Progressives urge Biden to use executive powers to advance their agenda

Progressive lawmakers are urging President Biden to use his executive powers in the White House to enact their top objectives ahead of the next election.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the leading coalition of liberals in the House, outlined areas where they believe Biden can sign actions to improve conditions for Americans around workers rights, living expenses, corporate influence, climate change and social justice.

They are encouraging Biden and administration officials to embrace executive orders from the Oval Office as Capitol Hill remains split by a GOP-controlled House and as the pathway to future progressive legislation is uncertain.

“With a divided Congress, President Biden must make full use of his executive authority to continue to deliver for working families,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who chairs the Progressive Caucus, said in a statement on Thursday announcing their latest priorities.

Progressives want Biden to deliver on areas that they believe can make a tangible impact on millions of people’s day-to-day lives. Some of those areas include working to bring down regular increases in rent, giving workers the ability to collect more overtime pay, and making travel more equitable by forcing airlines to make adjustments in how they compete.

They also added areas where they see room for improvement in the pharmaceutical, energy and banking sectors.

Jayapal, who has collaborated closely with senior White House officials throughout Biden’s first term in office, said that progressives’ wish list items are “primed for even greater impact” than last year, where they made headway on new policies like student debt relief and modified existing ones around health care and immigration.

Dozens of special interest activist groups and aligned progressive organizations endorsed the CPC’s new list, including leading networks like MoveOn, the Working Families Party and Justice Democrats.

One leading grassroots group evoked former President Trump’s stamp on the political landscape when making the case for immediate action from Biden.

“In the face of MAGA [Make America Great Again] extremism, it’s critical that leaders like the Congressional Progressive Caucus continue to fight for our communities and advocate for President Biden to continue to take bold actions on combating the climate crisis, raising wages, and protecting reproductive rights,” said Mary Small, who oversees strategy for Indivisible.

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