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WASHINGTON – Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today after the close of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit where American negotiators continued pushing to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“Free trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership must be negotiated in the open with Congressional oversight and input from the working people most affected by the policies at stake. Secret negotiations are not the way to cut a deal that will cost American jobs and slash wages.

“The APEC summit ended today without a final deal agreed upon, which is yet another self-imposed deadline negotiators missed. The reason is simple: the Trans-Pacific Partnership is far from the ‘21^st-century trade agreement’ it’s been called—it amounts to a corporate handout at the expense of workers in all negotiating nations. We urge American negotiators to fight for the best interest of working families—not the world’s richest corporations.

“We stand with the hard working people fighting the Trans-Pacific Partnership and demand the public be told what’s happening behind closed doors.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) joined CPC Peace and Security Task Force Chair Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) to call for an end to the war in Afghanistan after the United States signed a bilateral security agreement with the Afghan government in Kabul today that allows the United States to keep troops and tie up taxpayer dollars in Afghanistan for the next decade.

"As military operations in Iraq and Syria capture national headlines, we must not forget our troops still serving in America's longest war,” said Rep. Grijalva. “We cannot ask these service members and their families to sacrifice forever. As partnering nations bring the last of their troops home from Afghanistan, we must do the same.  Our focus for stability in Afghanistan must shift to economic, community and political development, not military muscle from beyond its borders."

“The bilateral security agreement signed in Afghanistan today will continue the longest war in American history—a significant change to policy that was not approved by Congress,” Rep. Ellison said. “We’ve spent billions to stabilize Afghanistan that could have been invested in Head Start for kids, food assistance for working families, and job assistance for our veterans. We have spent enough money and time to help the Afghan government and security forces stand on their own. It’s time to bring our troops and our tax dollars home.”

“The war in Afghanistan has already cost too any lives and too much treasure. The American people have had enough of the endless war. It's time to bring our troops home and focus on our domestic priorities. We owe it to our brave servicemen and women to bring them home after completing their mission – the future of Afghanistan can only be secured by Afghans,” said Rep. Lee.

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Washington, D.C.–Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) sent Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) a letter urging him to create a Select Committee on Income Inequality instead of spending as much as 3.3 million tax dollars on another investigation into Benghazi. An analysisfrom Think Progress shows the Republican-led House of Representatives is on track to spend more investigating Benghazi than it does on nine other House committees.

The letter, signed by 25 members of Congress, calls on Speaker Boehner “to focus on the issues that everyday people face instead of spending taxpayer dollars on an investigation that will not help families put food on the table.”

The text of the letter is below. A PDF with signatures is available here.

Dear Speaker Boehner:

The loss of four American lives, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, on September 11, 2012 was a terrible tragedy. However, your decision to establish yet another investigation into Benghazi despite the thirteen hearings across eight different Congressional Committees, twenty-five thousand pages of documents and fifty briefings is redundant. Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry and other Obama administration officials have answered repeated questions on this issue and we believe that Congress should refocus its attention on issues that address the real economic struggles of the American people. Thus, we urge you to establish a Select Committee on Income Inequality to focus on the issues that everyday people face instead of spending taxpayer dollars on an investigation that will not help families put food on the table.

As Members of Congress, we remain focused on the issues that touch Americans in their everyday lives. The growing income divide in America is no secret. Hardworking people can’t find work, and when they do, their wages aren’t always enough to cover their day-to-day needs. Renowned economist Thomas Piketty recently found that for the majority of people who work for a living, income inequality in America is “probably higher than in any other society at any time in the past, anywhere in the world.” We find this unconscionable and it cannot continue. 

Mr. Speaker, with respect to economic security in this country, you yourself recently said that “the American people are concerned about this issue, and our priorities will continue to be the priorities of the American people.”  Yet we wonder why you continue to prioritize politics over policies that will help create good paying jobs that narrow the income gap. If House Republicans are serious about focusing on jobs and our economy, we again urge you to establish a Select Committee on Income Inequality to investigate and develop common sense solutions to our country’s widening income gap. 

What happened in Benghazi was a tragedy, not a politically motivated scandal. No amount of hearings or select committees will change that fact.  We urge you to stop the political witch-hunt and focus on the issues that touch people at their kitchen tables. 

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