Press Releases

Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on Drug Pricing Agreement in Build Back Better Act

November 3, 2021

WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement today on the agreement reached by Democratic legislators for prescription drug pricing reform in the Build Back Better Act:

“Prescription drug pricing reform is overwhelmingly popular and desperately needed across the country, which is why the Progressive Caucus included it as one of our priorities for this legislation. Americans pay more than any other country in the world for prescription drugs, and this agreement allows us to begin tackling that outrage with policy.

“This agreement will, for the first time ever, allow Medicare to negotiate down prices on some of the highest-cost drugs, a policy supported by nearly 90 percent of Americans. It will cap insulin at $35 for a month’s supply, a life-saving measure for those with diabetes who are currently forced to pay upwards of $200 per vial. It ensures seniors will not pay more than $2,000 out of pocket for their drugs annually, and it will impose a tax penalty on drug companies that increase their prices faster than inflation. This is real progress, and it gives Congress something to build on, setting us up to continue to take action that curbs the pharmaceutical industry’s greed and profiteering.

“But given this framework’s limitations, it’s clear that Big Pharma — which has spent millions of dollars lobbying Congress — still has far too much influence over our legislative process. The good news: we have a President and an administration thoroughly committed to tackling price gouging and monopoly power throughout the economy. We urge President Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra, and others in the Administration to join Congress in this fight. By using its full authority and pursuing aggressive executive action, the administration can finally provide millions of Americans relief from unfair drug pricing.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement Regarding Vote on Infrastructure Bill and Build Back Better Act

October 28, 2021

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on the status of Build Back Better negotiations:

“The Congressional Progressive Caucus just overwhelmingly voted to endorse, in principle, the entire Build Back Better Act framework announced by President Biden today. We appreciate the President’s leadership and his commitment to getting this process over the finish line. He reaffirmed, as our Caucus has month after month, that both the infrastructure bill and the popular Build Back Better Act must move together because they are part of the same agenda. Today, we are reiterating our enthusiastic commitment to delivering that entire agenda to people across America.

“The reality is that while talks around the infrastructure bill lasted months in the Senate, there has only been serious discussion around the specifics of the larger Build Back Better Act in recent weeks, thanks to the Progressive Caucus holding the line and putting both parts of the agenda back on the table. Now, Congress needs to finish the job and bring both bills to a vote together. This cannot be accomplished without legislative text that can be fully assessed and agreed upon by all parties, including 218 Representatives and all 50 senators in the Democratic Caucus. There is too much at stake for working families and our communities to settle for something that can be later misunderstood, amended, or abandoned altogether. That is why dozens of our members insist on keeping both bills linked and cannot vote only for one until they can be voted on together.

“Members of our Caucus will not vote for the infrastructure bill without the Build Back Better Act. We will work immediately to finalize and pass both pieces of legislation through the House together.”

 

Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on Freedom to Vote Act

October 20, 2021

WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement after the Senate failed to advance the Freedom to Vote Act:

“With the right to vote under direct assault in states across the country, Senate Republicans have once again used the filibuster to block urgently needed legislation that not only protects voting rights, but also our very democracy. Congress cannot just sit back and do nothing as Jim Crow-style voter suppression returns with a vengeance, partisan and racist gerrymandering robs voters of their right to choose their representatives rather than the other way around, and Republican-led legislatures chip away at the bedrock of our democracy.

“As Americans, we should all be able to agree that everyone in this country has the right to have their voice heard and their vote counted — no matter their race, income, ZIP code, or anything else. We applaud Senate Democrats who voted for urgently needed solutions to an unprecedented attack on voting rights. But the next step is clear: The Senate must reform, if not end, the archaic filibuster, and pass federal legislation to protect voting rights. It is the only way forward — and inaction is simply not an option."

Together with the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the Freedom to Vote Act would strengthen access to the ballot by expanding automatic and same-day voting registration, early voting, and vote by mail. It would also end partisan gerrymandering, establish Election Day as a national holiday, and limit election subversion from foreign interference, dark money, and partisan actors while promoting digital ad transparency.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on Meeting with President Biden About Build Back Better Act

October 19, 2021

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement after a meeting with President Biden regarding negotiations around the Build Back Better Act:

“I want to thank President Biden for his leadership and for continuing to fight for his visionary, transformative, and popular Build Back Better Act. We had a very productive and necessary conversation about the urgent need to deliver the full Build Back Better agenda. We feel progress is being made toward an agreement that will make transformational investments in the five priorities that the CPC laid out months ago, specifically the care economy — including child care, pre-K, paid leave, and home and community based care; housing; health care; climate action; and a roadmap to citizenship for immigrants. We also appreciate the President fighting for progress on all of these key priorities, even if it is for a shorter period of time, as the CPC had articulated weeks ago is our preferred option to bring down the overall price tag.

