Press Releases

Today, the co-chairs of the fiscally-responsible, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)—released the following statement in response to the House passage of final Republican tax bill:

Following recent reports that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spent over $14,000 on government helicopters to travel to and from official events near Washington, D.C, the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed H.R. 3879, the Taxpayers Don't Incur Meaningless Expenses (Taxpayers DIME) Act. This bill was spearheaded by the co-chairs of the Blue Dog Task Force on Government Reform and Accountability, Reps. Tom O'Halleran (D-AZ) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR).

Yesterday, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer joined the Blue Dog Coalition for a press conference on the state of the U.S. national debt and the fact that Republicans are making it worse by attempting to jam through a tax bill that will add at least $1.5 trillion to the debt. Accounting for interest paid on the national debt, the real cost of the tax bill could be upwards of $2 trillion.

As of this week, the U.S. national debt is almost $20.5 trillion, and every American man, woman and child holds a share of about $62,780 of the debt.

Today, the co-chairs of the fiscally-responsible, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)—released the following statement in response to the House passage of the two-week Continuing Resolution:

Today, members of the Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to call on the Treasury Department to release an analysis of the Senate and House tax bills.

Today, the co-chairs of the fiscally-responsible, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)—released the following statement in response to the Senate passing its version of the Republican tax bill:

Last night, Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), the Blue Dog Policy Co-Chair, delivered a speech on the House floor to discuss how H.R. 1, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, doesn't measure up to the Blue Dog Vision for Tax Reform, which presented an alternative path for Republicans to develop truly bipartisan tax reform that prioritizes the middle class.

Today, the co-chairs of the fiscally-responsible, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)—released the following statement announcing their opposition to the House tax bill in its current form:

"Earlier this year, we called for a tax bill that simplifies the tax code, is revenue neutral, prioritizes the middle class, promotes job growth, and invests in our nation's infrastructure. The Blue Dogs have evaluated the House tax bill, and we have determined that we cannot support the bill in its current form.