March 01, 2019

Weekly Wrap

This week, the House passed H.J. Res. 46, a bipartisan privileged resolution to terminate President Trump’s unlawful emergency declaration, the Natural Resources Management Act, and the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which included key priorities from NDC Members. The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 will expand universal background checks to ensure that convicted felons or someone with a serious mental illness can’t get a weapon. 

This week, the NDC released health care priorities for this Congress through the NDC Health Care Task Force. Hardworking people across the country are talking about the cost of healthcare every night around their kitchen tables. Too many families are paying too much for their health insurance, so Congress must act with urgency to stabilize the Affordable Care Act and ensure access to affordable health care for all Americans.

Over the next few weeks, the Coalition will continue to rollout Task Force priorities. More on what NDC Members have been up to below.

Coalition Highlights

NDC Chair Statement on H.J. Res. 46, Privileged Resolution to Terminate President Trump’s Unlawful Emergency Declaration

  • NDC Chair Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06) released this statement after the House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 46, a bipartisan privileged resolution to terminate President Trump’s unlawful emergency declaration, introduced by NDC Member Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20).

NDC Releases Health Care Task Force Goals for the 116th Congress

  • NDC Healthcare Task Force Co-Chairs Angie Craig, Kurt Schrader, Kim Schrier, and Greg Stanton released their goals for the 116th Congress. More from the Co-Chairs.
  • Health Care Task Force Mission Statement for the 116th Congress:

Affordable health care is critical to the financial security and wellbeing of American families. We cannot allow partisan politics to jeopardize access to lifesaving treatments. The New Democrat Coalition Healthcare Task Force will develop and advance policies to improve our healthcare system, reduce costs, increase choices for consumers, modernize regulations, reduce burdens for small businesses, and expand coverage, building a path toward universal coverage.

Member Highlights

Floor Action

Foster Leads Congress in Moment of Silence to Honor Victims of Henry Pratt Plant Shooting

  • Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11) led Congress in a moment of silence to honor victims of Henry Pratt Plant Shooting on February 15, 2019. Five employees lost their lives, and six police officers suffered injuries during the tragic incident. Foster called on Members to use the power of their vote to enact legislation to stop gun violence.

House Passes Legislation to Protect the Merit Systems Protection Board

  • The House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation authored by Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11), chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, to prevent the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) from having no members when the current and sole Board member’s term expires on March 1, 2019.

House Passes Rouda’s Coastal Communities Bill

  • The House of Representatives passed Rep. Harley Rouda’s (CA-48) Coastal Communities Adaptation Act, a bill to jumpstart research at the NSF and NIST into improved buildings and structures that account for extreme weather. 

Bill Introductions

Sewell Introduces H.R. 4, The Voting Rights Advancement Act

  • Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) and more than 200 House Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday to help address the most egregious forms of recent voter suppression by developing a process to determine which states and localities with a recent history of voting rights violations must pre-clear election changes with the Department of Justice. Read more in Rep. Sewell’s op-ed in The Hill.

Craig Introduces the State Health Care Premium Reduction Act

  • Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02) introduces the State Health Care Premium Reduction Act which would lower health insurance premium costs for people in the individual marketplace by an estimated 10%. The bill is a federal commitment with local control for states to run their own programs to reduce insurance premiums for people using the individual marketplace. However, the bill contains a provision that ensures residents in states who do not proactively submit reinsurance plans would see the same lowered premiums.

Soto Announces Puerto Rico Recovery Blueprint

  • Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09) introduced the Puerto Rico Recovery Blueprint demanding action from President Trump, outlining four critical policy areas that require immediate attention and action steps needed for full recovery. The four policy areas of focus in the blueprint include: Disaster Relief, Economic Development, PROMESA/Debt Reform, and Medicaid Reform.

Foster Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Stop Financing of Criminal Organizations

  • Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11) introduced bipartisan legislation to stop financing of criminal organizations. The CONFRONT Act would require the Treasury Department to develop a national strategy to combat the financial crimes of transnational criminal organizations and individuals.

