ICYMI TRANSCRIPT: New Dems Announce Vision & Policy Platform for 119th Congress, Unveil Nine Working Groups
ICYMI: Today, New Dems held a press conference laying out the Coalition’s vision for the Democratic party, and nine Working Groups tasked with implementing the New Dem policy platform for the 119th Congress.
New Democrat Coalition Chair Brad Schneider (IL-10) was joined by Vice Chair for Policy Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), and several of the New Dem Working Group Chairs – including Immigration & Border Security Chair Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Housing, Infrastructure, & Transportation Chair Norma Torres (CA-35), Environment, Climate, & Clean Energy Chair Scott Peters (CA-55), and Innovation & Technology Chair Sam Liccardo (CA-16).
Click here to view this morning’s press release laying out the New Dems vision and Working Groups.
Click here to view the New Dem Vision for the Path Forward.
You can read the full transcript of the press conference below:
Chair Brad Schneider
Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for being here. I’m Brad Schneider, Chair of the New Democrat Coalition, and I’m thrilled to be standing here with my New Dem colleagues, Vice Chair for Policy Nikki Budzinski and some of our working group chairs, including Greg Stanton, Norma Torres, Scott Peters, and Sam Liccardo, as we announce our vision and policy working groups for the 119th Congress.
In the 2024 election, when the tide went out for Democrats nationally, New Dems were able to swim against the tide adding 25 new Members. We actually cut into Republicans' already historically narrow majority, not because we engaged in partisan politics but because we listened to the needs of the American people.
New Dems now stand at 110 Members strong – and we’re still growing. Put simply, the New Dems are at the center of the Democratic Party’s future, and will be at the center of moving our nation forward. Though America is a deeply divided nation, the majority of our country remains in the political center, not the extremes. Hardworking families don’t care if we work with Republicans or Democrats to get things done – they just want us to deliver results.
Unfortunately, the new Administration and House Republicans seem intent on creating chaos, confusion, and crises instead of actually improving the lives of hardworking Americans.
Let's just look at last night. 217 Republicans stood together to announce their agenda of cutting the Medicaid that more than 70 million Americans depend on, cutting the benefits that Veterans need, deserve and have earned by serving our nation and laying their lives on the line for us, cutting support for students – which is actually cutting the future of our country –and cutting support for seniors.
Democrats were united last night in rejecting this. And the New Dems are offering an alternative.
At the beginning of the Congress, we surveyed each of our Members about the issues that are most important back home. That survey informed our vision for the path forward, which is built on three pillars: economic growth and lowering costs, healthy and safe communities, and strong national security and defense.
What does this mean in practice?
New Dems will work to raise the standard of living and help Americans achieve financial freedom, while fighting inflation and creating an abundance of new, well-paying jobs. We will help keep communities safe from violent crime, while ensuring every American has access to clean air and water, affordable housing and education, and more. We are determined to finally fix our broken immigration system and secure our borders. And we’ll work to modernize our defense, diplomatic and development capabilities to advance American interests at home and abroad.
Our nation is at a critical crossroads. Democrats must show Americans that we are the party of bold ideas, based on clear-eyed assessments of our country’s challenges and our opportunities. Our Members will work with anyone to achieve this vision, and stand up to anyone who threatens to diminish its promise to the American people of a government that works for them.
Our nine policy working groups will be how we enact this vision for the future of both New Dems and Democrats at large. Now, I’d like to turn it over to Vice Chair Nikki Budzinski.
Vice Chair Nikki Budzinski
Thank you, Brad, and thank you to everyone for being here today. I’m thrilled to be serving as the New Dem Vice Chair of Policy. I think we are at a formative moment for our party and for our country as a whole. One that seems poised for New Dems to lead – in messaging, in policy and in results.
I believe the core pillars of New Dems that Brad has outlined are where most of the country is looking.
Economic Growth and Prosperity, Healthy and Safe Communities, and Strong National Security and Defense. And my goal as Vice Chair entails using those three pillars as our guiding light to getting things done for the American people. Something Democrats can stand for.
