A visit to the Progressive Congressional Caucus Website is the best place I've seen to get a sense of what the Progressive agenda is (or as they, 63 members of the House put it, the "Progressive promise"). I'm truncated it slightly below and added my comments in parentheses.
Universal access to affordable, high quality healthcare for all (Check)
Preserve Social Security (Check)
Building more Affordable housing (Check)
Re-building America’s schools and physical infrastructure (Check)
Cleaning up our environment (Check)
Improving homeland security (Hmmm, I'll have to get back to you, after you define how you mean to do it)
Indexing the minimum wage (Check)
Sunset expiring provisions of the Patriot Act and bring remaining provisions into line with the U. S. Constitution (Check)
Protect the personal privacy of all Americans from unbridled police powers and unchecked government intrusion (Check)
Reform our electoral processes (Check)
Fight corporate consolidation of the media and ensure opportunity for all voices to be heard (Check)
Ensure enforcement of all legal rights in the workplace (Check)
Eliminate all forms of discrimination based upon color, race, religion, gender, creed, disability, or sexual orientation (Check)
Honor and help our overburdened international public servants – both military and civilian (Bernie and Co., I need a translation--what do you mean)
Bring U. S. troops home from Iraq as soon as possible (Check)
Rebuild U.S. alliances around the world, restore international respect for American power and influence, and reaffirm our nation’s constructive engagement in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations (Check)
Enhance international cooperation to reduce the threats posed by nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction (Check)
Increase efforts to combat hunger and the scourge of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases (Check)
Encourage debt relief for poor countries and support efforts to reach the UN’s Millennium Goals for Developing Countries (Check)
Free ourselves and our economy from dependence upon imported oil and shift to growing reliance upon renewable energy supplies and technologies, creating at least three million new jobs, cleansing our environment, and enhancing our nation’s security (Check)
Promote environmental justice in affirmation that all people have an inherent right to a healthy environment, clean air, and clean water wherever we live, work, and relax (Check)
Change incentives in federal tax, procurement, and appropriation policies to:
- Speed commercialization of solar, biomass, and wind power generation, while encouraging state and local policy innovation to link clean energy and job creation (Check)
- Convert domestic assembly lines to manufacture highly efficient vehicles, enhance global competitiveness of U.S. auto industry, and expand consumer choice (Check)
- Increase investment in construction of “green buildings” and more energy-efficient homes and workplaces (Check)
2 comments:
Do you know if Loebsack or Braley are going to be in the Progressive Caucus? Also, I think the 63 members is from the last Congress since it included Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown, both Senators-elect.
Great Question. I'd be surprised if they didn't join, given they are both progressives. It is my guess that they have to be seated before they join the CPC. I thought it was interesting that MyDD mentioned on 11/6 (http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/11/8/45817/2313)
"Progressive Caucus Rising. Make no mistake about it--a member of the Progressive Caucus is now speaker of the House. Further, both Progressive caucus members who ran for Senate won easily, Sanders in Vermont and Brown in Ohio. And now, the Progressive Caucus will control half of all House committees."
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