Congressional Progressive Caucus

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress.[5] The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party.[6][7] It was founded in 1991 and has grown since then.

Congressional
Progressive Caucus
ChairPramila Jayapal
Deputy chairKatie Porter
WhipIlhan Omar
Founded1991 (1991)
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing[4]
National affiliationDemocratic Party
Colors
Seats in the Senate Democratic Caucus
1 / 50
Seats in the Senate
1 / 100
Seats in the House Democratic Caucus
98 / 221
Seats in the House
98 / 435
Website
progressives.house.gov

As of March 22, 2022, of the 117th United States Congress, the CPC has 99 members (97 voting Representatives, 1 non-voting Delegate, and 1 Senator), making it the largest ideological caucus in the Democratic Party (slightly larger than the New Democrat Coalition) and the second largest ideological caucus overall (after the Republican Study Committee). The CPC is chaired by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

History

The CPC was established in 1991 by U.S. Representatives Ron Dellums (D-CA), Lane Evans (D-IL), Thomas Andrews (D-ME), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Additional Representatives joined soon thereafter, including Major Owens (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), David Bonior (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Patsy Mink (D-HI), George Miller (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), John Olver (D-MA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Sanders was the first CPC Chairman.[8]

The founding CPC members were concerned about the economic hardship imposed by the deepening recession and the growing inequality brought about by the timidity of the Democratic Party response in the early 1990s. On January 3, 1995, at a standing room only news conference on Capitol Hill, they were the first group inside Congress to chart a comprehensive legislative alternative to U.S. Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Republican Contract with America. The CPC's ambitious agenda was framed as "The Progressive Promise: Fairness".[9]

Electoral results
Election year Senate House of Representatives
Overall seats Democratic seats Independent seats ± Overall seats Democratic seats ±
2010
2 / 100
1 / 51
1 / 2
77 / 435
77 / 193
2012
1 / 100
0 / 53
1 / 2
 −1
68 / 435
68 / 200
 −9
2014
1 / 100
0 / 44
1 / 2
 —
68 / 435
68 / 188
 —
2016
1 / 100
0 / 46
1 / 2
 —
78 / 435
78 / 193
 +10
2018
1 / 100
0 / 45
1 / 2
 —
96 / 435
96 / 233
 +18
2020
1 / 100
0 / 48
1 / 2
 —
95 / 435
95 / 220
 -1

Policy positions

The CPC advocates "a universal, high-quality, Medicare for All health care system for all", living wage laws, reductions in military expenditure, a crackdown on corporate greed, putting an end to mass incarceration, supporting and implementing swift measures to start reversing climate change, immigration policies that are humane, and reparations.[10]

Budget proposal for 2012

In April 2011, the CPC released a proposed "People's Budget" for fiscal year 2012.[11] Two of its proponents stated: "By implementing a fair tax code, by building a resilient American economy, and by bringing our troops home, we achieve a budget surplus of over $30 billion by 2021 and we end up with a debt that is less than 65% of our GDP. This is what sustainability looks like".[12]

Drug costs

In 2019, the CPC challenged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding the details of a drug-pricing bill, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.[13] The final version was the result of extensive negotiations between House Democratic leadership and members of the CPC.[14]

List of chairs
Term start Term end Chair(s)
1991 1999
Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
1999 2003
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
2003 2005
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
2005 2009 Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
2009 2011 Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
2011 2017 Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)
2017 2019 Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)
2019 2021 Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
2021 present
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)

Membership

All members are Democrats or caucus with the Democratic Party. In the 117th Congress, there are 99 declared Progressives, including 97 voting Representatives, one non-voting member and one Senator.[15]

Congressional Progressive Caucus from the United States House of Representatives in the 117th United States Congress
Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal

