News Release

Congressional Moves to Protect Consumers and Provide Financial Oversight Good First Step

Jennifer Ettinger — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:11:55 -0700

WASHINGTON – Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage today praised the House Financial Services Committee for taking steps to protect consumers from predatory financial practices by approving the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. In praising the legislation, Borosage noted that the bill should be strengthened as it moves through Congress to prevent another economic crisis.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT BOROSAGE

Although the legislation has far to go, the committee created a much-needed independent agency to protect consumers from predatory lending and deceptive practices. Now the House and Senate must strengthen and pass the bill.

Chairman Frank should be complimented for fending off a fierce effort against the legislation by the big banking lobby. They couldn’t kill it, but they did weaken it significantly.

The Committee limited enforcement authority for 98 percent of the nation’s banks, which control 20 percent of assets; exempted auto loan and insurance products; and omitted provisions to enforce important community lending standards. Most damaging, it replaced President Obama's proposed independent oversight board with an advisory committee of financial regulators who failed to protect the American public from Wall Street in the first place.

The House bill is a good first step. It should be strengthened on the floor of the House. It will take a major mobilization to protect it against obstruction in the Senate.

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**NOTE: Media representatives interested in interviewing Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage should contact Jenn Ettinger at jettinger@ourfuture.org. **

Netroots Nation 2009 Straw Poll Results

Toby Chaudhuri — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:22:23 -0700

PITTSBURGH, PA. – Progressive bloggers and activists are focused on pushing comprehensive health care reform this year and overwhelmingly support Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., over Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., for the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nomination, according to a straw poll at this year’s Netroots Nation convention conducted by the Campaign for America’s Future and Democracy Corps.

Sixty percent of respondents said overhauling the nation’s health care system is one of their top two priorities. Fifty-three percent said they will not support a health care bill that does not include a public insurance option. Passing clean energy and environmental protection measures came in second with 22 percent.

President Clinton, former Gov. Howard Dean and White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett all spoke this week at this year’s convention, which attracted more than 1,500 progressive bloggers and activists. Sen. Specter and Rep. Sestak both addressed the convention on Friday. Sen. Specter, who did not support a public health insurance option before, told the audience he supports it now.

In a match-up between the two candidates vying for the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nomination, neither candidate reached 50 percent. A third remained undecided while 48 percent choose Rep. Sestak and 10 percent choose Sen. Specter. Rep Sestak was viewed more positively with a favorability rating of 46 compared to 15 for Sen. Specter.

President Obama received a 95 percent approval rating among the group. Not surprisingly, Sarah Palin was extremely unpopular with participants. Only 1 percent of attendees rated Palin favorably while 88 percent rated her unfavorably. Thirty-six percent rated Palin as the easiest Republican presidential nominee to defeat in 2012, followed by former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who was rated as easiest to beat by 20 percent, and Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., who was the choice of 12 percent.

This year’s convention marked the second year that Campaign for America’s Future and Democracy Corps conducted a straw poll at the Netroots Nation bloggers convention. More than 250 attendees participated in this year’s straw poll between Thursday, Aug. 13 and Friday, Aug. 14.

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**NOTE: An electronic copy of the straw poll results are available online at http://www.ourfuture.org/fact-sheets-briefs/2009083314/netroots-nation-straw-poll-health-care-no-1-issue.**

PROMINENT HEALTH EXPERTS WHO SUPPORT PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

Jennifer Ettinger — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:17:14 -0700

As the health reform debate heats up in Congress, the Institute for America’s Future today released the names of prominent health care experts and economists available for analysis and interviews. All the experts favor a public health insurance option to compete with private plans, but they are good sources on all developing issues related to the health care debate.

“Conservatives and health industry forces are putting forward their experts to attack the public insurance option,” said Diane Archer, director of the Institute for America’s Future Health Care Project. “We want to make sure the media has ready access to experts who see the public insurance option as critical to health reform and cost control. These experts don’t agree on everything, but they have helped shape key elements of reform – the public option, affordability, universal coverage, regulation of insurance companies and equal access to good benefits.”

