85-753: The Congressional Progressive Caucus ( CPC ) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress . The CPC represents the progressive faction of the Democratic Party. It was founded in 1991 and has grown since then, becoming the second-largest Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives . As of July 19, 2024, the CPC has 97 members (95 voting Representatives , one non-voting Delegate , and one Senator ), making it
170-512: A party-line vote . Some House Democratic progressives expressed disappointment with some changes to the relief package made in the Senate (such as the removal of the $ 15 minimum wage) to win over moderate Democratic support, but continued to support the package. Republicans in Congress opposed the bill, claiming it to be unaffordable, and claiming the bill only benefitted Democratic-led states. Though
255-603: A "Help is Here" tour across the country to promote the legislation, with Harris visiting a COVID-19 vaccination site in Las Vegas and First Lady Jill Biden visiting an elementary school in New Jersey . On March 16, Biden promoted the bill in Chester, Pennsylvania . Preliminary injunctions issued in federal district court cases halted section 1005 payments, which related to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers . Section 1005
340-451: A 90–10 vote that would provide direct relief to the restaurant industry. Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote as President of the Senate for final Senate passage of the reconciliation bill, sending it to the House approval of the changes, and allowing drafting of the relief bill to begin in the committees. The House approved the resolution 219–209, with Jared Golden being
425-461: A Responsible Federal Budget called for a smaller and more targeted package. Several observers have noted that the stimulus greatly increases the role of the government in fighting poverty in the United States, to an extent not seen since Lyndon Johnson's Great Society in the 1960s; accordingly some have seen it as evidence that the United States is moving towards social democracy and away from
510-646: A bill increasing direct payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000, then- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the effort. Additionally, the House voted on the HEROES Act in May 2020, which would operate as a $ 3 trillion relief package. Despite approval in the lower chambers, the Republican-led Senate would not consider such a bill, citing it to be "dead on arrival". Prior to the Georgia Senate runoffs , Biden said that
595-460: A counterproposal to President Joe Biden's $ 1.9 trillion plan meant to force negotiations. The senators, including Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Rob Portman of Ohio, told Biden in a letter that they devised the plan "in the spirit of bipartisanship and unity" that the President has urged and said they planned to release a full proposal on February 1. On
680-591: A draft of the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus legislation was released by the Financial Services and Education and Labor committees. On February 11, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced a portion of the $ 1.9 trillion relief package. The legislation was also approved by several other House committees such as the Transportation and Infrastructure , Small Business , and House Veterans Affairs . On February 19,
765-483: A recession, if the Federal Reserve responded by raising interest rates). Later data would show a large surge in inflation. Although the importance of the law in causing this has been disputed, price increases rose to the highest levels in 40 years, as Summers had argued. The stimulus plan had broad public support. A February 11 Newsweek / Harris X poll showed that 60% of Republican voters expressed support for
850-627: A series of rulings blocking tax cuts from being considered under the 51-vote budget reconciliation process); however, neither course was taken. On March 5, eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus joined all 50 Republican Senators to reject an amendment raised by Senator Sanders to increase the minimum wage to $ 15 in the bill. In a budget analysis released in February 2021, the Congressional Budget Office found that increasing
935-405: A single-payer system, most medical care would be paid for by the federal government , ending the need for private health insurance and premiums, and re-casting private insurance companies as providing purely supplemental coverage, to be used when non-essential care is sought. The national system would be paid for in part through taxes replacing insurance premiums, but also by savings realized through
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#17328376701601020-431: A state chooses to implement new state tax cuts. Yost's suit claims that this limitation coerces states and infringes on their "sovereign authority to set state tax policy." Clinton Administration Treasury Secretary and Harvard University President Lawrence Summers called the bill "the least responsible macroeconomic policy we've had in the last 40 years," arguing the law would lead to substantial inflation (and possibly
1105-522: A vote of ( 230-192 ). All Democrats voted for the measure, and all but 2 Republicans voted against it. The bill was then sent to the Senate . The Senate, having been controlled by Republicans , did not bring the bill up for a vote. During the 117th United States Congress congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27) introduced the Women's Health Protection Act . The act would expand abortion rights and codify Roe v. Wade . It
1190-577: Is forsaking his promises on bipartisanship and unity. Furthermore, Biden noted that "[a]ll of a sudden, many of them have rediscovered fiscal restraint and the concern for the deficits" in reference to the Trump administrations increase in the national debt following expansive tax cuts and COVID-19 mitigation spending . Republican mayors such as Jerry Dyer of Fresno, California , Francis Suarez of Miami , David Holt of Oklahoma City , and Betsy Price of Fort Worth, Texas , expressed their support for
1275-486: Is willing to advance LGBT rights, regardless of their sexual identity or orientation; it has historically been co-chaired by every openly-LGBT member of the House. The caucus had 194 members, all of them Democrats , in the 118th United States Congress . The most common caucuses consist of members united as an interest group . These are often bi-partisan (comprising both Democrats and Republicans) and bi-cameral (comprising both Representatives and Senators). Examples like
1360-865: The American Public Transportation Association , and the civil rights group UnidosUS . Feeding America , the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Main Street Alliance, the U.S. Travel Association, the American Hospital Association , the Association of American Medical Colleges , and the National Council of Nonprofits praised the bill, but said that additional relief would be necessary. The Business Roundtable , U.S. Chamber of Commerce , and Committee for
1445-595: The Congressional Bike Caucus works to promote cycling , and the Senate Taiwan Caucus promotes strong relationships with Taiwan. The House Committee on House Administration (HCHA) prescribes certain rules for Congressional Member Organizations (CMOs). Each Congress, CMOs must electronically register with the Committee on House Administration, providing the name of the caucus, a statement of purpose ,
1530-478: The Senate to set legislative agendas, select committee members and chairs and hold elections to choose various floor leaders . They also oversee the four Hill committees , political party committees that work to elect members of their own party to Congress. Ideological congressional caucuses can represent a political party within a political party. In the United States two-party dominant political system, these congressional caucuses help congregate and advance
1615-691: The United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate and governed under the rules of these chambers . In addition to the term "caucus", they are sometimes called conferences (especially Republican ones), coalitions , study groups, task forces, or working groups. Many other countries use the term parliamentary group ; the Parliament of the United Kingdom has many all-party parliamentary groups . The largest caucuses are
1700-589: The party caucuses comprising all members of one house from one party (either the Democrats or the Republicans ) in addition to any independent members who may caucus with either party. These are the House Democratic Caucus , House Republican Conference , Senate Democratic Caucus and Senate Republican Conference . The caucuses meet regularly in closed sessions for both the House of Representatives and
1785-574: The " government is the problem " consensus in place since the 1980s. Dave Yost , the Republican Ohio Attorney General , sued the Biden administration over the provision of the Act that creates a $ 350 billion fund to help state and local governments pay first responders and other COVID-19-related expenses. The Act provides that a state cannot use federal aid money to offset net revenues lost if
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#17328376701601870-661: The Act called for the distribution of $ 50 billion to small businesses and another $ 25 billion for relief for small and mid-sized restaurants. The Act expanded eligibility for Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and gave states incentives to expand Medicaid. By mid-2020, the United States was facing what the National Bureau of Economic Research determined was an economic recession, and by February 2021, 500,000 Americans had died of COVID-19. Over 29 million Americans had tested positive for COVID-19 by March. The United States also faced eviction, unemployment, and hunger crises since
1955-560: The CMO officers and the employee designated to work on issues related to the CMO. The HCHA rules include the following: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 , also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan , is a US$ 1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to speed up
2040-525: The CPC released a proposed "People's Budget" for fiscal year 2012. Two of its proponents stated: "By implementing a fair tax code, by building a resilient American economy, and by bringing our troops home, we achieve a budget surplus of over $ 30 billion by 2021 and we end up with a debt that is less than 65% of our GDP. This is what sustainability looks like". In 2019, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed H.R.582, The Raise
2125-552: The Congressional Progressive Caucus Center and Progressive Caucus Action Fund, a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) , respectively, to coordinate messaging and policy initiatives between the caucus and supportive organizations. Congressional caucus A congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meet to pursue common legislative objectives. Formally, caucuses are formed as congressional member organizations ( CMOs ) through
2210-543: The Democratic-controlled House passed the American Rescue Plan pandemic relief package, which included a gradual minimum wage increase to $ 15 per hour. The measure was ultimately removed from the Senate version of the bill. The Medicare for All Act is a bill first introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) in 2003, with 38 co-sponsors. In 2019,
