bold executive action agenda that could end suffering for so many by combating the climate crisis, lowering healthcare costs, and helping people across the country breathe easy – all with a stroke of a pen.”

"For the last two years, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has led in defining a legislative and executive agenda for working families,” said Natalia Salgado, Director of Federal Affairs, Working Families Party. “Their advocacy and proposals laid the groundwork for the Inflation Reduction Act and executive action on canceling student debt. The CPC's 2023 executive action slate again shows the Caucus putting forward a bold vision for how Democrats can use all of the power they have to deliver for working people. WFP is proud to endorse it."

 

Congressional Progressive Caucus Launches Task Force on Accelerating Clean Energy (ACE) Infrastructure

March 23, 2023

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) announced the launch of a new task force, the Accelerating Clean Energy (ACE) Task Force, which will be led by CPC Vice Chair Jared Huffman (CA-02). Under Huffman’s leadership, the task force will develop a blueprint for expeditiously achieving the benefits of the 117th Congress’ historic investments in clean energy. 

The task force’s charge is to clearly understand the challenges of implementation of clean energy projects, to work with the Biden administration and external partners, and to develop recommendations for administrative and legislative reforms to permitting that will assist in more rapidly bringing new renewable energy projects online, upgrading and modernizing the electrical grid to enable the United States to meet President Biden's goal of reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2030. The ACE Task Force will include Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee and CPC Chair Emeritus Representative Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), and CPC members Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Mike Levin (CA-49), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), and Paul Tonko (NY-20), as well as Chair Jayapal.

“Driven by the urgency of the climate crisis, CPC members stepped up last Congress to shape and pass transformative legislation that sets the United States on the path to decarbonization.  With the ACE Task Force, the CPC is showing our commitment to ensuring that these reforms and investments are implemented with the same sense of urgency to meet our climate goals and deliver the broad benefits of a clean energy economy while upholding environmental justice as a core value,” said Rep. Huffman. “We will examine the real factors that have held up clean energy projects, acknowledge recent executive actions and last year’s $1 billion investment in clean energy permit streamlining, and recommend additional strategies to expedite clean energy project completion.  We can meet our clean energy goals without sacrificing bedrock environmental laws, throwing disadvantaged communities under the bus, or passing Trojan Horse legislation to help the fossil fuel industry.”

 “I’m thrilled to announce our formation of the first-ever CPC task force dedicated to answering the urgent question of how we can speed up our transition to renewable energy without abandoning our climate goals,” said Rep. Jayapal. “Progressives have always been clear: we were not opposed to permitting reform itself, but rather to policies that are counterproductive to a clean energy future. This task force has been charged with developing a clear picture of where permitting reforms are needed, and of what administrative and legislative action can and must be done to accomplish those reforms. Our future on a livable planet depends on the speed with which we can meet this moment to implement the Inflation Reduction Act, disburse the funding allocated for clean energy, and modernize permitting law, all the while ensuring that we are not giving with one hand and taking away with the other when it comes to addressing the urgent crisis of climate justice.” 

Task Force Background 

The IIJA and IRA had record investments for clean and renewable energy deployment, preparing for greater climate resilience, as well as creating jobs and protecting environmental justice communities. To ensure that our nation can maximize the full benefits of these important wins, this task force seeks to work with the Biden administration to ensure a rapid and efficient roll out of new projects and programs and will ensure federal action to build greater efficiencies for clean energy and transmission. The task force will work on policies that advance energy, water, and transmission permitting, allowing for new rapid infrastructure buildout while protecting communities and environmental justice populations.

 

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair on Silicon Valley Bank Failure

March 13, 2023

“Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is the predictable and direct outcome of a furious 2018 effort by bank lobbyists to evade basic oversight, transparency, and financial stability in favor of profit. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-M.A.) and Bernie Sanders (I-V.T.), led the effort against what we referred to as the Bank Lobbyist Act, raising the alarm about the ‘dangerous and misguided bill.’ It was voted for by nearly every Republican, and it is now clear — as we predicted — that Trump’s presidential signature sealed a future of more chaos for our economy and more impunity for bank misbehavior. 

“Silicon Valley Bank’s failure has proven that it was a mistake to roll back Dodd-Frank’s regulatory safeguards and meaningful oversight of a broad set of banks with significant assets. Congress must now come together and repeal this misguided law. We also must hold the executives of these banks accountable, clawing back funds from executives who cashed in before FDIC intervention, including the CEO who directly lobbied against the ‘burden’ of oversight. This kind of malfeasance should not be rewarded. 