“We agree with the President that now is the time for all Democrats to come to the table, join together, and negotiate in good faith so that we can pass the entirety of the Build Back Better agenda as quickly as possible, so that we do not leave anyone behind. We emphasized our commitment to the principles that we believe should guide these ongoing negotiations: delivering transformative investments that can be immediately felt by the American people, and doing so through universal programs that keep the President’s commitment to racial equity.

“We look forward to moving this process forward with our colleagues in the House and Senate, Congressional leadership, and the White House so we can send the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act to President Biden’s desk.”



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The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is made up of nearly 100 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and advance civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, good-paying jobs, fair trade, universal health care, debt-free college, climate action, and a just foreign policy. The caucus has been the leading voice calling for bold and sweeping solutions to the urgent crises facing this nation, including ending America’s broken for-profit health care system, raising the minimum wage, eliminating political corruption, bolstering labor protections for working families, and taking swift action to stop the warming of our planet.

CPC Leadership Advocates Congress Protect the Scope of Build Back Better Act

October 13, 2021

WASHINGTON — The leadership of the Congressional Progressive Caucus continued their fight to protect the promise of the Build Back Better Act today, advocating that the scope of programs be maintained in the negotiations over size.

In a letter to Speaker Pelosi, the 27 House members of the Caucus Executive Board argued that in attempts to decrease the overall cost of the Build Back Better Act, legislators lower the number of years funding is allocated for each program, rather than to trim the number of programs included. In the case for “making the President’s vision a reality,” they write: “Much has been made in recent weeks about the compromises necessary to enact this transformative agenda. We have been told that we can either adequately fund a small number of investments or legislate broadly, but only make a shallow, short-term impact. We would argue that this is a false choice.”

The lawmakers highlight four arguments for their approach:

  1. To make shorter, transformative investments: Making “robust investments over a shorter window [will] help make the case for our party’s ability to govern, and establish a track record of success that will pave the way for a long-term extension of benefits...We cannot pit childcare against housing, or paid leave against home- and community-based care.”

  2. To touch people’s lives immediately: “Where given an option, we should err on the side of structuring legislation so that benefits flow to the American people as quickly as possible, both to assist the Biden Recovery and to demonstrate our commitment to tangibly improving the lives of the American people.”

  3. To provide universal benefits to ensure lasting change: “We strongly believe that this is the moment to demonstrate to the American people that regardless of geography, race, gender, or class, Democrats believe that everyone has a right to affordable child care, pre-K, clean water, and a community college education. We can choose to strengthen the bond Americans have to one another by proposing universal social insurance benefits that broadly benefit all Americans, or we can pursue complicated methods of means testing that the wealthy and powerful will use to divide us with false narratives about ‘makers’ and ‘takers.’”

  4. To keep the President’s commitment to racial equity: “[The bill] addresses needs disproportionately felt by Black and Brown Americans, like housing, and corrects inequalities in fields of work that are primarily held by people of color, like home-based and elder care [and] addresses needs of thousands of undocumented individuals, many of whom have served as essential workers during the Covid-19 pandemic who have long been vulnerable to discrimination, labor abuses and denial of equal protection under the law due to their immigration status. If we cut those programs, we reduce the broadly transformative power of this legislation, and we once again fall behind on our promises to ensure racial equity.”

“This bill offers us a chance to fundamentally transform the relationship between the American people and their government,” they conclude.

Signatories of the letter include: Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Deputy Chair Rep. Katie Porter (CA-45), Whip Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05); Chairs Emeriti Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Rep. Barbara Lee (Ca-13), Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02); Vice Chairs Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Rep Joe Neguse (CO-02), Rep. Marie Newman (IL-03), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Rep. David Cicilline (RI-01), Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12); Deputy Whips Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Rep. Mondaire Jones (NY-17), Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Rep. Andy Levin (MI-09), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41), Rep. Adriano Espaillat; Special Order Hour Conveners Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), and Executive Board Member at Large Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09).

Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on Meeting with President Biden on Build Back Better Act

October 4, 2021

“I want to thank President Biden for his leadership and for continuing to fight for his visionary Build Back Better Act that people throughout this country want, need, and deserve. We had a very productive and necessary conversation about the urgent need to deliver the full Build Back Better agenda — not only investing in roads and bridges, but also in child care, paid leave, health care, climate action, affordable housing, and education.

