Press Releases

Today, President Barack Obama signed into law a Blue Dog-endorsed bill that could save taxpayers $125 billion annually by helping to eliminate improper payments, among other provisions. H.R. 4053, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA), will better identify, prevent and recover payment error, waste, fraud and abuse within federal spending.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan, Blue Dog-endorsed bill that could save taxpayers $125 billion annually by helping to eliminate improper payments, among other provisions. H.R. 4053, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA), will better identify, prevent and recover payment error, waste, fraud and abuse within federal spending.

Members of the fiscally, conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition have elected their new leadership team for the 113th Congress:

• Rep. John Barrow., D-Ga., Co-Chair for Administration
• Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., Co-Chair for Policy
• Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., Co-Chair for Communications

The Coalition also formally welcomed Rep.-Elect Pete Gallego, D-Tex., into the ranks of fiscally conservative Democrats who have renewed their pledge of working in a bipartisan manner to solve the extraordinary challenges facing the nation.

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider a bipartisan bill this week endorsed by the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition that will better protect taxpayer dollars. H.R. 4053, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA), will better identify, prevent and recover payment error, waste, fraud and abuse within federal spending. The bill will be considered under a suspension of the rules as early as Wednesday, according to the House Committee on Rules.

Today, the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition released a statement after the Congressional Budget Office released its 2012 Long-Term Budget Outlook, which projects that by the end of this year, the federal debt will reach roughly 70 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest percentage since shortly after World War II.

The fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition expanded their ranks in the U.S. House of Representatives today by adding Rep. Larry Kissell, D-N.C., as its newest member. Kissell, first elected in 2008 and who represents the 8th Congressional District in south central North Carolina, brings the group's total membership to 25.

The fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives praised Congress for passing and the President for signing into law today the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act – a legislative initiative the Blue Dogs endorsed back in February.