2295-525: The ERA, marching on April 28, 2023 to the Senate in support of S.J. Res 4, the bill to affirm the ERA. The Southern Caucus was a Senate caucus of Southern Democrats chaired by Richard Russell , which opposed civil rights legislation and formed a vital part of the conservative coalition that dominated the Senate into the 1960s. The tone of the Southern Caucus was to be more moderate and reasonable than
2380-518: The House (267–157) on July 19, 2022, with 47 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting in the affirmative. The Senate considered the bill, but it was initially unclear if it would receive enough votes to end debate. On November 14, 2022, a group of bipartisan senators, including Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Susan Collins (R-ME) announced they had reached an amendment compromise to include language for religious protections and clarify that
2465-560: The House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI), Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) announced the re-introduction of the Respect for Marriage Act , which was revised to include protections for interracial marriages to codify Loving v. Virginia . The Act passed
2550-486: The House on May 31, 2023. Representatives Lois Frankel (FL-22), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Ruben Gallego (AZ-3), and Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) have since left the caucus. The CPC is affiliated with the Congressional Political Caucus PAC, a political action committee which was established in 2009 and is led by members of the caucus to endorse and fundraise for candidates. In 2018, the caucus established
2635-504: The House passed the Senate bill on a near party-line ( Jared Golden was the only one to vote against) vote of 220–211 (concurring in the Senate amendments), sending the bill to President Biden for his signature. Biden signed the bill the following day, on March 11, 2021. On March 15, 2021, the White House announced that Gene Sperling will oversee the implementation of the bill. Following the signing, Biden and his top messengers kicked off
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2720-427: The House passed the trillion dollar relief package by a vote of 219–212; two Democrats, Kurt Schrader (OR) and Jared Golden (ME) joined all Republicans in opposition. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Senate would pass the bill before March 14. On March 4, Schumer introduced the Senate version of the bill on the floor, which had a few changes to the House bill. The Senate voted 51–50 to advance
2805-520: The House would still approve the bill with the minimum wage raise, although it would have to be amended out in the final Senate bill to comply with the parliamentarian's ruling. Progressive Democrats and liberal groups urged Harris to overrule MacDonough (which she has the constitutional power to do as president of the Senate ) or for Senate Democratic leadership to replace her (which the Republicans did once before, firing Robert Dove in 2001 after he made
2890-545: The Republican Contract with America . The CPC's agenda was framed as "The Progressive Promise: Fairness". The CPC advocates "a universal, high-quality, Medicare for All health care system for all", living wage laws, reductions in military expenditure, a crackdown on corporate greed, putting an end to mass incarceration , supporting and implementing swift measures to start reversing climate change, immigration policies that are humane, and reparations . In April 2011,
2975-634: The Senate. Green New Deal proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality . The name refers back to the New Deal , a set of social and economic reforms and public works projects undertaken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression . The Green New Deal combines Roosevelt's economic approach with modern ideas such as renewable energy and resource efficiency . In July 2022,
3060-712: The Wage Act , which would have gradually raised the minimum wage to $ 15 per hour. It was not taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate . In January 2021, Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives reintroduced the bill. In February 2021, the Congressional Budget Office released a report on the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 which estimated that incrementally raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025 would benefit 17 million workers, but would also reduce employment by 1.4 million people. On February 27, 2021,
3145-416: The White House pressured him to support Carper's amendment. Manchin had initially signalled he would support a GOP-backed amendment by Portman to cut off the unemployment benefits at July. After hours of negotiations between top Senate Democrats and the White House, Manchin stated he would back a revised version of Carper's amendment which would cut off the unemployment benefits at September 6. The final vote
3230-414: The amended bill. All 50 Democratic senators and 12 Republicans ( Roy Blunt , Richard Burr , Shelley Moore Capito , Susan Collins , Joni Ernst , Cynthia Lummis , Lisa Murkowski , Rob Portman , Mitt Romney , Dan Sullivan , Thom Tillis , and Todd Young ) voted in favor of advancing the bill. On November 29, 2022, the Senate voted 61–36 to pass the bill. Voting in favor of the bill were 49 Democrats and