Senate members

House members
State District CPVI[16] Member Assumed office
Arizona AZ-3 D+13 Raúl Grijalva January 3, 2003
AZ-7 D+24 Ruben Gallego January 3, 2015
California CA-2 D+23 Jared Huffman January 3, 2013
CA-3 D+5 John Garamendi November 5, 2009
CA-11 D+24 Mark DeSaulnier January 3, 2015
CA-13 D+40 Barbara Lee April 21, 1998
CA-17 D+24 Ro Khanna January 3, 2017
CA-19 D+23 Zoe Lofgren January 3, 1995
CA-20 D+23 Jimmy Panetta January 3, 2017
CA-27 D+18 Judy Chu July 14, 2009
CA-30 D+20 Brad Sherman January 3, 1997
CA-32 D+17 Grace Napolitano January 3, 1997
CA-33 D+19 Ted Lieu January 3, 2015
CA-34 D+34 Jimmy Gomez July 11, 2017
CA-37 D+36 Karen Bass January 3, 2011
CA-38 D+17 Linda Sánchez January 3, 2003
CA-40 D+31 Lucille Roybal-Allard January 3, 1993
CA-41 D+12 Mark Takano January 3, 2013
CA-43 D+29 Maxine Waters January 3, 1991
CA-44 D+29 Nanette Barragán January 3, 2017
CA-45 D+3 Katie Porter January 3, 2019
CA-47 D+14 Alan Lowenthal January 3, 2013
CA-49 D+4 Mike Levin January 3, 2019
CA-51 D+20 Juan Vargas January 3, 2013
CA-53 D+17 Sara Jacobs January 3, 2021
Colorado CO-1 D+24 Diana DeGette January 3, 1997
CO-2 D+12 Joe Neguse January 3, 2019
Connecticut CT-3 D+8 Rosa DeLauro January 3, 1991
Delaware At-large D+6 Lisa Blunt Rochester January 3, 2017
Florida FL-9 D+3 Darren Soto January 3, 2017
FL-20 D+31 Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick January 18, 2022
FL-21 D+9 Lois Frankel January 3, 2013
FL-24 D+28 Frederica Wilson January 3, 2011
Georgia GA-4 D+27 Hank Johnson January 3, 2007
GA-5 D+36 Nikema Williams January 3, 2021
Hawaii HI-2 D+15 Kai Kahele January 3, 2007
Illinois IL-3 D+6 Marie Newman January 3, 2021
IL-4 D+33 Jesús García January 3, 2019
IL-9 D+21 Jan Schakowsky January 3, 1999
Indiana IN-7 D+11 André Carson March 11, 2008
Kentucky KY-3 D+8 John Yarmuth January 3, 2007
Maine ME-1 D+8 Chellie Pingree January 3, 2009
Maryland MD-7 D+27 Kweisi Mfume May 5, 2020
MD-8 D+17 Jamie Raskin January 3, 2017
Massachusetts MA-2 D+10 Jim McGovern January 3, 1997
MA-3 D+12 Lori Trahan January 3, 2019
MA-5 D+23 Katherine Clark December 12, 2013
MA-7 D+35 Ayanna Pressley January 3, 2019
Michigan MI-5 D+1 Dan Kildee January 3, 2013
MI-9 D+4 Andy Levin January 3, 2019
MI-12 D+13 Debbie Dingell January 3, 2015
MI-13 D+32 Rashida Tlaib January 3, 2019
MI-14 D+30 Brenda Lawrence January 3, 2015
Minnesota MN-5 D+26 Ilhan Omar January 3, 2019
Missouri MO-1 D+29 Cori Bush January 3, 2021
Nevada NV-4 D+1 Steven Horsford January 3, 2019
New Jersey NJ-1 D+11 Donald Norcross November 12, 2014
NJ-3 R+3 Andy Kim January 3, 2019
NJ-6 D+6 Frank Pallone November 8, 1988
NJ-12 D+16 Bonnie Watson Coleman January 3, 2015
New Mexico NM-1 D+9 Melanie Stansbury June 14, 2021
NM-3 D+8 Teresa Leger Fernandez January 3, 2021
New York NY-6 D+13 Grace Meng January 3, 2013
NY-7 D+34 Nydia Velázquez January 3, 1993
NY-8 D+33 Hakeem Jeffries January 3, 2013
NY-9 D+32 Yvette Clarke January 3, 2007
NY-10 D+27 Jerry Nadler November 3, 1992
NY-12 D+34 Carolyn Maloney January 3, 1993
NY-13 D+40 Adriano Espaillat January 3, 2017
NY-14 D+25 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez January 3, 2019
NY-15 D+39 Ritchie Torres January 3, 2021
NY-16 D+25 Jamaal Bowman January 3, 2021
NY-17 D+9 Mondaire Jones January 3, 2021
NY-25 D+8 Joseph Morelle November 13, 2018
North Carolina NC-12 D+19 Alma Adams November 4, 2014
Ohio OH-11 D+30 Shontel Brown November 4, 2021
Oregon OR-1 D+12 Suzanne Bonamici January 31, 2012
OR-3 D+24 Earl Blumenauer May 21, 1996
OR-4 R+1 Peter DeFazio January 3, 1987
Pennsylvania PA-2 D+21 Brendan Boyle January 3, 2015
PA-3 D+41 Dwight Evans November 14, 2016
PA-4 D+9 Madeleine Dean January 3, 2019
PA-5 D+13 Mary Gay Scanlon November 13, 2018
PA-8 R+5 Matt Cartwright January 3, 2013
Rhode Island RI-1 D+12 David Cicilline January 3, 2011
Tennessee TN-9 D+28 Steve Cohen January 3, 2007
Texas TX-16 D+17 Veronica Escobar January 3, 2019
TX-18 D+27 Sheila Jackson Lee January 3, 1995
TX-29 D+19 Sylvia Garcia January 3, 2019
TX-30 D+29 Eddie Bernice Johnson January 3, 1993
TX-35 D+15 Lloyd Doggett January 3, 1993
Vermont At-large D+15 Peter Welch January 3, 2007
Virginia VA-8 D+27 Don Beyer January 3, 2015
Washington WA-7 D+36 Pramila Jayapal January 3, 2017
WA-9 D+23 Adam Smith January 3, 1997
Wisconsin WI-2 D+18 Mark Pocan January 3, 2013
WI-4 D+25 Gwen Moore January 3, 2005
Non-voting
District of Columbia At-large D+43 Eleanor Holmes Norton January 3, 1991