“The past 48 hours have also thrown into sharp relief this country’s two-tiered economic system. Silicon Valley Bank’s wealthy depositors are being made whole almost immediately. Meanwhile, Republican politicians are blocking the Biden Administration from providing millions of mostly  low- and middle-income people — who played by the rules but still struggle to get ahead — from receiving relief from crushing student debt payments. If the government is able to respond so quickly to support wealthy investors, it should be able to do the minimum for working people. Progressives will continue, as we always have, to fight to end the injustice of these two economic systems and give working families a fair shot in the richest country in the world.”

Progressive Caucus Applauds Progressive Policy in Presidential Budget, Calls for Further Defense Spending Cuts

March 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget:

“The President’s budget shows he remains focused on delivering for the American people to meet the challenges they face. We are thrilled to see him continue to emphasize investments in working families that will raise wages, tackle poverty, and lower the cost of living, paid for by taxing the wealthy and the largest corporations. This is an agenda that the American people can be proud to have voted for — and that progressive movements can feel proud to have fought for.

“This budget would advance priorities progressives have been pushing for years, and continue the unfinished work from the President’s 2022 agenda: lowering prescription drug costs; expanding Medicaid, affordable housing, and accessible maternal care and health care; providing two years of free community college; and taking on the out-of-control costs of child care, pre-K, home care, and housing. It would reinstate the Child Tax Credit, decrease hunger, protect Medicare and Social Security, and finally provide national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave. It would also continue the important progress the President and Democrats began last Congress: continuing to lower the cost of deploying clean energy and speed our transition away from fossil fuels, rebuild American manufacturing, and take climate action with a focus on environmental justice. Essentially, these investments would be paid for with incredibly popular and common sense policies: a 25 percent minimum Billionaire Tax, increasing taxes on the largest corporations, quadrupling the tax on stock buybacks, and repealing the Trump Tax Scam.

“There are also a few places where we need to do better, and ensure record levels of funding come alongside real accountability, particularly for immigration and defense. On immigration, we must ensure that we focus resources on the implementation of humane immigration policy that matches our values, and does not penalize immigrants who are central to our economy’s functioning. 

“On Pentagon spending, the President’s budget requests $842 billion for the Pentagon, $26 billion more than Congress allocated in the previous budget — which itself was $63 billion more than the $773 billion the President requested for FY2023. This is a never-ending cycle of increased funds without accountability. It would be a new record high for the defense budget, following a year when the Pentagon failed its fifth consecutive audit, without ever having successfully accounted for all its assets. There is simply no reason for taxpayers to continue to pay for outrageously high budgets rife with waste, fraud, and abuse. A recent CBO study confirmed that the Pentagon could cut $100 billion per year without compromising on national defense. This is long overdue. Progressives in Congress have been at the frontline of this fight for decades, and we will continue to push for sensible, targeted defense policy that prioritizes our national security over profit-hungry military contractors.” 

Progressive, Asian Pacific American, Hispanic Caucus Chairs Call on Biden to Reject Family Detention

March 7, 2023

WASHINGTON —  Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Judy Chu (CA-28), and Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) respectively, issued the following statement calling on President Biden to reject reinstating family detention:

“We are deeply concerned by reports that the Biden administration is considering reinstating family detention in an attempt to deter migration. We agree with Secretary Mayorkas when he said, 'A detention center is not where a family belongs.' We should not return to the failed policies of the past. There is no safe or humane way to detain families and children, and such detention does not serve as a deterrent to migration. We strongly urge the administration to reject this wrongheaded approach."

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair on Vote to Overrule D.C.

March 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the President’s announcement that he would sign a bill overturning a D.C. Council-passed law:

“I’m deeply disappointed to see the President announce he will allow Congress to overturn a D.C. law for the first time in decades. This is simple: The District of Columbia must be allowed to govern itself. Democrats’ commitment to home rule should apply regardless of the substance of the local legislation. This is why the Congressional Progressive Caucus and its members have endorsed D.C. statehood, with every CPC member cosponsoring D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s bill in the 117th Congress. Statehood is the only way to protect the 700,000 residents of the District from this kind of interference, we will continue to champion this cause.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Applauds Nomination of Julie Su for U.S. Secretary of Labor

March 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released the following statement applauding President Biden’s decision to nominate Julie Su to serve as Secretary of Labor:

“Earlier this week, President Biden made an excellent choice in nominating a progressive champion for workers’ rights to serve as Secretary of Labor. Julie Su has spent her career as a dedicated public servant, fighting tirelessly for working people, especially the lowest-wage workers and domestic workers, immigrant workers, and workers of color.