3315-863: The bill and all Republicans voted against the bill. A modified version passed the Senate on March 6 by a vote of 50–49. The final amended bill was passed by the House on March 10 by a vote of 220–211 with one Democrat ( Jared Golden ) voting against it alongside all Republicans. The bill was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. The American Rescue Plan Act provided for direct economic stimulus payments to individual taxpayers with incomes of $ 75,000 or less. The Act also allocated $ 350 billion in assistance to state and local governments, $ 14 billion for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and $ 130 billion to schools to help them safely re-open for in-person instruction. The Act included $ 300 billion in unemployment benefits that were scheduled to extend through Labor Day 2021, as well as an expanded child tax credit. In addition,
3400-467: The bill did not legalize polygamous marriage . The amendment specifies that nonprofit religious organizations will not be required to provide services for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage. Shortly after, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the Respect for Marriage Act would be put up for a full vote. On November 16, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on the motion to proceed (62–37) to
3485-536: The bill provided some funding for Republican-leaning states, 61% of aid would go to states that voted for Biden in November 2020. Some Democrats argued the bill's provisions were similar to policies Republicans had supported in the Trump administration ; Republicans responded by arguing that such measures were no longer necessary, as the economy was no longer in a recession and COVID-19 vaccines were now being administered. President Joe Biden advocated for fast-tracking
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3570-405: The bill would cut their taxes by an average of $ 2,800, which would boost their after-tax income by 20%. Additionally, low-income households with children would see an average tax cut of about $ 7,700, and this would boost their after-tax income by 35%. Middle-income households will also see an average tax cut of about $ 3,350, and this would increase their after-tax income by 5.5%. Overall, about 70% of
3655-561: The bill's tax benefits will go to households making under $ 91,000. A March 2022 study released by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco estimated that U.S. fiscal support measures designed to counteract the severity of the pandemic's economic effect (among them, the American Rescue Plan and the 2020 CARES Act ) may have raised core inflation about 3 percentage points by the end of 2021, noting that this estimate falls "in
3740-428: The caucus is to work for LGBT rights , the repeal of laws discriminatory against LGBT persons, the elimination of hate-motivated violence , and improved health and well-being for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation , gender identity , or gender expression . The caucus serves as a resource for Members of Congress , their staffs, and the public on LGBT issues. The LGBT Equality Caucus admits any member who
3825-525: The caucus urged the Biden administration to seek a negotiated, diplomatic end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine while advocating for continued economic and military support to Ukraine. The next day, after a wave of criticism, the letter was swiftly withdrawn on the basis that peaceful negotiations with Putin in current situation are "nearly impossible". Jayapal reasserted the Democrats' support for Ukraine and said
3910-620: The country's recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession . First proposed on January 14, 2021, the package builds upon many of the measures in the CARES Act from March 2020 and in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 , from December. On February 8, 2021, the Financial Services and Education and Labor committees released a draft of $ 1.9 trillion stimulus legislation. A portion of
3995-738: The day after Joe Biden was inaugurated , he warned that the death toll could exceed 500,000. According to Snopes , Biden inherited a vaccine distribution strategy from Trump, and disease expert Anthony Fauci said that his administration would incorporate some aspects of that Trump-era strategy in its ongoing work. Prior to the passing of the American Rescue Plan, the CARES Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 were signed into law by then- president Donald Trump in March and December 2020, respectively. Trump previously expressed support for direct payments of $ 2,000 along with Joe Biden and many Democrats . Even though Trump called for Congress to pass
4080-511: The details of a drug-pricing bill, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act . The final version was the result of extensive negotiations between House Democratic leadership and members of the CPC. The bill was introduced into the House of Representatives on September 19, 2019, during the 116th Congress by Rep. Frank Pallone ( D - NJ ). The bill received 106 co-sponsors. It passed the House on December 12, 2019, by
4165-441: The direct payments of $ 2,000 would be passed only if Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won; the promise of comprehensive COVID-19 relief legislation was reported as a factor in their eventual victories. On January 14, prior to being inaugurated as president, Biden announced the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package. Ten Republican senators announced plans to unveil a roughly $ 600 billion COVID-19 relief package as
4250-454: The direct payments, the bill's expansion of low-income tax credits, child-care subsidies, expanded health-insurance access, extension of expanded unemployment benefits, food stamps, and rental assistance programs. The bill contains little direct aid to high income-earners, who largely retained their jobs during the COVID-19 economic shock and bolstered their savings. Biden's administration crafted
