Press Releases
New Dems Unanimously Vote to Induct Rep. Stacey Plaskett (VI – AL)
Washington, DC - Earlier this week, the New Democrat Coalition unanimously voted to induct Rep. Stacey Plaskett (VI - AL) as its newest Member. "I am honored to welcome Stacey as a member of the New Democrat Coalition," said Chairman Ron Kind. "I know I speak for all our Members when I say I look forward to working with her to advance smart, common sense policies that will help Americans succeed in the changing global economy." "I am honored to join my colleagues as a member of the New … Continue Reading
March 16, 2016
New Dems Release Report on American Prosperity Agenda
Washington, DC – Today, the New Democrat Coalition released a report detailing work New Dem Members have done to advance the tenets laid out in the Coalition’s American Prosperity Agenda. The Prosperity Agenda, originally released in March 2015, outlines 24 principles the group supports to grow the economy, preserve the American Dream, and make government work better. “This report illustrates what we need to do to win in the economy of the future,” said Coalition … Continue Reading
February 25, 2016
New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind’s Statement on Customs Bill Becoming Law
Washington, DC - Today, New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind attended the bill signing at the White House for H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. "I was honored to be present today as President Obama signed this important piece of legislation into law. It is the responsibility of the United States to lead the way in setting labor standards on the products we accept. This legislation becoming law is a step in the right direction for ending the exploitation of … Continue Reading
February 04, 2016
New Dem Rep. Bera's Statement on Letter Urging FDA to Reduce Drug Prices
Washington, DC - This month, Rep. Ami Bera and Rep. Scott Peters led nearly 30 New Dems in sending a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging it to take key steps to help reduce drug prices. Rep. Bera and Rep. Peters released the following statements: "Americans should be able to access quality, affordable prescription medication," Congressman Bera said. "Competition is critical to maintaining reasonable pricing and the backlog in generic drug applications, as well as the … Continue Reading
January 13, 2016
New Democrat Coalition Chair Ron Kind’s Statement on President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union
Washington, DC - Today, President Obama delivered his final state of the union address as President of the United States. New Democrat Coalition Chair Ron Kind released the following statement: "As tonight's speech made clear, we need to build on the bipartisan successes of 2015 and focus on priorities that will allow us to build consensus and make 2016 even more productive. In the past year, we acted on long-dormant agenda items that many had long condemned as impossible to solve - to name … Continue Reading
December 18, 2015
New Dem Leadership Members’ Statement on 2015 Omnibus Passage
Washington, DC - Today, the House passed an omnibus spending bill on a bipartisan vote of 316-113. Leadership Members of the New Democrat Coalition released the following statement: "The omnibus represents a sound compromise that will prevent a disastrous government shutdown and prioritize investments that make our economy more competitive, support the middle class, and strengthen our national security. Earlier this year, we sent a letter to Speaker Boehner highlighting the need to avert … Continue Reading
December 17, 2015
New Dem Leadership Members’ Statement on PATH Act
Washington, DC - Today, the House passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act on a vote of 318-109. Leaders of the New Democrat Coalition released the following statement after voting no on the bill: "As New Democrats, we support efforts to make America more competitive and grow our economy through important tax provisions such as the Research and Development Tax Credit, increased small business expensing, and the New Market Tax Credit. These and many other measures in the PATH … Continue Reading
December 03, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Statement on Passage Transportation Package
Washington, DC - Today, on a vote of 359-65 the House passed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, bipartisan legislation to provide much-needed stability to America's infrastructure by authorizing surface transportation projects for five years, shoring up the Highway Trust Fund, and reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. "Today's long-term transportation legislation shows that with bipartisan compromise we can take commonsense steps to address problems that have seemed … Continue Reading
December 02, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Statement on Passage of Every Student Succeeds Act
Washington, DC - Today, bipartisan legislation to revise the long-outdated policies of No Child Left Behind passed the House on a vote of 359-64. Members of the Coalition praised the bill for taking a positive step forward for students by leaving in place needed accountability while creating additional flexibility and replacing inadequate aspects of No child Left Behind. "Today's passage is a huge milestone for improving our country's public schools," said Coalition Vice Chair Jared … Continue Reading
November 24, 2015
Foster: SEC Seeks To Increase Transparency In Dark Pool Trading Following Foster, New Democrat Recommendations
Washington, DC—Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules to increase transparency in dark pool trading. The proposal comes after Congressman Bill Foster and members of the New Democrat Coalition Financial Services Task Force urged the SEC to make the changes. In June, Foster and others wrote SEC Chair Mary Jo White asking the SEC to expand and standardize the information made available to the investing public by alternative trading systems (ATSs). A copy of … Continue Reading