Former members

See also

References
  1. "What is CPC?". Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  2. "Ellison Offers Progressive View Of Debt Deal". NPR. August 1, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2017. Congressional Progressive Caucus — the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in the House
  3. Raza, Syed Ali (2012), Social Democratic System, Global Peace Trust, p. 91
  4. Cunningham, Vinson (February 19, 2017). "Will Keith Ellison Move the Democrats Left?". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  5. "Congressional Progressive Caucus: Caucus Members". house.gov.
  6. Hardisty, Jean (2000). Mobilizing Resentment: Conservative Resurgence From The John Birch Society To The Promise Keepers. Boston: Beacon Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0807043172.
  7. "Two congressmen endorse Carl Sciortino in race to replace Markey in Congress". Boston.com. September 13, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2014. "[T]he Congressional Progressive Caucus, the umbrella group for left-leaning Democratic members of Congress".
  8. Talbot, Margaret (October 5, 2015). "The Populist Prophet". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  9. Brodey, Sam (July 21, 2015). "How Keith Ellison made the Congressional Progressive Caucus into a political force that matters". MinnPost. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  10. "The Progressive Promise". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  11. "The People's Budget" (PDF). Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  12. Honda, Michael; Grijalva, Raul (April 11, 2011), "The only real Democratic budget", The Hill, retrieved March 24, 2018
  13. Dayen, David; Grimm, Ryan (December 9, 2019). "House Progressives Challenge Nancy Pelosi on Drug-Pricing Bill". The Intercept. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  14. Zhou, Li (December 12, 2019). "The House just passed an ambitious bill to lower prescription drug prices". Vox. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  15. "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  16. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress". The Cook Political Report. April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
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