Institute for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey said that many of the 33 health experts listed recently published work directly relevant to the current health care debate, citing the following examples: Jacob Hacker, the first to put the public insurance option on the agenda, has an article about what America would look like without it in The New Republic. The Urban Institute’s John Holahan and Linda Blumberg released a new report on how a public insurance plan would increase competition and lower costs. The Economic Policy Institute’s Elise Gould wrote a new paper on the drawbacks of taxing public insurance. Hickey has an oped in Sunday’s New York Times opposing taxing health benefits.

A searchable list of experts, complete with photos, biographies and contact information is available at www.ourfuture.org/healthexperts. Experts available to the media include:

--Gerard Anderson, Ph.D., director, Center for Hospital Finance and Management and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 410-955-3241, ganderso@jhsph.edu

--Diane Archer, director, Institute for America’s Future Health Care Project, 212-866-0908, darcher@ourfuture.org

--Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH, president-elect, National Physicians Alliance, 215-694-0885, valerie.arkoosh@npalliance.net

--Dean Baker, co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research, 202-293-5380 x114, baker@cepr.net

--David Balto, senior fellow, Center for American Progress, 202-789-5424, dbalto@americanprogress.org

--Robert Berenson, M.D., senior fellow, Urban Institute, 202-833-7200, rberenson@urban.org

--Linda Bergthold, consultant, Stanford University, 831-462-1334, lbergthold@sbcglobal.net

--Josh Bivens, economist, Economic Policy Institute, 202-755-8810, news@epi.org

--Sam Blair, director, Main Street Alliance, 603-831-1835, sblair@mainstreetalliance.org

--Linda Blumberg, Ph.D., senior fellow, The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, 202-261-5769, lblumberg@urban.org

--E. Richard Brown, Ph.D., director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, erbrown@ucla.edu

--Lisa Dubay, associate professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 410-502-0985, ldubay@jhsph.edu

--Elise Gould, director of Health Policy Research, Economic Policy Institute, 202-755-8810, news@epi.org

--Thomas Greaney, director, Center for Health Law Studies and law professor at St. Louis University; greanetl@slu.edu

--Jacob Hacker, professor, Yale University, 914-372-2225, Jacob.hacker@yale.edu

--Roger Hickey, co-director, Institute for America’s Future, 202-587-1604, hickey@ourfuture.org

--John Holahan, director, The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, 202-261-5666, jholahan@urban.org

--Ken Jacobs, chair, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, 510-643-2621, kjacobs9@berkeley.edu

--Timothy Jost, law professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law, 540-458-8510, jostt@wlu.edu

--Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager, Health Care for America Now, 202-454-6196, rkirsch@healthcareforamericanow.org

--Maggie Mahar, fellow, The Century Foundation, 202-293-5380 x114, healthbeat@tcf.org

--Ted Marmor, professor, Yale School of Management and adjunct professor at Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, 203-432-3238, Theodore.marmor@yale.edu

--Jim Morone, professor of Political Science and Urban Studies, Brown University, 401-863-1573, james_morone@brown.edu

--Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, president, Doctors for America and instructor, Harvard Medical School, 786-245-4550, vivekmurthy@post.harvard.edu

--Jonathan Oberlander, assistant professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 919-843-8269, oberland@med.unc.edu

--Frank Pasquale, law professor, Seton Hall University, 973-642-8485, pasquafa@shu.edu

--Harold Pollack, associate professor, University of Chicago School of Social Service, 708-275-6841, haroldpollack@gmail.com

--Karen Pollitz, project director, Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, 202-687-3003, pollitzk@georgetown.edu

--Robert Reich, professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley, 510-642-0560, rreich@berkeley.edu

--Mark Schlessinger, Ph.D., professor, Yale School of Public Health, 203-785-4619, mark.schlesinger@yale.edu

--Jeanne Silver-Isenstadt, MD, Ph.D., executive director, National Physicians Alliance, 703-254-8972, jean@npalliance.org

--Judith Stein, executive director, Center for Medicare Advocacy, 860-456-7790, jstein@medicareadvocacy.org

--Joseph White, Ph.D., director, Center for Policy Studies and professor at Case Western Reserve University, 216-368-2426, jxw87@case.edu

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**NOTE: A searchable list of experts, complete with expert photos, biographies and contact information is available at http://ourfuture.org/healthexperts.**

DARCY BURNER NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS POLICY FOUNDATION

Rachel Perrone — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:05:40 -0700

The American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation today named Darcy Burner to serve as its executive director. “We are truly pleased to have Darcy’s remarkable energy and talent to lead us in building the foundation,” said Robert Borosage, chair of the foundation board and co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future.

