New Democrat Coalition Weekly Wrap 04/23/2021
Three months into the Biden Administration, the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) is continuing its policy leadership and advocacy on the Coalition’s 100 Day Agenda.
This week, NDC Leadership Members went to the White House to meet with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Counsel to the President Steve Ricchetti, and Director of White House Legislative Affairs Louisa Terrell. Leadership Members discussed the Coalition’s priorities for the American Jobs Plan and American Family Plan. Through the Coalition’s policy task forces and strong Member presence on key Committees, the NDC will be instrumental in working with the Biden-Harris administration to drive the legislative process in Congress and build back better.
The NDC also sent a letter to President Joe Biden outlining the Coalition’s health care priorities, which Leadership Members hand-delivered at their West Wing meeting. In the letter, NDC Members urged President Biden to partner with the Coalition and build on the ACA toward universal access to quality, affordable health care coverage and care in the American Family Plan.
Infrastructure season continued as NDC Members met with Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chair Peter DeFazio to discuss New Dem priorities in the upcoming American Jobs Plan. There was an active discussion about how to move our shared transportation infrastructure priorities, an ambitious economic development and jobs agenda, and the potential path for bipartisanship.
After months of Member discussions, the NDC endorsed a slate of bills that address the causes and impacts of the January 6th insurrection. The NDC is committed to advancing these bills to honor the brave men and women who defended American democracy, condemn the acts of violence that were committed, and better prepare the country for future threats of domestic terrorism.
NDC Chair Suzan DelBene (WA-01) joined Reps. Joe Morelle (NY-25), Terri Sewell (AL-07), and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) for a press conference announcing the NDC-endorsed Innovation Centers Acceleration Act. The legislation aims to expand innovation hubs to more geographical areas throughout America through a competitive grant program.
More on what New Dems have been up to below.
NDC Highlights
NDC Members Urge President Biden to Build on the ACA and Advance Shared Health Care Priorities
NDC Health Care Task Force Co-Chairs Kim Schrier (WA-08) and Terri Sewell (AL-07), Chair Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Coalition Members sent a letter to President Joe Biden outlining the Coalition’s health care priorities. NDC Members urged President Biden to partner with the Coalition and build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) toward universal access to quality, affordable health care coverage and care in the American Family Plan. Read the full letter. Read more in Bloomberg, Inside Health Policy, The Washington Post, and Politico.
NDC Leadership Members Meet with Senior White House Officials
NDC Chair Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Vice Chairs Sharice Davids (KS-03), Annie Kuster (NH-02), and Scott Peters (CA-52), Whip Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Freshman Leadership Representative Kathy Manning (NC-06), and Chair Emeritus Derek Kilmer (WA-06) met with senior White House officials to outline their policy priorities for the American Jobs Plan and the American Family Plan.
NDC Members Host T&I Committee Chair Peter DeFazio to Discuss Priorities in the American Jobs Plan
NDC Members hosted T&I Committee Chair Peter DeFazio to discuss the upcoming agenda for the T&I Committee, the American Jobs Plan, and opportunities to work together to advance shared priorities. NDC Members make up forty percent of the T&I Committee and will be integral to developing and advancing legislation building on the American Jobs Plan framework. The comes after the Coalition met with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
NDC Honors Heroes and Calls for Better Preparedness Following January 6th Insurrection
The NDC endorsed a slate of bills in response to the events of January 6th and to prevent future acts of domestic terrorism. These legislative priorities, many of which are bipartisan, honor the heroic actions of the U.S. Capitol Police, other law enforcement, and the reporters on Capitol Hill; condemn the violent bigotry displayed during the insurrection; establish new standards and protocols to ensure the security of the U.S. Capitol and Members of Congress; and advance important policies to prevent similar events from occurring in the future.
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NDC Reps. Joe Morelle (NY-25), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Chair Suzan DelBene (WA-01), and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced joint legislation to invest in innovation, strengthen economic resiliency, and create new jobs. The bill creates a national race-to-the-top for new American Innovation Centers, creates more opportunities in new regional innovation hubs, and helps America recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The NDC endorsed the Innovation Centers Acceleration Act and a similar proposal was recently included in President Biden’s American Jobs Plan.
Bill Action
President Biden Signs Schneider’s Legislation to Prevent Cuts to Hospital Payments
The President signed NDC Leadership Member Brad Schneider’s (IL-10) Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act to prevent annual two percent cuts to hospital payments through the end of 2021.
