Press Releases

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus co-chairs Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13), and Progressive Caucus chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) released the following statement in response to the enactment of S.B. 8, an extreme anti-abortion law in Texas: 

“This law is an all-out assault on reproductive health and rights in America ,and will have devastating and immediate consequences for patients in Texas. People have the right to make their own decisions about whether or not to seek abortion, but this law eliminates access to legal abortion after about six weeks — before many people even know they’re pregnant.

“While this law is now the most extreme abortion ban enacted in the U.S., Texas is not alone in its attempts to roll back decades of protections: nearly 600 abortion restrictions have been introduced in 2021 alone, and 90 have been enacted. In the coming months, the Supreme Court will hear a Mississippi case with the potential to gut the protections of Roe v. Wade.

“In light of the Supreme Court’s abdication of its duty to protect reproductive rights, the Pro-Choice Caucus and the Progressive Caucus call on Congress to immediately take action to enshrine the right to access abortion into federal law. The House should immediately pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27), to ensure that states like Texas cannot ban this critical health service, and we urge the Senate to do whatever is necessary to send it to the President' desk. Congress must also continue to strike down other restrictions on access to abortion in federal law, including bans on insurance coverage like the Hyde Amendment, as well as protecting access to medication abortion from politically motivated attacks.

"The Biden administration has emphasized its commitment to protecting the right to abortion, and now is the time to put that into action. We call on Attorney General Garland to explore whatever steps the Department of Justice can take to respond to this blatant violation of Texans' constitutional rights.

“The PCC and CPC stand with people in Texas, and throughout the country, who are fighting these draconian restrictions, and working to ensure that all people have access to the abortion care they need. We know that bans like the one in Texas harm people who already face barriers to care the most: people of color, people with low incomes, people living in rural areas.  Everyone — no matter their income, where they live, or how they’re insured — has the right to make their own decisions about their bodies and their lives, and we are committed to promoting policies that protect the reproductive freedom of all people.” 

WASHINGTON — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on the situation in Afghanistan:

“In his remarks yesterday, President Biden provided a heartfelt and honest explanation to the American people regarding his commitment to ending America’s longest war. To those who advocate for an endless military presence in Afghanistan, he asked, ‘How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghanistan’s civil war when Afghan troops will not? How many more lives, American lives, is it worth? How many endless rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery? I’m clear on my answer: I will not repeat the mistakes we’ve made in the past.’

“When President Biden announced his withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, progressives applauded the move. We continue to maintain, as the White House clearly does, that even after spending $1 trillion, sending hundreds of thousands of troops into Afghanistan over 20 years and losing 2,300 American lives, the United States could not have averted this outcome without an endless military presence. And we agree with the President that the American government has a moral responsibility to all those affected by our actions.

“The President’s decision is overwhelmingly supported by the American people, with recent polling showing 70 percent of the country, with bipartisan majorities, supported his plan to withdraw all troops by September 11, 2021. Despite this consensus, Congressional Republicans have disingenuously chosen to play politics at this moment. Republican administrations began the war in Afghanistan, controlled it for 12 of the past 20 years, and initiated the peace process with the Taliban last year that led to an agreement for a U.S. withdrawal. They should participate in the needed examination of why 20 years of war have failed, rather than playing the blame game. Our focus now must be on the human beings on the receiving end of this policy.

“We appreciate the efforts the administration is undertaking to ensure the safety and security of those currently in Afghanistan, but our government needs to go farther — and work faster. The United States must ensure refugee processing moves forward without bureaucratic delay, and with special allowances recognizing the difficulty for people to leave Afghanistan. In addition to the State Department’s work to expedite Special Immigrant Visas, we must also expand these visas and grant Temporary Protected Status to Afghans residing in the United States. We must increase humanitarian aid to support civilians who fled to Kabul and provincial capitals and are without shelter, food, medical assistance or vaccines. The heartbreaking situation confronting ordinary Afghans after 20 years of American war requires us to act as quickly as we can.

“Finally, we urge the Biden Administration to continue engaging diplomatically with the Taliban and regional actors to avoid further bloodshed, protect human rights, and avoid mass migration and instability. This means cooperating with aid agencies, the United Nations, and neighboring countries with an interest in a positive outcome, including Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.”

WASHINGTON — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the $3.5 trillion budget resolution.

“This transformative budget will represent one of the most significant investments in workers, families, and communities in decades. We applaud Senator Sanders and Leader Schumer for their leadership in shepherding it through the Upper Chamber.

“Since April, our Caucus has been advocating for the need to fully deliver on the total promise of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, and not allow this moment to pass with only limited investments. Thanks to that work, this resolution includes our five priorities — providing funding to aggressively combat the climate crisis, house families who have been shut out of affordable housing, ensure that parents have child care and paid leave, expand Medicare to give millions of seniors the health care they need, and finally pass a roadmap to citizenship for our neighbors. We will work to ensure that these priorities are sufficiently funded and designed in implementation legislation. Our focus is now on ensuring we deliver this all the way to the President’s desk — which is why we will continue to stay focused on ensuring the passage of this bill before we can vote for the smaller bipartisan package sent over by the Senate.

“The American people delivered us the House, Senate, and White House not only to improve roads and bridges but to improve their daily lives, too. We can do that by using this governing moment to ensure that President Biden’s complete agenda is realized. We’re excited to be on the path toward achieving that goal, and will continue to work for a final reconciliation bill that meets the scale of this moment for our communities.”

WASHINGTON — Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair Emeritus Rep Mark Pocan (WI-02), Vice Chair for Labor Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Deputy Whip Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12), and Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA-38) issued the following statement following the death of Richard Trumka, long-time AFL-CIO President:

“Richard Trumka’s passing is a devastating loss for the labor movement, and for all of us in the fight for worker justice.

“As the son of a coal-mining family growing up in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Richard learned early and personally the importance of the struggle for worker dignity and solidarity. He followed the men of his family into the mines before attending college and law school, eventually becoming the youngest-ever president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at age 33. From that post, he led one of the most successful strikes against the Pittston Coal Company, securing health and pension benefits for UMWA’s members.

“Since becoming president of the AFL-CIO in 2009, Richard relentlessly championed the rights of the 12.5 million members in his care, and became a national leader in the work for social justice, economic justice, and immigrants’ rights. Under his leadership, the labor movement has galvanized renewed national attention and achieved some of the most significant policy wins in its history, including a nationwide movement to raise the wage that has secured increases in nearly half of states in the last five years, and a $15 minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of federal contractors. President Biden’s American Jobs and Families Plan codifies Richard’s influence with significant pro-worker policies across the economy. And in 2021, the House of Representatives passed the most substantial pro-worker legislation in history with the PRO Act, in partnership with the millions of union members Richard led.

“In Richard’s memory, and inspired by his formidable example, we will carry on the fight of his life: to build an economy that supports, not exploits, the working class. To hold the most powerful accountable for their treatment of working people. And to ensure that every worker can join a union, and have a say in their own lives.

“Our condolences are with Richard’s family, the AFL-CIO, and the broader progressive community at this heartbreaking time. May he rest in power.”