“As the President has continually emphasized, as recently as this afternoon, both the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act are necessary to make good on his promises to the American people. Progressives fought to get the full Biden agenda back on track, and now we are beginning negotiations to deliver it to working people, families, and our communities. By ensuring both bills move forward together, we are ensuring that we don’t leave anyone behind. We look forward to continuing this conversation and working with our colleagues in the House and Senate, Congressional leadership, and the White House to send the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act to President Biden’s desk.”

Progressive Position on Infrastructure and Build Back Better Remains Unchanged Following Caucus Meeting

September 28, 2021

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement after the 96-member coalition’s meeting about the ongoing infrastructure and Build Back Better negotiations:

“We remain fully committed to passing President Biden’s entire Build Back Better agenda and delivering the transformative change that people throughout this country urgently want, need, and deserve. Moving forward without the Build Back Better Act would put long-overdue investments in child care, paid leave, health care, affordable housing, pre-k, community college, climate action, and a roadmap to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS recipients, and essential workers at risk. Our Progressive Caucus members remain clear: we will not allow this process to be dictated by special interests and corporations at the expense of women, working families, and our communities. We will not leave anyone behind.

“This agenda is not some fringe wish list: it is the President’s agenda, the Democratic agenda, and what we all promised voters when they delivered us the House, Senate, and White House. It is supported by nearly every Democrat in Congress and is overwhelmingly backed by the American people. It was committed to in a deal among Senators when they passed the infrastructure bill in that chamber — a commitment reiterated just last week. We articulated this position more than three months ago, and today it is still unchanged: progressives will vote for both bills, but a majority of our members will only vote for the infrastructure bill after the President’s visionary Build Back Better Act passes.”

In June, the Congressional Progressive Caucus shared that, “A recent poll of our 96-member Caucus showed overwhelming support for the House not passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill unless a larger reconciliation package containing our progressive priorities moved simultaneously.” In July, the Caucus reiterated that position, saying, “a small and narrow bipartisan infrastructure bill does not have a path forward in the House of Representatives unless it has a reconciliation package, with our priorities, alongside it.”

More than a month ago, the Caucus once again confirmed that, “We will work to first pass the Build Back Better reconciliation bill so we can deliver these once-in-a-generation, popular, and urgently needed investments to poor and working families, and then pass the infrastructure bill to invest in our roads, bridges, and waterways.” The chair added, “As our members have made clear for three months, the two are integrally tied together, and we will only vote for the infrastructure bill after passing the reconciliation bill.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on the 20th Anniversary of September 11, 2001

September 11, 2021

WASHINGTON — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“Twenty years ago today, America and the lives of countless Americans were changed forever. My thoughts are with those grieving the loved ones they lost on 9/11 and in the forever wars that followed, with those who are still grappling with the trauma and health impacts of surviving the attacks and rescue missions, the communities who faced hate and discrimination in the decades that followed, and the communities in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania that still carry the scars of that day. No matter how many years pass, that will always be with those closest to it. The country is with them today.

“Our commemoration of this anniversary would not be honest or complete without also acknowledging that, in the aftermath of that horrible day, our country learned many wrong lessons. Following the attacks, Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh communities were unfairly targeted and profiled by the government and those around us. They experienced unforgivable hate, racism, xenophobia, discrimination, and bigotry. Many in our communities were moved to activism in that period, and I’m proud to share that background with some of my colleagues in the CPC. Even in the face of unprecedented discrimination, our communities have continued to meet those challenges with courage, compassion, and resilience. Today, I join my CPC colleagues Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), and Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) in a resolution condemning the treatment of Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh people in the two decades since the 9/11 attacks, and calling for an examination of the actions and policies so that this never happens again.

“Instead of keeping our focus solely on the healing of the communities affected, the United States allowed grief, fear, racism, xenophobia, and anti-Muslim hatred to guide much of our policy making. The government erected a vast apparatus to engage in warrantless surveillance and unconstitutional spying of American citizens; maintain racist, discriminatory watch and no-fly lists; and create a permission structure to violate privacy by invoking unproven national security concerns. Dozens were tortured and held without trial for years at Guantanamo — despicable practices the government hid from public view. The U.S. used the post-9/11 years to engage in not one, but two decades-long wars, costing trillions of dollars, the lives of hundreds of thousands of American service members, and an untold number of civilian lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, and half a dozen countries across the globe.