“An unprecedented number of Americans have worked together to set our nation on a new, progressive course,” said Burner. “I'm honored and excited to be connecting those citizens with the members of Congress working for them in Washington D.C.”

In 2006 and 2008, Burner ran for U.S. Representative in Washington’s 8th congressional district against former county sheriff Dave Reichert. She narrowly lost both races, but remains active in the progressive community. Prior to her political career, Burner worked in technology for Microsoft.

The American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation (APCPF) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation’s mission is to bring together the collective wisdom of progressives inside and outside of Congress to promote peace and global security, energy independence, environmental sustainability, human rights, civil liberties and the health and economic well-being of us all.

The foundation serves as a communications, fact finding, research and education center for progressive leaders and other public policy-makers, issue advocates, the media, and the general public.

PROGRESSIVES, EMBOLDENED BY OBAMA ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN, READY TO TURN THE PAGE AND FIX THE ECONOMY

Jennifer Ettinger — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:43:04 -0800

The progressive base is on the march in support of the long-term investments President-elect Obama outlined in his economic recovery plan today, according to a statement released by Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey. In response to the deepening crisis and more job losses, the Campaign for America’s Future last month released the Main Street Economic Recovery Plan that was endorsed by more than a hundred economists and dozens of labor and public interest leaders who represent more than 20 million Americans. All of the key elements of the Campaign for America’s Future’s “substantial, strategic, and sustained” recovery plan are in the president-elect’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

STATEMENT OF ROGER HICKEY

The economy is worsening and the time for talk is over. It’s up to us to make change happen now. The economy needs exactly what Obama calls for – swift and bold action. The benefits of moving a bill quickly are clear and the dangers of delay are growing. We need to stimulate renewed growth, create jobs, and get help to working families across the country.

Progressives are on board and moving fast to press Congress to pass the president-elect’s plan without delay. Obama’s smart plan for preventing a protracted recession in the short-term is aimed at investing in America to ensure prosperity in the long-term – by creating jobs, generating clean energy, modernizing infrastructure and expanding access to health care and high-quality education.

We at CAF help to lead a strong coalition of activist groups – called the Jobs and Economic Recovery Campaign – which is already working hard to ensure that the economic recovery plan remains big and bold, retains substantial public investment, creates jobs now and puts us back on the path to long-term prosperity.

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**To schedule an interview with Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey, please contact Jennifer Ettinger at 202-587-1639 or jettinger@ourfuture.org.**

NEW REPORT: PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION NEEDED TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE, QUALITY HEALTH COVERAGE

Toby Chaudhuri — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:11:13 -0800

A new public health insurance plan that competes directly with private insurers is essential to controlling health care costs and improving the quality of care, according to a new report released today by the Institute for America’s Future and the UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center on Health, Economic & Family Security. The report, by health care expert and UC Berkeley professor Jacob Hacker, says a public health insurance plan like Medicare offered together with private health plans could result in $1 trillion in national savings over ten years by driving down costs, improving efficiencies and fostering innovation.

President-elect Obama, his health care point person Tom Daschle, Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus and House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee chairman Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., have all embraced the idea of adding a public plan to help fix the ailing health care system, but the insurance industry opposes a public option. New data in today’s report provides fresh ammunition to this debate by showing how a public plan can maintain lower costs over time while providing broad, guaranteed and quality coverage.

Dr. Hacker released the report on a conference call with reporters today noting that the clearest evidence of the savings produced by a public plan is its premiums.

“Premiums with a public plan cost about three-quarters the amount private insurers charge for the same set of benefits,” said Hacker. “It’s an essential element to any national health care reform proposal.”

Hacker said that private plans operating without public insurance competition have been unable to contain spiraling health care costs and unwilling to cover at-risk patients. However, a public-private hybrid can provide an important check on both public and private sectors, ensuring flexibility, accountability and inclusiveness.

Rep. Stark agreed with Hacker on today’s call, declaring that it’s time we had an alternative plan that’s driven by cost-controls and quality care, not private profit.

“A public plan is an important component of any health care reform,” said Rep. Stark. “A public plan like Medicare would be more efficient and would provide greater choice. Without a public plan, insurance companies will have little incentive to control costs, reaping profits at the expense of beneficiaries.”

