The Congressional Progressive Caucus Center (CPCC) is the advocacy and think-tank arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus,¹ a left-wing congressional caucus within the Democratic Party. ²  CPCC works to move the Democratic Party’s policy platform further to the left on issues including abortion, labor, environmentalism, health care, and fiscal policy. ³

Finances

In 2018, Congressional Progressive Caucus Center reported $1,412,040 in contributions⁴ and $887,258 in net assets. ⁵ Though CPC center is not required to disclose its donors, several left-of-center organizations have reported supporting CPCC in the past, including MoveOn Civic Action and the Indivisible Project. ⁶

Political Advocacy

As the policy center for a left-wing caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus Center publishes frequent statements on federal policy, arguing for far-left positions on both fiscal policy and social issues.

Budget and Appropriations

CPCC referred to the Trump administration’s 2021 budget proposal as a “brutal insult to the American people” and criticized the administration for funding the military, claiming that the proposed budget “favors corporate interests and the expansion of the military-industrial complex over the basic needs of the people of our country.” ⁷

CPCC has a history of resisting military funding to advance left-of-center interests. After criticizing the Trump administration for its plan to construct a wall along the United States southern border, CPCC successfully pushed for the provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act in the House of Representatives that limit the use of military construction funding for domestic projects to $100 million. ⁸

CPCC has also argued against the use of military funding to promote domestic security, working to advance both U.S. Representative Hank Johnson’s (D-GA) bill to limit the donation and sale of surplus military equipment to law enforcement and U.S. Representative Lydia Velasquez’s (D-NY) bill to completely repeal the Department of Defense’s 1033 Program. The 1033 Program allows the federal government to transfer military equipment to federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across the country. ⁹

Abortion Advocacy

CPCC supports the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which would allow the federal government to use public funding to pay for abortions and support abortion clinics. ¹⁰ In 2019, the CPCC supported U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth’s (D-IL) Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Act of 2019. If passed, the legislation would not only allow for the federal government to provide general funding for abortion clinics, but also cover the upfront cost of individual abortions through Medicaid. ¹¹

Anti-Trust Legislation

On July 13, 2021, at the Congressional Progressive Caucus weekly meeting, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) spoke in opposition to antitrust legislation passing through the House. ¹² Lofgren reportedly mentioned the amount of money she had raised from donors in Silicon Valley, California, who would have been impacted by the legislation. Intercept reported that one Democratic representative on the call said Lofgren’s remarks were “a pretty shocking thing to say” especially on a legislative caucus call. ¹³ Lofgren allegedly went on to claim that the legislation was “wrongheaded” and poorly written. Lofgren’s comments sparked an argument between herself and Rep. David Cicilline (RI-01) as well as several other representatives such as Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Jerry Nadler (NY-10). The argument revolved around the legislation and the topic of “big tech,” but Intercept reported that much of it was ad hominum attacks against Lofgren. ¹⁴

Labor

CPCC has argued for left-wing labor policies, including increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and forcing every worker to accept a labor union-negotiated contract. ¹⁵ CPCC also supports the implementation of a labor-union-preferred “joint employer” standard, a rule that would require both a franchiser and the franchisee to be held liable by workers in case of lawsuits and would require both parties to be involved in collective bargaining with labor unions. ¹⁶

CPCC has supported federal legislation to enact such policies, advocating for U.S. Representative Bobby Scott’s (D-VA) Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would place a gag rule on employers by forbidding them to discuss negative impacts of unionization with their employees. The proposed legislation would also expand the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) power, allowing the NLRB to force bargaining parties to reach an agreement on key employment terms against their will. ¹⁷

Environment

CPCC advocates for increased government intervention in environmental policy, supporting legislation to create “union green jobs,” transfer the entire United States to environmentalist energy, and to oppose traditional energy companies. ¹⁸

Health Care

CPCC supports a “single-payer” healthcare controlled and funded by the federal government. The system would force all hospitals and doctors to be in-network for all patients and dramatically increase the amount of people who use federally-funded health insurance. ¹⁹ In May of 2019, CPCC released a paper in support of single-payer healthcare. ²⁰

Leadership

Liz Watson is the executive director of CPCC. Before becoming executive director, Watson was the Labor Policy Director and Chief Labor Counsel on the Education and Labor Committee in the United States House of Representatives. ²¹ In 2018, Watson ran for the House of Representatives to represent Indiana’s 9^th Congressional District, losing to incumbent U.S. Representative Trey Hollingsworth (R) by a 13-point margin. ²²

1. Killough, Ashley. “Congressional progressives get their own center” CNN. Accessed September 12, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/09/politics/congress-progressives-center/index.html
2. Axelroad, Tall. “Progressives look to flex their muscle in next Congress after primary wins” The Hill. August 14, 2020. Accessed September 12, 2020. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/511928-progressives-look-to-flex-their-muscle-in-next-congress-after-primary-wins
3. “Our Work” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/our-work
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed September 12, 2020. Part I, Line 12.
5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed September 12, 2020, Part I, Line 22.
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed September 12, 2020. Part II.
7. “Explainer – President’s Budget for FY 2021” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5e555fcae7a8396af1e48783/1582653387160/President%27s+Budget+analysis.pdf
8. “Explainer – FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5f5a7a93bcf6f37ae10495fb/1599765139705/FY+2021+NDAA+Explainer.pdf
9. “Explainer – FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5f5a7a93bcf6f37ae10495fb/1599765139705/FY+2021+NDAA+Explainer.pdf
10. “Explainer – FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5f5a7a93bcf6f37ae10495fb/1599765139705/FY+2021+NDAA+Explainer.pdf
11. “Issues – Reproductive Rights” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/reproductive-rights
12. Grim, Ryan. “Closed-Door Progressive Caucus Antitrust Meeting Turns Fiery Amid Industry Influence Allegations.” The Intercept, July 14, 2021. https://theintercept.com/2021/07/14/congressional-progressive-caucus-antitrust-zoe-lofgren/.
13. Grim, Ryan. “Closed-Door Progressive Caucus Antitrust Meeting Turns Fiery Amid Industry Influence Allegations.” The Intercept, July 14, 2021. https://theintercept.com/2021/07/14/congressional-progressive-caucus-antitrust-zoe-lofgren/.
14. Grim, Ryan. “Closed-Door Progressive Caucus Antitrust Meeting Turns Fiery Amid Industry Influence Allegations.” The Intercept, July 14, 2021. https://theintercept.com/2021/07/14/congressional-progressive-caucus-antitrust-zoe-lofgren/.
15. “Issues – Worker’s Rights” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/workers-rights
16. “Explainer-The joint-employer standard and the National Labor Relations Act” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5e57e992205c1c35098be12e/1582819730433/epi-joint-employer-nlra-final-feb-2020.pdf
17. “CPC Endorsed Bills.” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. Accessed October 1, 2020. https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/endorsed-bills/.
18. “Issues – Environment & Climate” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/environment-climate
19. “Issues – Healthcare for All” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/healthcare-for-all
20. “Assessment of the Congressional Budget Office Study: Key Design Components and Considerations for Establishing a Single Payer Health Care System” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5ce410efeb38bc0001ef0b05/1558450415479/CPCC_Pollin_CBO_single-payer.pdf
21. “About – Our Team” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/our-team
22. “Indiana’s 9th Congressional District election, 2018” Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Indiana%27s_9th_Congressional_District_election,_2018