A Recap of the 116th Congress

The headlines speak for themselves. Washington Post noted it's a different kind of Blue Dog Coalition today. Christian Science Monitor declared these aren't your father's Blue Dogs. POLITICO called it the resurgence of the Coalition under the leadership of Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration. Salt Lake Tribune declared the Blue Dogs to be a major force in Congress thanks to its freshman class, including Rep. Ben McAdams (UT-04). The headlines may say the members are different, but the mission is the same.

For 25 years, the Blue Dog Coalition has led the way bridging the gap between Republicans and Democrats to develop commonsense solutions for serious problems Americans face in their daily lives. Over the course of the Coalition's history, the members have changed, but the reason the organization has lasted over two decades—and will continue to live on—is because its members have always united on the same policy mission: to fight for fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense, and pragmatic, bipartisan solutions. We hope you enjoy this quick snapshot of the actions that have marked the Blue Dog Coalition's resurgence once again.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE:

• Early on, the Blue Dogs called on Congress to ensure emergency funding is designated only for the pandemic response, to include strong spending oversight measures, and to include sunset clauses to ensure funding is regularly evaluated for need and effectiveness. Blue Dog leadership also published an essay calling for a balanced economic rescue package that focuses on the middle class.

• The Coalition's policy task forces issued a series of policy recommendations to be included in the pandemic response.

• Secured several policies in the bipartisan CARES Act, including strong oversight measures.

• Urged leadership of both parties to work together and focus on bipartisan solutions that are specific to the pandemic response.

• Called on the Trump Administration to fix the problems community-based financial institutions face when it comes to accessing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

• Following a series of actions by the White House that have undermined the ability of Inspectors General to oversee the government's pandemic response, and raised bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill, the Blue Dogs backed legislation to empower and protect IGs.

• Backed bipartisan legislation that would establish bipartisan commission to assess the United States' preparation for and response to pandemics.

• Called on Congress to investigate the Chinese government's actions regarding COVID-19.

• Introduced legislation requiring the U.S. government to identify, analyze, and combat efforts by the Chinese government to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Urged House and Senate leadership to include the Blue Dog Coalition's plan to protect taxpayer dollars in the next round of COVID-19 response funding.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND GOVERNMENT REFORM:

• Protected the bipartisan PAYGO rule.

• Proposed the plan that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and led to a bipartisan border security deal.

• Ensured House passage of H.R. 1 by ensuring campaign finance is paid for by criminal malfeasance fees rather than taxpayer dollars.

• Backed a Balanced Budget Amendment amid the spending caps debate.

• Called on Congress to take up redistricting reform in response the SCOTUS decision on partisan gerrymandering.

• Released the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform, which outlines an extensive list of priorities that help reduce our budget deficits and begin to bring down our national debt. So far, the Coalition has endorsed several pieces of legislation to build on the Blueprint for Fiscal Reform, and they include the following:
  • Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act
  • Time to Rescue the United States' Trusts (TRUST) Act
  • Sustainable Budget Act of 2019
  • No Budget, No Pay Act
  • Balanced Budget Amendment
  • Funding Deadline Enforcement Act

• Joined numerous House Republicans, including members of the Republican Tuesday Group, to send a letter to House and Senate leadership calling on them to come to a bipartisan agreement that will fully fund the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2020. The House and Senate then came to a bipartisan agreement that will fund the government through September 2020.

• Called on the House Budget Committee to produce a budget.

NATIONAL SECURITY:

• Endorsed a bipartisan resolution supporting a two-state solution and opposing the global BDS movement and urged leadership to bring it to the House floor for a vote. Resolution passed with bipartisan support.

• Produced an election security proposal focused on policies with bipartisan support that has served as a roadmap for the House to pressure McConnell to act on this urgent national security issue. The proposal brought down the value of the Russian ruble the day of the announcement and was widely praised by policy experts.

• Cracked down on the Chinese government's actions to fuel the opioid epidemic by supporting the bipartisan Fentanyl Sanctions Act, which has now been signed into law. This legislation will apply pressure on the Chinese government to honor its commitment to make all forms of fentanyl illegal and provide the United States more tools and resources to go after illicit traffickers in China, Mexico, and other countries.

• Supported efforts to crack down on domestic terrorism.

• Urged Congress to take up legislation to protect American troops and hold Russia accountable in response to credible reports revealing a Russian plot to pay bounties to the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

HEALTH CARE:

• Announced a set of priorities to improve our country's health care system and increase access to care.

• Backed bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address the growing rate of suicide in rural communities across the country, and supported bipartisan, bicameral legislation to expand teaching health center programs and address the physician shortage in rural America.

• Ensured House passage of bipartisan prescription drug legislation. In 2019, the Blue Dog Coalition endorsed and called on Congress to take up a series of additional prescription drug pricing bills that, if taken up individually, could pass a Democratic-led House and a Republican-led Senate. Two of those bills – the Public Disclosure of Drug Discounts Act and the Payment Commission Data Act of 2019 – have passed the House and now await action in the Senate.

INFRASTRUCTURE:

• First in the Democratic Caucus to call on leadership to prioritize infrastructure at the start of the 116^th Congress.

• Called for a bipartisan infrastructure bill to expand high-speed broadband internet access.

Click here for a full summary of policy accomplishments of the 116^th Congress.