Institute for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey joined Rep. Stark and Hacker on the call, noting that the national health care debate will center on the public insurance option.

“Public insurance as part of a comprehensive solution was fully debated in the 2008 elections,” said Hickey. “People across the country believe public insurance is a common-sense choice that will help control health inflation and assure quality.”

Hacker’s report, “The Case for Public Plan Choice,” clearly shows that public insurance has a better track record than private insurance at reining in costs while preserving access to quality services. A public plan is essential to set a standard against which private plans must compete. The report outlines how public insurance has pioneered new payment and quality-improvement methods that have often set the standard for private plans and how it has the potential to carry out these vital tasks even more effectively in the future, using information technology, large databases of practices and outcomes, and new payment approaches and care-coordination strategies.

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**A summary and copy of the full report, “The Case for Public Plan Choice,” is available at http://institute.ourfuture.org/hacker, or http://www.law.berkeley.edu/chefs.htm. A recording of the call is available at http://assets.ourfuture.org/audio/20081217-Hacker-Plan-Press-Conf.mp3.**

ECONOMISTS, LABOR LEADERS: ECONOMY NEEDS SUBSTANTIAL, STRATEGIC, SUSTAINED $900B OR MORE BOOST OVER TWO YEARS

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:23:37 -0800

WASHINGTON – The economy needs at least a $900 billion boost over the next two years, according to a detailed economic recovery plan released today by more than a hundred economists and dozens of labor and public interest leaders who represent more than 20 million Americans.

With payrolls plunging, retail sales dropping and manufacturing contracting, the Campaign for America’s Future today released a statement signed by 127 economists, 27 major labor leaders and 59 public interest organizations, outlining a “substantial, strategic, and sustained” program for economic recovery. The statement, released on a conference call with reporters today, calls for a floor of $450 billion a year for the next two years. Given the severity of the recent financial crisis, they argue that $450 billion a year over two years should be considered the “floor” of any plan.

The plan stresses that investments be made in areas vital to the economy – in energy efficiency and renewable energy, in modernizing our collapsing infrastructure and in expanding pre-kindergarten and college affordability. It urges aid to states and localities to avoid devastating layoffs, and assistance to the low wage workers most impacted by the downturn.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage said these investments should be made as soon as possible and not only continue for two years, but be sustained with needed investments afterwards.

“Congress must know by now that the time for delay, for half-measures, for one-off rebates is over. We need a substantial, strategic and sustained plan to get this economy going,” said Borosage. “President Obama has the moment, the mandate, and the majority to drive fundamental reform over this next period. It is vital that citizen leaders not sit by passively, but help define the course and clear the way.”

University of Texas professor and economist James Galbraith joined Borosage on today’s call. Galbraith said these investments will have a greater return on investment in generating jobs and growth than tax cuts, and should be the centerpiece of a strategic recovery plan.

“Economic recovery in an existential crisis like this means actually building a new economy,” said Galbraith. “For that, we need investment—to restore our roads, rails, transit, broadband, and water systems, to build parks and museums and libraries, to protect the environment.”

United Steelworkers president and AFL-CIO executive council chair Leo Gerard also joined Borosage on today’s call. Gerard said signers of today’s statement will mobilize a major educational effort to encourage Congress to act rapidly to create a plan ready for President-elect Barack Obama to sign on day one, noting that “substantial action to get the real economy going is long overdue.”

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**For a copy and summary of today’s economic statement and a complete list of signers, please visit http://ourfuture.org/mainstreetrecovery .**

MAIN STREET ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN
http://ourfuture.org/mainstreetrecovery

Breakdown of the investments outlined in the economic plan (investment area -- first year, second year. Figures in billions):

--Green investments -- 50, 50
--Infrastructure -- 75, 150
--Aid to states -- 50, 75
--Education -- 40, 40
--Research and development -- 5, 10
--Health care -- 15, 55
--Unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidy -- 15, 15
--Food stamps -- 15, 15
--Poverty reduction -- 40, 40
--Middle-class tax cut -- 145, -
--Total over two years -- 900

More than 127 economists, 27 major labor leaders and 59 public interest organizations signed the Campaign for America’s Future’s economic plan. Signers include:

