December 22, 2017

At A Glance: The New Democrat Coalition in 2017

View the PDF here. 

On Tax Reform

• New Dems have long supported comprehensive tax reform that will promote economic growth, is targeted towards our middle class and is fiscally responsible. We believe tax reform done right is important for middle class families, American businesses, and keeping our national economy competitive.
• Early on in the year, New Dems met with Chairman Brady several times to discuss tax reform. Despite New Dem Members’ willingness and openness to work across the aisle, Republicans decided to chart a partisan path forward on tax reform.
• Sent a letter to President Trump on the opportunity to move a big infrastructure package tied with tax reform. For too long, Congress has relied on irresponsible, stop-gap measures that hinder economic growth and make it more difficult to revitalize our outdated infrastructure and Byzantine tax code.
• Sent a letter to the Conference Committee urging them to abandon their partisan approach and instead pursue a true and serious bipartisan effort outlined in the New Dem tax reform principles: The Plan for Real Tax Reform.
• Released a statement on the one-sided GOP tax plan. New Dems continued to offer to work with House Republicans on a truly bipartisan tax reform plan, but instead Republican Leaders crafted a partisan bill and excluded Democrats and many of their own members from the negotiation process.

On Health Care

• From the beginning of the year, New Dems advocated for a legislative fix to stabilize health insurance markets and bring down the cost of healthcare for all Americans.
• Led by our Health Care Task Force, the Coalition released Solutions Over Politics: Stabilizing & Improving the Individual Market, which offered proposals to create a permanent reinsurance program, reduce healthcare costs for low-income Americans, promote greater insurance coverage, create a greater number of affordable insurance options, and improve the marketplaces. 
• Sent letters to Speaker Ryan strongly opposing his plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while offering to work on ACA improvements and calling on him to lead in a bipartisan manner to stabilize and improve the individual health insurance market while protecting the ACA.
• Sent a letter to Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) calling for a bipartisan path forward on legislative solutions to reduce health care costs.
• More on how the New Dem principles catalyzed the bipartisan momentum in The Hill.

On the Future of Work

• Technology and globalization continues to change the economy and Americans’ role in the workplace. We are dedicated to investigating the changing economy and type of work that will be available.
• Recognizing the need to update policy to reflect how the economy works today, New Dems started a conversation this year with several experts on topics ranging from economic trends, how work is changing in the 21st century economy, skills training, and portable benefits, as outlined in this Huffington Post op-ed.
• Sent a letter to President Trump calling for a robust commitment to apprenticeship programs. The letter outlines the importance of apprenticeships and urges the administration to maintain strong levels of funding for apprenticeship initiatives across the country.
• Urged Congress to invest in apprenticeship and training programs.
• Sent a letter to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and introduced an amendment that unanimously passed the House urging changes in its data collection. Rapid technological innovation is already impacting the American workforce, but BLS data does not fully capture the changes to the workforce.
• Introuced a bipartisan bill to plan for the future of work.

On Infrastructure

• Sent a letter to President Trump on the opportunity to move a big infrastructure package tied with tax reform.
• Convened a panel of experts to discuss infrastructure policy, innovative funding and financing models, opportunities for public-private partnerships, and responsibly streamlining regulations and the permitting process without compromising quality.
• Released a set of principles to increase long-term federal investments in infrastructure improvements.

On Cybersecurity

• Sent a letter to President Trump urging him to prioritize cybersecurity issues in the budget, including building the cyber workforce, strengthening public-private partnerships and investing in cyber infrastructure. 
• Sent a letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) urging improved cybersecurity hiring practices.
• Unveiled a robust cyber policy plan in response to the recent high-profile cyber incidents and the rise of Ransomware that have shown the very real consequences of cyber threats. 

On the Budget

• Sent a letter to Speaker Ryan and Budget Committee Chair Diane Black outlining priorities for the Fiscal Year 2018 budget resolution.
• Helped lead a bipartisan letter to the Committee on Appropriations requesting increased funding for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) research into diseases that affect millions of Americans. Specifically, the letter calls for funding of at least $2 billion above the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 enacted level for NIH.

On Trade

• Spoke out about President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Spoke out about the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) notification to Congress on its intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• Sent a bipartisan letter calling on President Trump to continue honoring the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS).

On Housing

• Years after the housing crisis, our economy is not providing enough affordable housing options, leading to shortages across the nation. Constituted this year, the Housing Task Force is building on previous New Dem efforts on Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) reform and broadening these efforts to address the full scope of housing policy, at various levels of government.
• Over this year, the Task Force brought together thought leaders and industry experts to discuss the various factors that led to housing supply shortages and unaffordability.

 

 

• Print
• Email
• Tweet