“Two decades later, we are finally beginning to unravel the consequences of our national mistakes. Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13)’s prophetic words against the ‘war on terror’ are finally being heeded, with Congress moving to repeal the Authorizations of Military Force, and President Biden ending the war in Afghanistan. Congress has allowed Section 215 of the Patriot Act to expire, and the administration has not moved to renew it. And President Biden has ordered the declassification of documents related to the 9/11 attacks, moving to shed light on a chapter of our history that has been obscured for too long.

“Today, we must recommit to this progress. Never again can we waste trillions and kill hundreds of thousands abroad in wars and occupations, or let our communities be alienated and attacked for their religion, race, national origin, or immigration status. On this anniversary, let us bring with us the memory of those lost, and leave behind the tragic mistakes of our past to ensure this never happens again in the future.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Members Secure Universal Child Care and Other Wins for Students and Care Workers in Build Back Better Package

September 10, 2021

WASHINGTON — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on the Education and Labor Committee’s passage of its portion of the Build Back Better Act. The bill includes a universal child care policy that guarantees no family will pay more than 7 percent of its income on this critical service, funding for a Civilian Climate Corps, universal two-year community college and pre-K, school infrastructure, and steep monetary penalties against companies who violate care workers’ rights.

“The Progressive Caucus has been laser-focused on achieving transformative outcomes for working families, and I am proud that our members on the Education and Labor Committee have secured wins in this bill that will be felt by millions of families across the country. Thanks to the leadership of Progressives, in partnership with frontline members, our committee has passed legislation that is going to make a real, meaningful difference.

“We secured universal child care with the cost capped at no more than 7 percent of income for every family in America — nothing short of life-changing for our communities. This program will catalyze economic growth by creating high-quality child care jobs, and allowing parents — especially women — to return to work with their children safely looked after. It will address long-standing economic and racial disparities in child care access, so that those who need this program the most will directly receive assistance.

“Thanks to Progressives and our allies, this bill will also allow us to make real progress on aggressive climate action, with funding for a Civilian Climate Corps in impacted communities, and updates to our crumbling school infrastructure. It includes strong labor protections for the care workforce, so that the mostly women of color who serve in these critical roles will finally be treated with fairness, dignity, and as central to our economy as they are. And it will advance funding for universal pre-K and two years of community college, addressing pervasive education inequities and ensuring every child, from their first years of school to their last, is set up to succeed.

“As Speaker Pelosi said, with the Build Back Better Act, our ‘children finally have leverage’ — and the Education and Labor Committee bill represents the best of our fight on their behalf. And it serves as a clear sign to working people across this country that Congress understands what parents have endured during the pandemic, that we understand the economic realities holding them back, and that we are coming to work for them. We urge our Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure these provisions are included in the final bill, and we look forward to voting for it on the floor, sending it to the President’s desk, and delivering for the people.”

Progressive Caucus members on the Education and Labor Committee were instrumental in securing bold, progressive policies in the Build Back Better Act. They include: Committee Vice Chair Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Mondaire Jones (NY-17), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Rep. Andy Levin (MI-09), Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25), Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), CPC Whip Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41), Rep. Frederica Wilson (FL-24), and Rep. John Yarmuth (KY-03). 

Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement on Department of Justice Lawsuit Challenging Texas Abortion Ban

September 9, 2021

WASHINGTON — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s announcement of its lawsuit challenging S.B. 8, the Texas abortion ban:

“This is the right move by Attorney General Garland, and we applaud the Biden Administration for acting quickly. The Progressive Caucus joined the Pro-Choice Caucus to call for action from DOJ last week after the Supreme Court failed to intervene and stop the cruel law from taking effect, as did the Judiciary Committee, and we’re glad to see the Biden administration step up to protect millions of Texans’ access to reproductive health care. Abortion is a constitutional right, and as the Attorney General stated, S.B. 8 clearly violates it.

“But Texas is not alone in their attempts to push abortion out of reach; this law is just one of nearly 600 restrictive abortion laws introduced in state legislatures in 2021. This is a nationwide crisis that requires a nationwide solution, and Congress must also do its part. That’s why we are looking forward to passing the Women’s Health Protection Act out of the House of Representatives this month, and why we’re calling on the Senate to abolish the filibuster so we can send this urgent bill to the President’s desk. That is how we finally codify the right to abortion in federal law, outlaw attacks on access, and protect health care for millions. This is a fight we cannot and must not lose.”

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