Congress
The Congressional Progressive Caucus has a plan for high prices
As Democrats seek to define a cost-of-living agenda ahead of the midterms, House members in the party’s left flank let loose an opening salvo Wednesday.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus laid out 10 prospective bills aimed at lowering the costs of prescription drugs, utilities, gas, child care, housing and more.
“This is the Progressive Caucus’ idea of what government should be doing for you every single day,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), the group’s chair, told reporters. “We think these ideas are not just progressive, but they are common sense. This is what all House Democrats should be able to unify around.”
Democrats have made “affordability” the centerpiece of their 2026 messaging, seizing on polling that shows broad dissatisfaction with the economy under a Republican trifecta.
Despite the success that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Govs. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey saw in using that agenda to win elections last year, House Democratic leaders have yet to outline detailed legislative plans for a potential turn in the majority.
That vacuum has left room for the left and center wings of the party to propose their own visions.
The centrist New Democratic Coalition laid out their “Affordability Agenda” earlier this year, and while the CPC’s “New Affordability Agenda” targets many overlapping issues, it also addresses key progressive priorities such as guaranteeing paid time off and abolishing super PACs.
During a news conference Wednesday, progressive leaders emphasized they want take on “corporate greed” as a vehicle to lower costs — an idea they hope will gain momentum with the party writ large.
Casar said he has been discussing these proposals with House Democratic leaders since he became the CPC’s leader in 2024. He called them “the kinds of consensus bills that we can govern on.”
“These bills win in Trump districts and Democratic districts and in swing districts all across the country,” he said.
A bipartisan counteroffer for ethics language in a major cryptocurrency bill would force President Donald Trump and other federal officials to divest any ownership stake in a digital asset company if it is worth more than $1 million and represents 10 percent or more of the firm’s value, according to three people with knowledge of the language who were granted anonymity to discuss private negotiations.
The restriction applies to ownership stakes in firms that obtain most of their revenue from issuance or sponsorship of digital assets, the people said.
The offer for ethics language in the crypto bill was sent to the White House last week by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Democrats, who rejected a previous White House-blessed GOP ethics proposal, are demanding the provision be in the bill to address concerns about the Trump family’s crypto businesses. It is unclear how exactly the language would apply to Trump, but it could require him to divest from World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm he launched with his sons.
The ethics language in the bill, known as the Clarity Act, remains the subject of ongoing discussions. Tillis told reporters Thursday afternoon that his office has had “discussions” with the White House, “but there’s no exchange of paper” so far.
The counteroffer would allow state attorneys general to sue the Justice Department for not enforcing the ethics requirements. It would also allow state AGs to sue crypto exchanges for listing assets that are in violation of the ethics requirements.
The state AG authorities have been a major sticking point in the ethics talks. Democrats say they don’t trust the Trump Justice Department to enforce any ethics rules, but Republicans have pushed back on proposals to create a role for state AGs, saying they could use the language to go after politicians in the opposite party.
Gallego said in a statement that “this sensible, bipartisan ethics deal ends Trump’s crypto grift by requiring him to divest and stops him from making one dollar more from his rug pulls.”
“If these provisions were law before Trump got into office, they would have prevented the $1.4 billion in corrupt earnings he’s made this term,” he said.
Tillis said in a statement that he has “made it clear” that he “will be voting to get on the Clarity Act but won’t support final passage without a bipartisan ethics agreement.”
“We have worked on a fair proposal that directly addresses the legitimate concerns of both Republicans and Democrats, including enforcing the law and preventing state attorneys general from abusing litigation for partisan purposes,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
Republican supporters of the crypto bill have been hoping to hold an initial procedural vote on it before the Senate departs for its August recess, but GOP leaders are not currently expecting to take it up before leaving. The ethics fight is the biggest sticking point in bipartisan talks, though other outstanding policy issues also remain. The legislation needs bipartisan backing to advance.
The ethics counterproposal transmitted last week would also cover federal officials who have stakes in crypto firms that are less than $1 million. It would require any official who has an ownership stake of more than $15,000 to place those holdings in a blind trust or divest.
The ethics requirements would take effect one year after the bill is enacted into law. Officials would have six months after that to comply with the divestment requirement.
Bloomberg previously reported that the divestment proposal could let Trump take advantage of a tax break that allows federal officials who divest from certain assets to put off paying capital gains tax.
Vice President JD Vance fielded questions on Iran — lots of them — during a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans Thursday.
Vance’s visit to Capitol Hill came as the Senate is trying to wrap up a massive to-do list ahead of a planned five-week recess — including unfinished work on a spending stopgap, Russia sanctions and cryptocurrency regulations, as well as possible votes on a party-line spending bill and the GOP elections legislation President Donald Trump desperately wants enacted.
But senators emerging from the lunch said the dominant topic was instead the administration’s ongoing negotiations with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending months of hostilities that have put upward pressure on prices.
Some Republicans urged Vance to provide more transparency as polling shows that the conflict is unpopular with many Americans with the midterms just three months out.
“The vice president responded to questions, and a lot of the questions were about Iran,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).
Kennedy said he suggested that Vance and other top administration officials go on TV or hold a news conference to explain what was happening and why.
Vance, according to multiple GOP senators, detailed how much damage the U.S. has done to Iran’s military since strikes began in February. Republicans said they also discussed the state of the Pentagon’s munitions stockpile during the lunch amid reports that some weapons are running low — something Trump denies — and as the administration pushes for a $1.5 trillion defense infusion.
“That was one of the things I wanted to talk about because I’m on Defense [appropriations],” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) when asked if there was a concern Congress wasn’t approving money fast enough. “We went through the impacts and timing and how they’re managing that. But they’re doing a good job.”
Trump announced earlier this month that a deal with Iran to reopen the strait, a vital global oil corridor, was imminent. Vance, according to the senators, said that the administration is “hoping” to get an agreement.
“But they have to trust and verify, not just trust — so verify whatever it is that they offer, and then maintain it,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “And if they back out, then we’re still right back in their face again.”
Three Democratic House lawmakers unveiled legislation Thursday to tax artificial intelligence companies and use the proceeds to fund a jobs program aimed at offsetting AI’s impact on workers, marking one of Congress’ most ambitious efforts yet to redistribute the industry’s gains.
The AI Tax and Work Protection Act, championed by Reps. Greg Casar (Texas), Valerie Foushee (N.C.) and Sara Jacobs (Calif.), would impose a levy on AI developers to fund the program, which is dubbed the Work Protection Administration.
The bill comes amid a growing push from progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill to tax AI companies. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a similar bill in June, the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would impose a one-time 50 percent tax on the stock of leading AI companies to be funneled into a sovereign wealth fund.
Leading AI companies would pay a tax on either the price of the tokens they sell or the revenue they generate selling their products, depending on which value is higher. The tax would also be increased if the unemployment rate rises.
“Right now, the federal government is doing nothing to protect workers from the threat of AI mass unemployment,” Casar said in a statement. “Our bill would protect American workers by making big AI companies pay their fair share.”
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