We need common-sense policies that will make a real, profound difference in people’s lives – something Americans can feel firsthand. Whether that’s paying less at the grocery store, groceries, having access to regular doctor appointments, or feeling safe from crime in their communities. The American people are asking us to address these solutions and New Dems are ready.
In my role, I wholeheartedly believe Democrats need to be on the offense in this Congress, and I think recent events have proven that point. The Trump Administration has taken the American people on an emotional rollercoaster, and I’ll tell you this: the American people didn’t vote for chaos. They voted for a sense of normalcy, stability, and progress.
And through these working groups, we are ready to stand up and get to work. The 110 members of our Coalition will come together in nine separate Working Groups, each tackling key issues that directly impact the American people – from reducing prices and expanding housing to addressing education, health care and securing our border,
These working groups will play a vital role in bridging divides on these issues while holding the Administration accountable for actions that are making life more difficult for Americans – rather than improving it. And lastly, these working groups will show the American people that Democrats are the party of the working class. As we look to 2026, this will be critical for taking back the House.
While New Dems are always ready to reach across the aisle and find common ground for the American people, we will be unwavering in our defense of fundamental freedoms … Especially when those freedoms are under attack by extreme political forces.
I look forward to collaboration – to working closely with our Chair and other Vice Chairs to ensure that our coalition is the most effective. Now, it’s time to get to work.
Immigration & Border Security Chair Greg Stanton
Good morning! Thank you Chairman Schneider for the opportunity to lead the Border Security and Immigration Working Group.
The New Dems know we need strong border security and we need to modernize our immigration system in a way that lifts the American economy. It’s not one or the other … We can do both. We have to do both.
Last year, New Dems introduced our framework for immigration reform and border security. It was a hand extended to Republicans who are serious about reaching a compromise and getting something – anything – done. New Dems know how to get things done, and we’re ready to work with you.
Here’s what we believe in: We think strong border security that addresses the crisis at our southern border is essential. That’s why we’ve called for: passing real resources to hire and retain Border Patrol agents, making long-term investments in 21st-century technology and infrastructure – non-intrusive inspection technology, more and better cameras, and improved CBP communications systems – and continuing to invest in the security and staffing of our ports to facilitate trade.
But in order for the U.S. to stay economically competitive on a global stage, to win the competition with China on semiconductors, AI, and other technology of the future, we also have to modernize our broken and outdated immigration system.
That includes finally – finally – taking action to protect Dreamers, passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, protecting TPS holders who have fled unsafe conditions in their home countries, and making it easier for talented international graduates of the U.S. to stay here.
It’s sad that these days, if you’re a Republican and you say you support legal immigration . . . you might face a primary! That’s unsustainable, it’s un-American and it’s bad for the country.
When we do this right – when we focus on securing our border, modernizing our immigration system, and prioritizing strong trade policy with our partners here in the Western hemisphere – we get: economic growth and opportunity; healthy and safe communities; and strong national security and defense. On this most important and challenging issue, New Dems are here to get things done.
Housing, Infrastructure, & Transportation Chair Norma Torres
Good morning everyone. I am proud to represent California's 35th Congressional District, and it is an honor to be here today as we unveil the New Democrat Working Groups and share our collective views for the future.
As the New Democrat Coalition Chair of the Housing, Infrastructure, and Transportation Working Group, I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to work alongside my colleague Transportation Task Force Chair Shomari, who understands that housing is a very key component as well as infrastructure. My other Task Force chair is Emilia Sykes. I have had the privilege of Chairing several housing and transportation task forces over the years for New Dems – alongside my colleague, Ms. Sykes – and each one has deepened my commitment to these issues.
From affordable housing solutions to modernizing our infrastructure and ensuring reliable, equitable transportation options for all Americans, the work that we have done has been incredibly meaningful.
It is not just about building more homes, it is about ensuring that every American has access to a safe and affordable place to call home, no matter their background or income level. It is about ensuring that our communities are sustainable, accessible and resilient to the challenges of the future – a future that includes climate change.
I am deeply concerned about what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to critical housing programs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and throughout the government, that will imperil the goals that we have. This Working Group will be committed to countering actions taken by Donald Trump and his administration to make this basic piece of the American Dream less affordable.