November 05, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind’s Statement on Release of TPP Text
Washington, DC - Today, the text of the 12-country Transpacific Partnership (TPP) was released. New Democrat Coalition Chair Ron Kind released the following statement: "With the release of the text the clock for reviewing the agreement will soon start. I look forward to doing a thorough review of the text and continuing to attend briefings to make sure this agreement levels the playing field for our workers, businesses, and farmers so they can successfully compete in the global economy. When … Continue Reading
October 29, 2015
New Dem Chairman Ron Kind’s Statement on Election of Paul Ryan as Next Speaker of the House
Washington, DC - Today, the House of Representatives voted to induct Paul D. Ryan as the next Speaker of the House. New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind issued the following statement: “As Badgers we are proud of Paul, who will be the first Speaker of the House of Representatives from Wisconsin. Paul and I have worked together to put the needs of Wisconsinites first and I look forward to continuing that. I hope that in his new role as Speaker he understands that in our … Continue Reading
October 28, 2015
New Dem Leadership Praises Bipartisan Budget Deal
Washington, DC – Today, the House passed a bipartisan budget agreement that raises the debt limit, sets funding levels until 2017, and provides greater economic certainty. Earlier this year, House New Democrat leadership Members sent two letters to Speaker Boehner calling on him to provide stability to our economy and the U.S. government by raising the debt limit, averting a shutdown, and ending sequestration. New Dem Chairman Ron Kind released the following statement following … Continue Reading
October 27, 2015
New Dems Applaud Passage of Ex-Im Reauthorization
Washington, DC - Today, Republicans and Democrats worked across to the aisle to successfully bring to the floor and pass legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank. After clearing a number of procedural hurdles, the bill passed, 313-118. Every Member of the New Democrat Coalition who was present voted to pass the bill. Members of the New Democrat Coalition have long been vocal supporters of extending the Bank's charter and helped lead the effort in calling for its reauthorization, … Continue Reading
October 09, 2015
New Dems Applaud Ex-Im Discharge Petition Reaching 218 Signatures
Washington, DC - Today, more than 40 Republicans joined Democrats, including every New Dem present, in signing a discharge petition to bring legislation to the House floor to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank, marking the first successful discharge petition since 2002. The authority for the bank lapsed on July 1st of this year and has since weakened the ability of U.S exporters to do business abroad. For years, the New Democrat Coalition has advocated for maintaining the Export-Import … Continue Reading
October 08, 2015
New Dem Chairman Ron Kind’s Statement on Republican Speaker Election
Washington, DC -New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind released the following statement after the House Republican election for Speaker took a chaotic turn when frontrunner Rep. Kevin McCarthy was forced to withdraw due to pressure from the far-right Tea Party Caucus: "The majority party in Congress has the responsibility to govern and get things done, preferably by seeking common ground through bipartisan agreement. Instead of doing this they have become consumed by a political civil war … Continue Reading
October 08, 2015
New Dems Urge Federal Government to Broadly Implement Yelp
Washington, DC- Today, New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind led twenty of his colleagues in sending a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shaun Donovan urging him to work with federal agencies to integrate the Yelp platform into their operations. "If we want to make government work better, we should make it easier for people to say what's working - and what isn't. That is why the New Democrat Coalition and I have been working for some time on harnessing already … Continue Reading
October 07, 2015
New Dem Coalition Calls on Speaker Boehner to Address Bipartisan Priorities in Final Weeks as Speaker
Washington, DC - Today, the New Democrat Coalition leadership sent a letter to Speaker Boehner urging him to work with leaders from both parties in the House and Senate to address bipartisan priorities with broad support that will grow the economy and help hardworking Americans. This is the second letter the Coalition has sent to Speaker Boehner in recent weeks urging him to move forward with legislative priorities supported on both sides of the aisle. Now that a government shutdown has been … Continue Reading
October 07, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Inducts Six New Members
Washington, D.C. - Earlier today, the New Democrat Coalition inducted six new Members of Congress to its membership. The New Members added were Reps. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Jim Costa (CA-16), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Beto O'Rourke (TX-16), and Norma Torres (CA-35). The Members were admitted to the Coalition by acclamation. "I am pleased to welcome these colleagues as members of the New Democrat Coalition," said Coalition Chairman Ron Kind. "I look forward to working with … Continue Reading
October 05, 2015
New Dem Chairman Ron Kind's Statement on TPP Final Agreement
Washington, D.C. - New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind (WI-3), Member of the House Ways & Means Committee, released the following statement upon the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministerial meeting in Atlanta: "I applaud the work of Ambassador Froman and the other trade ministers in closing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This historic 21st century agreement will set the trading rules for this region and 40 percent of the global economy. The goal of TPP from the … Continue Reading