4335-437: The economy stage a full recovery. The United States Senate voted 50–49 to open debate on the resolution, which would allow Democrats to pass the relief package without support from Republicans through the process of reconciliation . The House voted 218–212 to approve the budget resolution. On February 4, a vote-a-rama session began, and the Senate introduced amendments to the relief package, including an amendment in
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#17328376701604420-595: The explicit white supremacism of some Southern Senators. The caucus was where the Southern Manifesto was written which supported the reversal of the landmark Supreme Court 1954 ruling Brown v. Board of Education and was signed by 19 Senators and 82 Representatives. The formation of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus was announced on June 4, 2008, by openly gay members of congress Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank . The mission of
4505-635: The final relief bill. The Republican Party used hundreds of non-binding votes in the hours-long vote-a-rama session to send messages. Under current law, undocumented immigrants were already prohibited from receiving pandemic relief checks. The amendment passed with eight Democrats joining all Republicans. The amendment received criticism from progressive immigration activist Greisa Martínez Rosas and Senator Mazie Hirono (D- HI ). The White House later stated that it would continue to support legislation that would give all otherwise eligible individuals with social security numbers stimulus checks. On February 8,
4590-511: The full text of the bill was released. It included an increase in the federal minimum wage, direct checks for Americans making $ 75,000 or less a year, an extension of $ 400 federal unemployment benefits and more money for small businesses. On February 22, the House Budget Committee voted 19–16 to advance the bill. The following day, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that the House vote would occur that Friday. On February 26,
4675-416: The ideals of a more focused ideology within the two major relatively big tent political parties. Some caucuses are organized political factions with a common ideological orientation. Most ideological caucuses are confined to the House of Representatives. The rosters of large caucuses are usually listed publicly. Members of Congress are not restricted to a single ideological caucus, creating overlaps between
4760-519: The income of the poorest one-fifth of Americans by nearly $ 3,590. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill's increase in health insurance subsidies would lead to 1.3 million previously uninsured Americans gaining health insurance coverage . A 2022 study from the Brookings Institution found mixed results for some of the bill's economic development funding. The Tax Policy Center wrote that, for households making under $ 25,000,
4845-471: The legislation by the end of February, and for the legislation to be signed into law by March 14. On February 16, Biden promoted his stimulus plan in a visit in Milwaukee , Wisconsin during his first official trip as president. He promoted it via a CNN townhall meeting with voters. On February 18, Yellen called for major stimulus checks during an interview on CNBC , and said that stimulus checks would help
4930-459: The letter had been drafted several months ago and "released by staff without vetting." All members are Democrats or caucus with the Democratic Party. In the 118th Congress , there are currently 97 declared progressives , including 95 voting Representatives, 1 non-voting Delegate, and 1 Senator. Representative Jennifer McClellan (VA-4) joined the caucus after assuming office in March 2023 while Representative David Cicilline (RI-1) resigned from
5015-473: The minimum wage to $ 10, phasing in gradually to 2025. The minimum wage would biennially rise with inflation, indexed to the chained consumer price index . Businesses would also be required to use the E-Verify system so to ensure that workers paid the higher wages are legal immigrants and eligible to work. Adult workers would have to provide a photo ID, states would be incentivized to share driver's-license data with
5100-557: The minimum wage to $ 15 an hour ranges from 53 to 60%, Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema opposed this provision and threatened to derail the bill over this issue. On February 25, the day before the full House vote, the Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that the proposal to add the minimum wage provision to the stimulus bill was not compatible with the Senate's budget reconciliation process. Pelosi stated later that day that
5185-434: The minimum wage to $ 15 would lift 900,000 people out of poverty and cumulatively raise the wage of all affected people by $ 333 billion, but also could increase the cumulative budget deficit, over the next decade, to $ 54 billion (and add $ 16 billion in interest costs) and reduce employment by 0.9% (1.4 million jobs) over four years. Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton introduced their own bill, which would raise
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#17328376701605270-424: The minimum wage. Senator Tom Carper introduced an amendment which would extend the unemployment benefits through the end of September but would cut the benefits from $ 400 to $ 300. The amendment also did not tax the first $ 10,200 of unemployment benefits. Senator Joe Manchin, a key vote in the Senate, disagreed with Carper's amendment, stalling the Senate amendment process for hours while his Democratic colleagues and
