![]() ![]() “The New Democrat Coalition is the ‘Can-Do Caucus,’ and our Members are the true policy entrepreneurs in Congress,” said NDC Chair Annie Kuster. “We know that a closely divided Congress presents a real opportunity for bipartisan progress. ![]() The Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Members on each task force will convene frequent meetings and roundtables with experts and administration officials, endorse legislation and recommendations for executive actions, advocate for Member priorities, work across the aisle to find bipartisan legislative solutions, provide messaging guidance for Members and staff, and more to address the greatest challenges our nation is facing today. Importantly, the task forces will also lay the groundwork for a governing agenda when Democrats retake the majority in 2024. These task forces will help New Dems advance a forward-looking policy agenda focused on securing legislative victories and encouraging the Biden administration to take action when there is an absence of bipartisan agreement. Today, the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), led by Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Vice Chair for Policy Derek Kilmer (WA-06), unveiled nine new policy task forces for the 118th Congress.įrom combating the climate crisis to enacting commonsense immigration reform, each task force is centered around New Dems’ top priorities and areas where New Dem Members believe bipartisan progress is possible in a closely divided Congress. The official House GOP budget will be delayed past the mid-April deadline, McCarthy told reporters, because Biden’s own plan was a month late.MaNew Democrat Coalition Unveils Nine New Policy Task Forces & Outlines Robust Policy Agenda for 118th Congress The New Dem Task Forces will Develop Innovative Policy Ideas and Work to Find Common Ground on Critical Issues from Climate Change to Immigration Reform Biden said Thursday he would meet McCarthy at any time once McCarthy has made his budget plan public. McCarthy and Biden last met to discuss the budget at the beginning of February. The budget would still increase the deficit to $1.8 trillion in 2024 and add $19 trillion in debt. “The House Freedom Caucus is here to set a marker,” Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert said.īiden released a budget blueprint that claims $3 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, compared with doing nothing, on the back of $5.5 trillion in tax increases. They showed their strength in January when some members denied McCarthy the speaker’s gavel until he agreed to a rules change what would allow just one lawmaker to call a vote to unseat the speaker at any time. Without the votes of Freedom Caucus members, McCarthy can’t pass a partisan budget blueprint or agree to any deal with Biden. “A clean debt ceiling, we will never vote for that.” “Now, we won’t get everything, but if you don’t put it out there you can’t even start,” South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman, a member of the Freedom Caucus, said. The group also is demanding an end to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, rescinding unspent Covid funds, and rescinding both the $80 billion expansion of the Internal Revenue Service enacted last year and climate change spending from the Inflation Reduction Act. “It is step one of getting our house in order,” said Texas Representative Chip Roy said. Instead he said the group ready to start the process of getting to balance eventually now by negotiating with Democrats. Members acknowledged that the group’s plan falls short of balancing the budget-which would take more than $16 trillion in cuts. Discretionary spending would rise just 1% a year for nine more years, under the Freedom Caucus plan. The group said it will consider voting for a debt ceiling increase if Congress first passes a year-long stopgap bill cutting domestic spending to fiscal 2022 levels - a $130 billion cut if defense is spared - unless congressional appropriations committees can agree on more tailored cuts by the Sept. “America will not default on our debts unless President Biden chooses to do so,” Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, said at a news conference Friday. The Freedom Caucus wants an explicit link. Biden, who released his $6.9 trillion budget blueprint on Thursday, has insisted the debt ceiling must be raised with no strings attached even as he’s said he’s willing to talk about spending.
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