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Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (TX-35) issued the below statement on the passing of CPC Chair Emeritus Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07).

“The CPC mourns the loss of our beloved colleague and esteemed Chair Emeritus Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a giant of the House and progressive movement and one of the greatest champions of environmental justice in American history. During his twenty years in Congress serving the people of Arizona, Rep. Grijalva fought relentlessly for working families and marginalized communities. He quickly rose to leadership positions atop the Progressive Caucus and Natural Resources Committee, where he skillfully led Democrats through key legislative fights like passage of the Affordable Care Act, pioneered the CPC’s work building enduring partnerships between progressive movements and labor with elected officials, and elevated overlooked issues in environmental justice, climate action, tribal sovereignty, and the U.S. Insular Areas in Congress and beyond. He was a leading champion of democracy in the Americas, including Honduras, Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Our longest serving Chair, Raúl will be dearly missed by the CPC. We send our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.”

Some of his major accomplishments include:

• Introduction of the original bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which eventually became the Democratic position. He also lobbied Obama to set the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10 through executive action in 2014.
• Passing the Great American Outdoors Act into law, which permanently authorized the widely popular Land and Water Conservation Fund.
• Passing the Environmental Justice For All Act, the most comprehensive environmental justice legislation in history, through the Committee. The Biden-Harris administration’s Environmental Justice for All executive order mirrors this legislation. 
• Under the leadership of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, successfully advocating for President Biden’s designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
• Holding the first congressional hearings in history on issues critical to Indian Country, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Indian Boarding Schools, tribal co-management of public lands, and his tribal consultation bill, the RESPECT Act, which later served as the model for the Biden-Harris administration’s executive memorandum on uniform standards for tribal consultation.
• Passing the Puerto Rico Status Act, which would grant the people of Puerto Rico the opportunity to determine their own political status, through the House.
• Championing the passage of historic climate and ocean action winsthrough major legislation, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the National Defense Authorization Act.
• Holding the first Trump administration accountable through multiple investigations, leading to the resignation in disgrace of the Interior Secretary and submission of the Committee’s first-ever criminal referral to the Justice Department. 
• Leading defeat of the "Dirty Deal,” an industry-led attempt to attach pro-polluter permitting provisions to must-pass legislation in 2022.

WASHINGTON — Following a survey of its members, the Congressional Progressive Caucus announces its official position opposing a partisan full-year funding bill drafted by House Republicans without input from House or Senate Democrats. 

This bill would allow Trump and Musk unfettered authority to continue stealing from the working class to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. In accordance with Caucus bylaws, this official position was adopted after a supermajority voted in support of formal opposition.

“Such cuts would push countless elderly Americans out of senior homes and deprive essential health and dental care to millions of Americans of modest incomes, taking those cuts to give away trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and large corporations.”

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (TX-35) and New Democrat Coalition Chair Brad Schneider (IL-10) together led a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson calling on him to reverse course on any legislation that would cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits on behalf of millions of Americans who depend on these programs. 

The leaders of the two largest ideological Democratic caucuses were joined by 208 House Democrats, nearly the entire House Democratic Caucus, to oppose Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid, which “would push countless elderly Americans out of senior homes and deprive essential health and dental care to millions of Americans of modest incomes” in order to “give away trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and large corporations.”

“Democrats are uniting to say with one voice: hands off Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (TX-35). “The Congressional Progressive Caucus is proud to join the New Democrat Coalition to fight Republicans’ betrayal of the promises Donald Trump made to working people. With Democrats united, the question becomes: are any three House Republicans willing to change course, or will they all own the devastating consequences of these proposed cuts?”

“Despite their public pledges to safeguard Social Security benefits and health care coverage for well over 100 million Americans, House Republicans have been working behind closed doors to slash these programs and rip away earned benefits from working people, families, children, seniors, and Veterans,” said New Democrat Coalition Chair Brad Schneider (IL-10). “House Democrats won’t stand idly by as Congressional Republicans sacrifice the wellbeing of hardworking people to line the pockets of billionaires like Musk. New Dems are proud to stand alongside our colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus to demand that House Republicans uphold their promise to ensure a dignified retirement and accessible, high quality health care for every American.” 

You can read the full letter here and below:

Dear Mr. Speaker:

We write to oppose any attempts to cut access or benefits to the vital programs that Americans rely on, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We remind you that in addition to repeating his pledge to not cut Social Security and Medicare, President Trump recently claimed he would “love and cherish” Medicaid, which insures more than 70 million Americans, and stated that “the people won’t be affected.”

Despite the President’s claims, the White House’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” is taking drastic actions and making severe threats adversely affecting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and many other crucially important programs. We all agree that our government should always be working to improve effectiveness and efficiency. But, Elon Musk’s half-baked approach and headstrong rush to irresponsibly cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget—without oversight or full consideration of the impacts—put these lifesaving and hard-earned benefits in danger. Moreover, House Republican budgetary options explicitly propose cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid. Such cuts would push countless elderly Americans out of senior homes and deprive essential health and dental care to millions of Americans of modest incomes, taking those cuts to give away trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and large corporations.

We jointly call on you to protect these essential programs and urge you to reverse course on any legislation that deprives Americans of healthcare or the hard-earned retirement benefits they deserve. 

WASHINGTON — Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (TX-35) issued the below statement on reports of Elon Musk and his associates gaining access to the Treasury’s federal payment system. 

"Donald Trump has given unprecedented power over the federal government to an unelected, unaccountable billionaire. Elon Musk's treasury raid jeopardizes Americans' sensitive information, tax returns, and Medicare and Social Security.

"Progressives will fight this in the courts, on the House floor, and with every tool at our disposal until Elon Musk is out of our government and no longer putting taxpayers, the sick, and the elderly at risk."