5355-430: The opportunity to introduce, debate, and vote on amendments. There were multiple amendments brought onto the Senate floor. Bernie Sanders introduced the first amendment to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour. All Republicans and eight Democrats voted against the amendment. After the vote, Sanders stated he was not surprised by the outcome and vowed that progressives would keep fighting on other fronts to raise
5440-565: The organisations. Among the most visible caucuses are those composed of members sharing the same race or ethnic group . The most high profile of these represent people of color . The Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus also form the Congressional Tri Caucus when they sit together. The ERA Caucus (Equal Rights Amendment Caucus)
5525-504: The original 16-year-old proposal was renumbered, and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced a broadly similar, but more detailed, bill, HR 1384, in the 116th Congress . As of November 3, 2019, it had 116 co-sponsors still in the House at the time, or 49.8% of House Democrats. The act would establish a universal single-payer health care system in the United States, the rough equivalent of Canada's Medicare and Taiwan 's Bureau of National Health Insurance , among other examples. Under
5610-499: The plan in part because economic aid to lower-income and middle-income Americans (who are more likely to immediately spend funds on bills, groceries, and housing costs to avoid eviction or foreclosure) is more likely to stimulate the U.S. economy than aid to higher-earners (who are more likely to save the money). The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy predicted that the stimulus bill's direct payments, child tax credit expansion, and earned income tax credit expansion would boost
5695-1176: The plan. Dyer told the Washington Post that "It's not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. It's a public health issue. It's an economic issue. And it's a public safety issue." Over 150 CEOs of major companies expressed support for the Biden stimulus plan in a letter and urged Congress to pass it. A broad range of advocacy and interest groups praised the bill, including local government groups ( National Association of Counties and U.S. Conference of Mayors ); business associations ( National Farmers Union , Airlines for America , National Association of Realtors , National Restaurant Association , Small Business Majority ); education organizations (the American Council on Education , American Federation of Teachers , National Education Association , National School Boards Association ), organized labor (the AFL–CIO and AFSCME ); healthcare organizations ( American Academy of Pediatrics , Association of State and Territorial Health Officials , National Nurses United ),
5780-422: The provision of preventive universal health care and the elimination of insurance company overhead and hospital billing costs. On September 13, 2017, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a parallel bill in the United States Senate , with 16 co-sponsors. The act would establish a universal single-payer health care system in the United States. In 2019, the CPC challenged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding
5865-433: The relief bill and allow debates to begin, with Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Ron Johnson objected to Schumer's request to skip the reading of the bill, forcing the Senate clerks to read aloud the entire 628-page Senate bill, delaying the Senate amendment process for up to 15 hours. On March 5, the Senate reconvened and had 3 hours of debate, and thereafter moved to the "vote-a-rama" session, where senators would have
5950-457: The relief package was approved by the House Ways and Means on February 11, setting it up for a vote in the House. The legislation was also approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure , Small Business , and House Veterans Affairs committees. On February 22, the House Budget Committee voted 19–16 to advance the bill to the House for a floor vote. The bill passed the House by a vote of 219–212 on February 27. All but two Democrats voted for
6035-547: The same 12 Republicans who had voted to advance it. Two Republicans ( Ben Sasse and Patrick Toomey ) and one Democrat ( Raphael Warnock , who co-sponsored the bill) did not vote. Representative Lois Frankel (FL-22) left the caucus on November 20, 2023, and Ritchie Torres (NY-15) left the caucus on February 21, 2024, both over disagreements regarding support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war . Both are described as staunch supporters of Israel. In October 2022, 30 members of
6120-522: The same day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a budget resolution co-sponsored by Bernie Sanders as a step to pass the legislation without support from the Republican Party . The next day, Biden met with Majority Leader Schumer and other Democrats regarding the relief package. On February 7, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed support for
6205-981: The second-largest ideological caucus in the House Democratic Caucus by voting members, behind the New Democrat Coalition . The CPC is chaired by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). In addition, the CPC is affiliated with the Congressional Political Caucus PAC, a political action committee which is led by members of the caucus. The CPC was established in 1991 by U.S. Representatives Ron Dellums (D-CA), Lane Evans (D-IL), Thomas Andrews (D-ME), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Additional Representatives joined soon thereafter, including Major Owens (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), David Bonior (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Patsy Mink (D-HI), George Miller (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), John Olver (D-MA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Sanders