--John Sweeney, president, AFL-CIO
--Andrew Stern, president, SEIU
--Gerald McEntee, international president, AFSCME
--Anna Burger, chair, Change to Win
--Ron Gettelfinger, president, UAW
--Dennis van Roekel, president, NEA
--Leo Gerard, international president, USW
--Mike Wessell, senior advisor, Alliance for American Manufacturing
--Robert Borosage, co-director, Campaign for America's Future
--David Bonior, chair, American Rights at Work
--James Galbraith, economist
--Robert Johnson, economist
--Heidi Hartmann, President, Institute for Women’s Policy Research
--Jane D'Arista, Financial Markets Center
--Robert Kuttner, co-editor, The American Prospect and Demos senior fellow
--Julie Matthaei, Professor of Economics, Wellesley College
--Jeff Faux, economist, Economic Policy Institute
--Dean Baker, economist, Center for Economic and Policy Research
--Carl Pope, director, Sierra Club

ALLOWING AUTO INDUSTRY TO GO UNDER WOULD CREATE “BODY BLOW” TO SLUMPING ECONOMY

Toby Chaudhuri — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:00:00 -0800

WASHINGTON – With U.S. automakers facing opposition for an expanded $34 billion rescue package on Capitol Hill today, Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage said allowing the auto industry to go under would create a “body blow to the already battered economy.” Borosage noted that there’s a big difference between how lawmakers are responding to the good faith effort from the auto companies and its unions and how they dealt with the banks that caused this crisis in the first place.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT BOROSAGE

The U.S. would be foolish to allow its auto industry to go under, which would be a body blow to an already battered economy. Congress should not make the auto companies the victims of their failure to impose sensible conditions on Wall Street.

Any bridge loan should be conditioned on commitments to moving towards high efficiency cars, limits on executive compensation, and oversight of global operations. U.S. taxpayers should not be subsidizing the transfer of more and more production abroad. An independent board must be set up with authority to enforce those conditions.

Much of the congressional posturing on the auto companies is displaced passion. The auto companies and its unions have come to the Congress with far more detailed plans, including concessions on CEO compensation and wrenching concessions by the unions.

The contrast between that good faith effort for a bridge loan and the ease with which the banks that have caused this crisis have garnered literally trillions of guarantees, loans and investments without any commitments on changing their business plans or on executive compensation is stark.

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**NOTE: To schedule an interview with Borosage, please contact Jennifer Ettinger at jettinger@ourfuture.org or 202-587-1614.**

ECONOMIC CRISIS MAKES “RUBINOMICS” IRRELEVANT

Jennifer Ettinger — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

WASHINGTON – Responding to concerns that President-elect Obama’s new economic leadership team is dominated by people who played a role in creating the current crisis, Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage said that deepening economic emergency makes “Rubinomics” irrelevant. Borosage said that today’s announcement is a key step toward enacting a bold economic recovery plan.

Many progressives are concerned that the president-elect’s economic team is dominated by allies of former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who opposed the regulation of derivatives and other measures blamed for the economic crisis. Rubin is senior counselor and director of Citigroup Inc., which has just received a $20 billion cash infusion and hundreds of billions of dollars in loan guarantees from taxpayers.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT BOROSAGE
It's not the personnel, it's the policy. And on this, Obama has been clear. He's announced a massive recovery plan based on putting people to work with public investment in areas vital to our future.

The crisis we face makes Rubinomics irrelevant. Deficit spending must go up, finance must be re-regulated, trade imbalances must be reduced and manufacturing can no longer be scorned.

Obama is choosing experienced hands for the crisis, trusting that their experience does not impede the new thinking needed to get us out of this hole. He'll set the direction. And so far, he’s on course.

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**NOTE: To schedule an interview with Borosage, please contact Jennifer Ettinger at jettinger@ourfuture.org or 202-587-1614.**

CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS DELIVER A PROGRESSIVE MANDATE

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

WASHINGTON – Twenty-six out of the 29 Democratic candidates who won seats previously held by Republicans in the House and Senate championed bold progressive economic positions, according to a new report released today by the Campaign for America’s Future. The report shows that these progressive candidates’ victories represent a swing to the left of 34 votes in the House and 10 in the Senate, reflecting a clear mandate for progressive change.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., newly elected Rep.-Elect Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and AFL-CIO political director Karen Ackerman joined Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage on a conference call with reporters today to discuss the report’s findings.

