Press Releases

Yesterday, co-chairs of the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition – Reps. Barrow (D-GA), Cooper (D-TN), Matheson (D-UT) and Schrader (D-OR) – sent a letter to President Obama condemning the inexcusable behavior by the IRS in targeting outside conservative groups and urging him to immediately initiate an investigation.

Today, the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition formally endorsed a House resolution introduced by Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) urging the Speaker of the House to follow regular order, request a budget conference with the Senate and appoint conferees.

On behalf of the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications, issued the following statement today after voting on numerous House budget proposals this week.

WASHINGTON – Today, members of the Blue Dog Coalition announced their renewed endorsement of legislation that would ease Congressional gridlock by reforming the redistricting process. The two bills introduced by Congressman John Barrow of Georgia and Congressman Jim Cooper of Tennessee would end political gerrymandering, a longstanding priority of the Blue Dogs that has spanned both Republican and Democratic majorities in the House of Representatives.

Tonight, Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Co-Chair of the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, released the following statement in response to President Obama's State of the Union Address:

"The Blue Dogs share the President's commitment to taking a balanced approach to reducing our federal debt and deficits and stopping the ill-fated short term spending measures that are crippling our nation's fiscal health and national security.

Furthering their bipartisan efforts to address the nation's ongoing fiscal crisis head on, the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition has formally endorsed the Schrader-Wolf-Cooper-Gibson Amendment to H.R. 444, the Require a PLAN D Act, which is scheduled for a vote on the House floor tomorrow.

The only bipartisan amendment would add a finding supporting the President's use of the Simpson-Bowles framework as the basis for his budget submission to Congress. The framework calls for a comprehensive approach to reducing our nation's long-term debt and deficits.

Today, Congressman Kurt Schrader, Co-Chair of the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, issued the following statement on the budget and economic outlook released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office: