Congressional Progressive Caucus | |
|---|---|
| Chair | Pramila Jayapal |
| Deputy chair | Katie Porter |
| Whip | Ilhan Omar |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing[4] |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | |
| Seats in the Senate Democratic Caucus | 1 / 50
|
| Seats in the Senate | 1 / 100
|
| Seats in the House Democratic Caucus | 99 / 220
|
| Seats in the House | 99 / 435
|
| Website | |
| progressives | |
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress.[5] The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party.[6][7] It was founded in 1991 and has grown since then.
As of March 22, 2022, of the 117th United States Congress, the CPC has 101 members (99 voting Representatives, 1 non-voting Delegate, and 1 Senator), making it the largest ideological caucus in the Democratic Party (slightly larger than the New Democrat Coalition) and the second largest ideological caucus overall (after the Republican Study Committee). The CPC is chaired by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
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 was the first CPC Chairman.[8]
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 the Republican Contract with America. The CPC's ambitious agenda was framed as "The Progressive Promise: Fairness".[9]
| Term start | Term end | Chair(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1999 | Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
| |
| 1999 | 2003 | Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
| |
| 2003 | 2005 | Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
| |
| 2005 | 2009 | Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) | Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) |
| 2009 | 2011 | Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) | |
| 2011 | 2017 | Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) | |
| 2017 | 2019 | Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) | |
| 2019 | 2021 | Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) | |
| 2021 | present | Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
| |
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.[10]
In April 2011, the CPC released a proposed "People's Budget" for fiscal year 2012.[11] 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".[12]
In 2019, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the Raise 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.[13] 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.[14][15][16] On February 27, 2021, the Democratic-controlled House passed the American Rescue Plan pandemic relief package, which included a gradual minimum wage increase to $15 per hour.[17] The measure was ultimately removed from the Senate version of the bill.[18]
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 the Senate.[19] 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.[20] The Green New Deal combines Roosevelt's economic approach with modern ideas such as renewable energy and resource efficiency.[21][22]
The United States National Health Care Act, also known as Medicare for All or Expanded and Improved 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.[23][24] In 2019, the original 16-year-old proposal was renumbered, and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced a broadly similar, but more detailed, bill,[25] HR 1384, in the 116th Congress.[26] As of November 3, 2019[update], it had 116 co-sponsors still in the House at the time, or 49.8% of House Democrats.[27]
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 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 the provision of preventive universal health care and the elimination of insurance company overhead and hospital billing costs.[28]On September 13, 2017, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a parallel bill in the United States Senate, with 16 co-sponsors.[29][30][31] The act would establish a universal single-payer health care system in the United States.[28]
In 2019, the CPC challenged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding the details of a drug-pricing bill, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.[32] The final version was the result of extensive negotiations between House Democratic leadership and members of the CPC.[33] The bill was introduced into the House of Representatives on September 19, 2019 during the 116th Congress by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ).[24] The bill received 106 co-sponsors.[34] It passed the House on December 12, 2019 by 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 to 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 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.[35][36]
| Election year | Senate | House of Representatives | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall seats | Democratic seats | Independent seats | ± | Overall seats | Democratic seats | ± | |
| 2010 | 2 / 100
|
1 / 51
|
1 / 2
|
77 / 435
|
77 / 193
|
||
| 2012 | 1 / 100
|
0 / 53
|
1 / 2
|
−1 | 68 / 435
|
68 / 200
|
−9 |
| 2014 | 1 / 100
|
0 / 44
|
1 / 2
|
— | 68 / 435
|
68 / 188
|
— |
| 2016 | 1 / 100
|
0 / 46
|
1 / 2
|
— | 78 / 435
|
78 / 193
|
+10 |
| 2018 | 1 / 100
|
0 / 45
|
1 / 2
|
— | 96 / 435
|
96 / 233
|
+18 |
| 2020 | 1 / 100
|
0 / 48
|
1 / 2
|
— | 95 / 435
|
95 / 220
|
−1 |
All members are Democrats or caucus with the Democratic Party. In the 117th Congress, there are 101 declared Progressives, including 99 voting Representatives, one non-voting member and one Senator.[37]
| State | CPVI[38] | Party | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | D+15 | Bernie Sanders |
