Press Releases
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
September 30, 2015
New Dems Host Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg
Washington, DC - Earlier today, the New Democrat Coalition met with Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg to discuss the importance of the Ex-Im Bank to creating jobs and maintaining America's status as a leading exporter. The authority for the bank lapsed on July 1st of this year and the conversation highlighted the need to renew its charter. Almost every developed country has an Ex-Im bank to help its businesses and not having one puts our economy at a severe disadvantage. Under … Continue Reading
September 25, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind’s Statement on Speaker Boehner’s Resignation
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Speaker John Boehner announced that he plans to resign effective October 30th. New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind released the following statement: "Speaker Boehner has been a friend since the days we served on the House Education and Workforce committee together. He was tasked with making Congress function, but was often stopped at every turn by members of his own party who refused to work together to get to yes. In light of this frustration I am not … Continue Reading
September 16, 2015
New Dem Coalition Calls on Speaker Boehner to Govern Responsibly and Avoid a Government Shutdown
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 take the threats of a shutdown and default off the table and focus on bipartisan bills that will continue to grow the economy and help hardworking Americans. The letter calls for Speaker Boehner to address several legislative issues necessary to maintaining certainty in the day-to-day operations of the government, … Continue Reading
August 19, 2015
New Dem Coalition Chairman Ron Kind Praises “Yelp for Government” Agreement
Washington, DC - Today New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind praised the agreement reached between Yelp and the General Services Administration (GSA) to promote user reviews of government agencies and enable agencies to claim their Yelp pages. "I am pleased the GSA and Yelp came to an agreement that will harness technological capabilities to hold government agencies more accountable and provide an avenue for users to provide feedback on their experiences," said Chairman Kind. "This has … Continue Reading
July 22, 2015
New Dems Call for Long-Term Fix for Nation’s Infrastructure
Washington, DC - Earlier this week 30 members of the New Democrat Coalition sent a letter to Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi calling for a permanent solution to funding the Highway Trust Fund. The letter's lead signatories released the following statement after sending the letter: "It's irresponsible to continue relying on shortsighted, interim fixes that deprive critical infrastructure projects of the funding needed to restore our nation's crumbling roads and bridges. The short-term … Continue Reading
July 10, 2015
New Dems Take Action to Lead on Education, Support Make it in America, and Unanimously Back the 21st Century Cures Act
Washington, DC – This week the New Democrat Coalition worked to further the goals laid out in its American Prosperity Agenda. The Agenda, released earlier this year, calls for bold action to grow the economy and expand the American dream by investing in world-class schools, innovative research, and a high-quality health care system. On Monday, 21st Century Education, Immigration, and Workforce Task Force Co-chairs, along with Coalition leadership, sent a letter to Senate leaders on … Continue Reading
July 07, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Leaders Send Letter to Senate on ESEA
Washington, DC - Yesterday leaders of the New Democrat Coalition sent a letter to Senate leaders outlining priorities as the Senate debates reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The letter, led by the Co-Chairs of the 21st Century Education, Immigration, and Workforce Task Force, commends the drafters for finding common ground on the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA) while also calling for improvements in several critical areas. Said the leaders in the letter, "while … Continue Reading
July 01, 2015
New Dem Chairman Calls for “Yelp for Government”
New Dem Chairman Calls for "Yelp for Government" Chairman Kind Urges Transparency and Accountability in Letter to GSA Washington, DC - Earlier this week New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind sent a letter to the General Services Administration urging it to come to an agreement with Yelp to integrate user reviews of government agencies. In the Coalition's American Prosperity Agenda, announced earlier in the year, the group of 46 pro-innovation lawmakers called for a Yelp for Government to … Continue Reading
June 25, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Chairman’s Statement on Trade Package
Washington, DC - Today, due to the leadership of members of the New Democrat Coalition, the House of Representatives passed Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and the extension of many trade preferences, including the African Growth & Opportunity Act. With the passage of TAA now Trade Promotion Authority will be signed into law. New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind (WI-3) released the following statement: "I commend my colleagues in both parties for their tireless efforts to pass this … Continue Reading
June 24, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Leadership Urges Colleagues to Support Upcoming Trade Adjustment Assistance and Preferences Bill
Washington, DC - Today, Leaders of the New Democrat Coalition strongly urged their colleagues to support the reauthorization of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program and the extension of many trade preferences, including the African Growth & Opportunity Act. These have been long held and unifying priorities for the Democratic party. "On a level playing field American workers can out-compete anyone in the world," said the New Democrat Coalition Leaders. "Trade … Continue Reading
June 18, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Members Instrumental in Passing Trade Promotion Authority
Washington, DC - Today, twenty members of the New Democrat Coalition worked together to push Trade Promotion Authority forward. Every member of the 28 pro-trade democrats who voted in favor today also voted in favor of TPA last week. U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (WI-3), Chairman of the New Democrat Coalition released the following statement on the passage of Trade Promotion Authority: "I commend my colleagues in both parties for their tireless efforts to pass this legislation. I also would like to … Continue Reading
June 16, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Weighs in on Implementation of WIOA
Washington, DC - Yesterday 33 members of the House New Democrat Coalition sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Tom Perez outlining key priorities for implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The letter, led by the Co-Chairs of the 21st Century Education, Immigration, and Workforce Task Force, calls for the Secretary to take steps to support robust career pathways, better align business and community needs, and streamline the use of data at the federal and state … Continue Reading
June 04, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Members Send Letter to SEC Chair on Equity Market Structure
Washington, DC - Earlier this week, members of the New Democrat Coalition Financial Services Task Force sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White to highlight areas of equity market structure that would benefit from empirically-driven reforms to enhance transparency for investors and better facilitate capital formation. The letter, led by Rep. Bill Foster (IL- 11), calls for the SEC to take steps to bring oversight of the markets up to speed with modern … Continue Reading
May 19, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Members Offer Amendment to Boost Research Funding
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), three leading Members of the New Democrat Coalition, announced their plan to offer an amendment to the America COMPETES Act to increase research funding across the board by 3.5% annually for two years and give the National Science Foundation flexibility in prioritizing research grants to follow the science, not the politics on Capitol Hill. In the Coalition's American Prosperity Agenda, … Continue Reading
May 05, 2015
Kind to Speaker Boehner: Bring Long-Term Surface Transportation Bill to House Floor
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ron Kind (WI-03), Chair of the New Democrat Coalition, joined House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Ranking Member on Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Judy Chu (CA-27), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Keith Ellison (MN-05) and Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Co-Chair of the Blue Dog … Continue Reading
April 22, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Statement on Legislation to Strengthen America’s Cybersecurity
The leaders of the 46-strong New Democrat Coalition's National Security Task Force released the following joint statement on the Protecting Cyber Networks Act and the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act: "These bills make it harder for cyber thieves, hackers, and state-sponsored terrorists to breach our cybersecurity system and swipe Americans' personal information. Their attacks cost American businesses - large and small - billions of dollars a year and serve as an impediment … Continue Reading
April 20, 2015
New Democrat Coalition Members’ Statement on Introduction of Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015
Members of the New Democrat Coalition released the following statement in reaction to the release of the 'Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015:" "A big question we must answer is whether the United States will continue to lead in the global economy. We will carefully examine and weigh the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act to ensure that it reflects a better, smarter approach to 21st century global trade-one that is strong on … Continue Reading