6290-405: The sole Democrat to join all Republicans in opposition to the bill due to a preference for a separate vaccine bill instead of the longer reconciliation process. One of the many non-binding budget amendments in the vote-a-rama session was meant to prohibit people who are in the country illegally from receiving pandemic relief checks. The non-binding amendments were not likely to have any effect on
6375-440: The start of the pandemic. Over 30 to 40 million Americans faced a risk of being evicted from their homes by January 2021. Then-president Donald Trump also faced criticism for not having a federal strategy to combat the pandemic, such as nationwide mask mandates on transportation, a mass testing strategy, health guidelines, providing medical-grade protective gear, and having an effective vaccine distribution strategy. On January 20,
6460-525: The stimulus package with optimally bipartisan support. In early February 2021, Biden criticized Republicans for not seeking a bipartisan compromise on a final aid bill, and said the Republicans were wilfully obstructing his proposal. At the time, Biden signaled openness to passing the legislation without any support from congressional Republicans. Biden stated that he could not, "in good conscience," make concessions to Republicans who he said propose to either "do nothing or not enough" as Republicans complain Biden
6545-466: The stimulus package. Yellen said that the funding would help millions of Americans and rejected concerns the colossal spending could cause inflation. Yellen also said that the stimulus package would restore full employment by 2022. On February 9, Biden met with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and other CEOs to discuss the stimulus plan, with Yellen and Harris taking part in the meeting. On February 11, Pelosi said that she expects lawmakers to complete
6630-405: The stimulus plan and a poll from Quinnipiac University found that 68% of Americans support it. A Morning Consult / Politico poll showed that 76% of voters, including 60% of Republicans and 89% of Democrats, supported the bill. A Monmouth University poll found that 62% of Americans approve of the stimulus package, with 92% of Democrats, 56% of independents, and 33% of Republicans supporting
6715-590: The system, and the federal government would make more of an effort to block or suspend misused Social Security numbers. The House-passed bill included $ 1.5 million to cover operating shortfalls on the New York-Ontario Seaway International Bridge (caused by border closures), and $ 140 million for the Silicon Valley BART extension . Both provisions were removed from the Senate bill due to Republican opposition. On March 10, 2021,
6800-524: The upper range of findings from other recent research". At the same time, the study notes that these measures may have prevented "outright deflation and slower economic growth, the consequences of which would have been harder to manage". The study estimates the effect on inflation from the aggregate of all U.S. fiscal support measures and does not give estimates for the effects of individual measures. The relief package received universal support from Democrats and universal opposition from Republicans, passing on
6885-410: Was 50 to 49 on party lines, and the bill was sent back to the House for final passage. President Biden doubted that his desire to increase the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour would be included in the final coronavirus relief package. Biden predicted that Senate rules for budget reconciliation would prevent the increase from going forward. While recent polling indicates that support for increasing
6970-511: Was formed March 28, 2023, by representatives Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush to affirm the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, having met all requirements of Article V in 2020 with the ratification by the 38th state, Virginia. The Caucus has quickly grown to be one of the largest in the U.S. House of Representatives, standing at 69 members in May 2023. The ERA Caucus quickly showed their support of
7055-464: Was introduced in response to the Texas Heartbeat Act . It passed House of Representatives (218–211), but was defeated in the Senate on a 46–48 vote in February 2022. A prominent 2019 attempt to get legislation passed for a Green New Deal was sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) during the 116th United States Congress , though it failed to advance in
7140-728: Was repealed by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 . The Act allocated $ 60 billion to counties and $ 10 billion for a Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. (The bill initially passed by the House would have instead allocated $ 65 billion to counties and $ 65 billion to municipalities; rather, the Senate formula was adopted). Key elements and provisions of the Act include: The bill contains the following COVID-19 funding (including for COVID-19 vaccines , testing , and contact tracing ) and other healthcare-related funding: The bill's economic-relief provisions were overwhelmingly geared toward low-income and middle-class Americans, who received
7225-446: Was the first CPC Chairman. The founding CPC members were concerned about the economic hardship imposed by the deepening recession and the growing inequality brought about by the timidity of the Democratic Party response in the early 1990s. On January 3, 1995, at a standing room only news conference on Capitol Hill, they were the first group inside Congress to chart a comprehensive legislative alternative to U.S. Speaker Newt Gingrich and
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