Progressives are poised to see their numbers grow in the House next month, fueling hopes they can push the party farther to the left on key issues even as Democrats prepare to give up control of the chamber.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) will have 103 members starting in January — representing almost half the Democratic caucus and the most ever since the group was founded in 1991.
While new recruits to the House's progressive coalition will have to contend with operating under a GOP majority set on making life uncomfortable for the Biden administration, members aren't shying away from broadcasting their priorities.
"I definitely will be focusing at the start on policies that will further economic fairness and worker wages, and then also, being based here in Texas, on restoring people's basic rights," Rep.-elect Greg Casar (D-Texas) told NotedDC.
Casar, who will serve in the No. 3 spot of Caucus Whip, noted the CPC "is larger and stronger than ever before, and I think will be key to helping the president govern this coming term and helping retake the House in less than two years."
Several incoming members say they see the 118th Congress as an opportunity to push progressive policy on labor issues, health care, affordable housing, the social safety net, tuition subsidies and more.
Casar said he hopes protections for Dreamers and DACA recipients will receive bipartisan support and would like to see progress during the lame-duck session, but if not, "we will be waiting at the negotiating table to try to get something done."
"We've really got to start looking at the housing gaps and inequities that exist and ... doing better with the programs that we have at our disposal at the federal level," Rep.-elect Jill Tokuda (Hawaii) told NotedDC.
Tokuda, who will serve as Vice Chair of Communications for the caucus during her first term, said while she wants to "turn the firehouse on and just tackle everything," some initial priorities are affordable housing, access to the "care economy" and campaign finance reform.
Tokuda, who said her priorities are informed by being a mother, said access to the care economy — including child care, early learning and long-term care for seniors — "is where the greatest inequities and gaps exist … especially in my district, but I think it exists everywhere in our country."
She also wants to look at tuition subsidies and loan forgiveness for workers in these jobs.
While these efforts will likely run into a GOP wall, members say it's still worth trying.
"I'm willing to make compromises to move us forward," Casar said. "What we won't be willing to do is to compromise our values. And we'll fight tooth and nail to protect things like Social Security and Medicare."
"I try to be a very optimistic person," Tokuda said when asked what she thinks is feasible with a GOP majority, arguing her priorities "are people issues, so I've got to believe that there are opportunities for us to come together around these issues."
Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), a former union organizer who will serve as Vice Chair At Large for the caucus after previously serving as Vice Chair of Labor, said his focus in the new Congress will be on "policies that put America's workers first."
"That means fighting for good wages, fair benefits, and people having a voice in the workplace. When our workforce has access to high-quality health care, education and career training, and retirement security, our entire nation is better off," he said in a statement.
On bipartisan possibilities, Norcross said, "Certainly, we are in philosophically very different places on things like the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, but one place I think we can find common ground on would be improving retirement security. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI-07) and I have worked well together on this issue. We both understand that hardworking Americans deserve to live their golden years in dignity, and I hope our bipartisan efforts on this issue continue into the 118th Congress."
Norcross and Walberg reintroduced the Lifetime Income For Employees (LIFE) Act earlier in 2022.
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