“Julie is someone who deeply understands how the Department of Labor should work and the needs of our modern economy. As a civil rights attorney, California Secretary of Labor, Deputy Labor Secretary under Secretary Walsh, She has taken on wage theft, fought for the rights of gig workers, and defended the rights of garment workers who were victims of trafficking. In each role, she has built a proven track record of prioritizing the most invisible and forgotten workers, working closely with unions, and delivering for the people. 

“Progressives look forward to being in close partnership with the Department, and working with Secretary-Designate Su to continue the work to raise wages, lower costs, and fight for the working people of this country. We urge the Senate to move swiftly to confirm this extremely qualified nominee.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus on Student Debt Cancellation Supreme Court Arguments

February 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court arguments in challenges to President Biden’s executive order canceling student debt:

“When President Biden issued his executive order to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt this past summer, he responded to calls from the Progressive Caucus, the Black Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus, and millions of borrowers and advocates across the country. He moved to relieve the burden of today’s high cost of living on the 97 percent of student loan borrowers who are low- and middle-income, with 40 percent of borrowers never having been able to finish their degree. He advanced economic justice with an action that would help close the racial wealth gap by entirely eliminating the student debt of one in four Black borrowers and almost half of Latino borrowers. But because of callous, politically motivated lawsuits by Republicans across the country, none of that desperately needed relief has actually gone out the door. 

“During today’s arguments, it was abundantly clear that the President has the legal authority to cancel student debt. Any finding to the contrary would be just the latest assault of an extremist right-wing activist Supreme Court on everyday Americans. We hope that the justices will follow the facts, rather than any political agenda, and rule in favor of the President’s order to deliver student loan forgiveness once and for all.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Applauds Commerce Department Rules on Taxpayer CHIPS Investments

February 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the Commerce Department’s “Notice of Funding Opportunity” for companies that will receive investments allocated by the CHIPS and Science Act:

“This past summer, the Progressive Caucus worked with the Commerce Department to ensure the CHIPS and Science Act would expand domestic manufacturing capacity and not be utilized as a subsidy for companies to engage in stock buybacks and dividend payouts to enrich wealthy shareholders and executives. Today, we are very heartened to see the beginning of that commitment put into practice with the Department’s Notice of Funding Opportunity.

“The CHIPS and Science Act was passed with a vision: that smart policy could play a role in rebuilding American domestic manufacturing in a sustainable and just way. We could bring working parents, and especially women, back into the manufacturing workforce. We could deliver a major investment of taxpayer dollars without allowing corporations to artificially inflate their value through stock buybacks. We could build technology our people need in America to bring down costs for consumers and create good-paying union jobs. But the details are always in the implementation and that is why today’s announcement is so important. Secretary Raimondo and the Biden administration are turning that vision into reality, and I am incredibly proud of the key role progressives in Congress played in making it possible.”

“The agency has included a number of taxpayer protections that progressives negotiated directly with the Secretary, including: prohibitions on CHIPS funding being directly used for stock buybacks or dividends; creating a formal preferencing for companies that commit to refrain from making stock buybacks; disbursing the funding to companies on an incremental basis, rather than a lump sum, to allow the funding to be clawed back if it is misused; and a requirement that companies receiving over a certain amount of direct funding repay the U.S. government — and American taxpayers — for the upside. In addition, the Department has made clear they’re committing to building and supporting the workforce needed to make CHIPS, not only companies themselves: creating sector-based partnerships in consultation with labor unions; preferencing for companies with strong apprenticeship programs, including in construction; and child care on-site to support working parents in manufacturing for companies.”

In addition to negotiating these critical taxpayer protections with the Secretary, Rep. Jayapal also hosted a town hall with Secretary Raimondo in the fall with workers on the need for affordable care, including ensuring that there is equity for working parents with the jobs created through CHIPS funding. Rep. Jayapal also led her colleagues in two letters to the Secretary, on the need to protect the CHIPS investments from being used for corporate self-enrichment and stock buybacks, and on the need for companies receiving the funds to provide accessible child care.

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