That said, I'm excited to collaborate with all of our New Dem Members in the pursuit of these goals. This is a collective effort, one that will require the ideas, energy and commitment from every member in this Working Group.
I look forward to working with all of you to build stronger, more equitable and sustainable communities across the US. And now it is my great honor to introduce my colleague from California, Scott Peters.
Environment, Climate, & Clean Energy Chair Scott Peters
I'm going to be Chairing the Environment, Climate, and Clean Energy Task Force. Pleased to do it. America prides itself on accomplishing big things together, whether it's winning World Wars, constructing an interstate highway system, or discovering the next great medical breakthrough. One of our great challenges this century will be keeping the lights on, keeping costs low, and combating the climate crisis.
And for the first time in decades, the United States is going to be facing a huge increase in demand for electricity. In the best of times, that would be a difficult problem, because it involves creating a lot of generation, and it involves creating a lot of interregional transmission. New Dems are going to have to be clear that Republicans have become a party not of issues, but of a personality – and New Dems are the problem solvers in the Democratic caucus. I'd argue, in the Congress. And it's my pleasure to be able to work on this very important issue.
We've seen some of the strongest years on record for combined U.S. solar, wind, and energy storage installations, but we still lag far behind China. We're facing unprecedented growth from EVs, AI data centers, and manufacturing and natural population growth. The grid can't handle this. The grid is old, the grid is dumb, and the grid is insecure.
We gotta improve it, and we can't just address the problem by building more oil and gas facilities. We need to do a ton of transmission that's interregional, and any big deal we do with Republicans is going to have to take that into account, as well as climate impacts.
We can have all the money in the world, but we'll still fail if we let the money sit in the bank and refuse to act. Every day we don't build something, we'll increase costs, give our competitors an edge, and make us less safe. In the 1970s our environmental priorities were to stop bad projects. A lot of bad things were happening, we set up a lot of laws to slow things down, and we were on defense.
But now, if we want to cut our emissions in time and build the green infrastructure of the future, our movement – the climate movement – needs to go on offense. I think as New Dems, we will be uniquely positioned to propose and pass commonsense solutions to tackle these big problems, to help reduce energy costs for our constituents, and build the clean energy of tomorrow. Because if we don't do it, we're looking at blackouts, looking at higher costs, and we're looking at a weaker United States of America.
So I'm excited to lead this working group alongside Chair Schneider and our Vice Chair for Policy, Nicky Budzinski. This is the right place, New Dems are the problem solvers, and this is a big one. Thanks.
Innovation & Technology Chair Sam Liccardo
I am very grateful for the tremendous leadership of Vice Chair Budzinski and Chair Schneider, they're doing an amazing job leading New Democrats forward. And we are going to need their and everyone's leadership in the challenges that we have in the months and years ahead.
I'm honored to serve with many talented colleagues to spur an innovation agenda. America stands at a point where it needs a Congress that is ready to support innovation not for oligarchs, but for entrepreneurs and innovators. And this is our moment.
We heard many times in the media a month ago – when DeepSeek, a Chinese company, announced its breakthrough on computing efficiency with AI – that that was a Sputnik moment. Well, the truth is that in Silicon Valley and I think throughout the country, many innovators believe we've had many such Sputnik moments over the last several years.
I know Greg Stanton could tell us, for example, and Scott Peters could tell us all about the challenges that we've had in hearing about battery efficiency and solar in China. We are in a global competition and America has to win it. It's imperative. And that requires that we overcome the tendency we occasionally see in political circles of tech bashing. We know some of it, plenty of it, is deserved. But we need to lean in on innovation.
There's plenty of things that we can do in a bipartisan fashion, and no one is better positioned than a New Democrat to do it. Bipartisan commitments can be easily obtained – I say easily, I'm sorry, I'm a freshman, that's what you say when you're a freshman. We know there's great opportunities for bipartisan agreement in spaces like data privacy and child safety online and AI regulation.
These can be and must be nonpartisan issues. And it's critical for us to lead and to ensure we have sensible safeguards in technology for all Americans. So I look forward to working with this great team. And we'll have more to announce, I know, in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you.
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