Lawrence Introduces Resolution Calling for the Ethical Development of Artificial Intelligence

  • Rep. Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14) introduced a resolution supporting the development of guidelines for the ethical development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Luria Introduces Bill to Ensure Cost-Of-Living Adjustment for Veterans

  • Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-02) introduced the bipartisan Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Act which would provide cost-of-living increases for wartime disability compensation; compensation for dependents; clothing allowance; dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses; and dependency and indemnity compensation to children.

Kind Introduces Bicameral, Bipartisan Bill to Establish a Section 301 Exclusion Process

  • Rep. Ron Kind (WI-03) introduced a bicameral, bipartisan bill that would require the Executive Branch to create an exclusion process for List 3 (and any future list) of Chinese imports subject to Section 301 tariff imposition. Consistent with precedent and requirements placed on the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the recent government funding bill, United States companies would also be able to apply for a refund for duties paid on imported goods subject to these tariffs that are granted an exclusion.

Blunt Rochester Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Help More Americans Achieve Retirement Security

  • Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL) introduced the Increasing Access to a Secure Retirement Act, to help more Americans retire with dignity and peace of mind. The bipartisan bill clarifies and strengthens existing rules to make it easier for retirement plan sponsors to provide guaranteed lifetime income products as part of their employee benefits.

Member Happenings in the News

McAdams: It Takes a Steel Spine to Stand for Moderate Pragmatism in a Polarized Era via USA Today

  • Rep. Ben McAdams (UT-04) penned an op-ed in USA Today on the strength and numbers of the New Democrat Coalition in Congress. “The national headlines may make it appear that the only ideas are those of my colleagues on the far left. But that’s not reality. The fact is that moderates delivered the House majority in 2018. More than three-quarters of the Democrats who flipped seats in November are now members of the Blue Dog Coalition, the New Democrat Coalition or both — the moderate wing of the party,” writes McAdams. “These leaders are practical, reach-across-the-political-aisle legislators who appeal to the mainstream values of Americans. In our districts, we heard the message loud and clear: The public is sick and tired of the partisan gridlock, and people want pragmatists who will get to work on sound public policy.”

Kuster's Bipartisan Heroin Task Force Holds Roundtable

  • Task force co-founder Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) says their biggest goal this year will be to focus on treatment. "We have education, prevention, increasing access to treatment, but we've got to tackle that long-term recovery," said Kuster. "There's a very high rate of relapse in this disease, and we've got to get to the bottom of what the obstacles are."

Democratic Lawmakers Return from Five-Day Delegation Trip to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador

  • Reps. Donald Norcross, Don Beyer, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Lou Correa joined a congressional delegation to Central America to see firsthand a real emergency: the difficult and dangerous conditions in Central America that force so many migrants to flee and seek safe haven at the U.S. Southern border.

Larsen Discusses Administration’s Tariff Policy

  • Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) spoke at the National Bureau of Asian Research Engaging Asia 2019 event about the U.S.-China relationship and the impacts of administration's tariff policy on Washington state. Watch Rep. Larsen's remarks.

Stevens: How to Make Manufacturing Cheaper and More Sustainable via Biden Forum

  • Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11) wrote an op-ed for the Biden Forum, the Biden Foundation's blog focused on middle-class economics. The op-ed discussed remanufacturing, a process that could make manufacturing cheaper and more sustainable while creating good-paying jobs.

Rouda: Addressing Local and Global Challenges via The Orange County Register

  • Rep. Harley Rouda (CA-48) penned an op-ed in The Orange County Register on his first town hall. “The work of government cannot fit in a slogan or a political ad. It demands that we cast off our assumptions and suspicions about one another– whether we are Democrat or Republican– and work together to make people’s lives better in the long run,” writes Rouda. Read more about the town hall in the LA Times.
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