House Passes Perlmutter’s Legislation to Allow the Marijuana Industry to Access the Banking System
The House passed Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s (CO-07) Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act to allow marijuana-related businesses in states with some form of legalized marijuana and strict regulatory structures to access the banking system.
House Passes Pappas’s Bipartisan Fentanyl Scheduling Legislation
The House passed Rep. Chris Pappas’s (NH-01) Extending Temporary Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act to extend the Drug Enforcement Agency’s temporary order to keep fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
NDC Member Legislation
Reps. Lucy McBath (GA-06), Sara Jacobs (CA-53), and NDC Freshman Leadership Representative Kathy Manning (NC-06) introduced the For-Profit College Conversion Accountability Act to strengthen accountability measures at the Department of Education during the conversion or sale of a for-profit institution of higher education.
Peters Introduces Legislation to Rein in Methane Emissions
NDC Vice Chair Scott Peters (CA-52) introduced the Methane Emissions Technology to Help Achieve Net-Zero Emissions (METHANE) Act to curb dangerous methane emissions and put the United States on competitive footing with the rest of the world. Taking the Obama-era methane rule a step further, the METHANE Act directs the Environmental Protection Agency to set methane intensity standards for oil and gas facilities with substantial emission levels, offering compliance flexibility to regulated entities so they can invest in methane abatement opportunities and technology that provide the greatest emission reduction potential at the lowest cost. This legislation builds on Rep. Peters’ NDC-endorsed SUPER Act from last Congress.
NDC Whip Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral STEM Restoring Employment Skills Through Targeted Assistance, Re-Entry, and Training (RESTART) Act to provide funding to small and medium-sized STEM businesses to offer robust, paid, mid-career internships, known as “returnships,” for mid-career workers seeking to return or transition into the STEM workforce. The STEM RESTART Act would also help close the gender and skills gap in STEM fields.
Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), and Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) introduced the Healthy Flights Act to limit the spread of COVID-19 in air travel, ensure the safety of passengers and aviation workers, and better prepare the U.S. aviation industry for public health crises.
McBath, Wasserman Schultz Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Require Ammunition Background Checks
Reps. Lucy McBath (GA-06) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) introduced the bicameral Ammunition Background Check Act, also known as Jamie’s Law, to require instant background checks to prevent individuals from illegally purchasing ammunition
Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01) and NDC Vice Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02) introduced the bipartisan PFAS Registry Act direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a national database for service members and veterans with health concerns due to potential exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Reps. Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) and Veronica Escobar (TX-16), along with 38 NDC Members, introduced the Access to Contraception for Servicemembers and Dependents Act to ensure military families receive the quality reproductive health care they deserve. The bill would bring health care provided by the military in line with current law for civilian populations by ensuring that those who receive health care through the military have access to all forms of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraception with no health insurance co-pay.
Beyer Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help Americans Suffering Long-Term Symptoms of COVID-19
Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08) introduced the bipartisan COVID-19 Long Haulers Act to improve the Long COVID patient experience by educating the public and clinicians about Long COVID, synthesizing research on symptoms and treatments, and fostering research and recommendations on how to improve the health care system’s response to long-term symptoms of COVID–19.
Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral National Green Alert Act to help states implement “Green Alert” systems to locate at-risk veterans when they go missing so that they can receive appropriate care, similar to the AMBER Alert system for children or Silver Alert system for older Americans.
NDC Member Action
Trahan, Blunt Rochester Lead Bipartisan Push to Recognize Overdose Awareness Day
Reps. Lori Trahan and Lisa Blunt Rochester led a bipartisan group of Members, including NDC Reps. Darren Soto (FL-09), David Trone (MD-06), Sara Jacobs (CA-53), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), NDC Vice Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02), Chris Pappas (NH-01). Haley Stevens (MI-11), and Tom Suozzi (NY-03), in sending a letter to President Biden urging the federal government to recognize and support the goals of Overdose Awareness Day – a day held in remembrance of the lives lost to overdoses.
Brownley: Sustainable Aviation Fuel Takes Flight via The Hill
Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26) penned an op-ed in The Hill addressing the need for the aviation industry to reduce carbon emissions from jet fuel and highlighting her legislation that would jumpstart sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production: “My bill includes a new blender’s tax credit, which is necessary to incentivize SAF production and allow it to compete on a level playing field with renewable diesel, a similar product that is produced with the same feedstocks but is used primarily for ground transportation… As President Biden told the nation, now is the time for America to invest in a clean economy that will create millions of good jobs and preserve our planet for generations to come. Cleaning the aviation industry is an important aspect of that goal, and the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act can help us take flight.”
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