“This was not simply a change election. It was a sea-change election that marks the end of the conservative era that has dominated our politics over the past three decades.” said Borosage. “Democrats won because they campaigned as progressives, not as moderates or conservatives. On core economic issues, voters gave these legislators a mandate for reform.”

Sen. Brown said candidates that won last night were unified around a common set of bold progressive themes.

“This election ushered in the next progressive era for our nation,” said Sen. Brown. “From health care to trade to education, progressive values will now be the priority in Washington. It’s time to get to work.”

Rep. Edwards, who easily won re-election last night, campaigned with several candidates in close races across the country. Rep. Edwards said the candidates she campaigned with embraced bold progressive positions on every major economic issue.

“Candidates across the country ran and won on a bold progressive agenda,” said Edwards. “Now our challenge is to govern on the progressive agenda – including smart investment in jobs, in infrastructure, in health care and energy, and bringing a safe and responsible end to the war in Iraq. It’s an exciting time and I am confident that we will be able to set priorities to deliver the bold solutions Americans expect.”

Rep.-Elect Pingree, who became the first woman to represent Maine’s first Congressional District after leading Republican Charlie Summers in late results, said voters in her district were yearning for bold progressive change.

“This is day one of the change that we so desperately need in this country,” said Rep.-Elect Pingree.

To distinguish progressive candidates from conservatives and moderates, the CAF report compared the positions of the candidates on six major economic issues, including health care, workers’ rights, tax policy, trade, Social Security and clean energy. Out of the 29 Democrats who won House and Senate seats previously held by Republicans, 21 House candidates and 5 Senate candidates supported the progressive position on at least five out of the six issues. Only three of the winning candidates chose to run on a more conservative platform.

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**NOTE: An electronic copy of the post-election report is available at www.ourfuture.org/progressive-mandate-2008.**

PROGRESSIVE ISSUE POSITIONS OF DEMOCRATS WHO WON
SEATS PREVIOUSLY HELD BY REPUBLICANS

--Sen.-Elect Mark Udall, D-Colo.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Sen.-Elect Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Sen.-Elect Tom Udall, D-N.M.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Sen.-Elect Kay Hagan, D-N.C.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Sen.-Elect Mark Warner, D-Va.: health care, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Bobby Bright, D-Ala.: trade, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Betsy Markey, D-Colo.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Jim Hines, D-Conn.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Alan Grayson, D-Fla.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes,
--Rep.-Elect Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Walt Minnick, D-Idaho: health care, trade, energy, worker rights,
--Rep.-Elect Debbie Halvorson, D-Ill.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Frank Kratovil, D-Md.: health care, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Mark Schauer, D-Mich.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Gary Peters, D-Mich.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Dina Titus, D-Nev.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect John Adler, D-N.J.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Harry Teague, D-N.M.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Michael McMahon, D-N.Y.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Dan Maffei, D-N.Y.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Eric Massa, D-N.Y.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Larry Kissell, D-N.C.: trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect John Boccieri, D-Ohio: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Pa.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Glenn Nye, D-Va.: health care, energy, worker rights, Soc. Sec.
--Rep.-Elect Gerry Connolly, D-Va.: health care, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Senate candidate Al Franken, D-Minn.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.
--Senate candidate Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.: health care, trade, energy, worker rights, taxes, Soc. Sec.

News Release

Congressional Moves to Protect Consumers and Provide Financial Oversight Good First Step

**Netroots Nation 2009 Straw Poll Results**

PROMINENT HEALTH EXPERTS WHO SUPPORT PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

DARCY BURNER NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS POLICY FOUNDATION

PROGRESSIVES, EMBOLDENED BY OBAMA ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN, READY TO TURN THE PAGE AND FIX THE ECONOMY

NEW REPORT: PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION NEEDED TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE, QUALITY HEALTH COVERAGE

ECONOMISTS, LABOR LEADERS: ECONOMY NEEDS SUBSTANTIAL, STRATEGIC, SUSTAINED $900B OR MORE BOOST OVER TWO YEARS

ALLOWING AUTO INDUSTRY TO GO UNDER WOULD CREATE “BODY BLOW” TO SLUMPING ECONOMY

ECONOMIC CRISIS MAKES “RUBINOMICS” IRRELEVANT

CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS DELIVER A PROGRESSIVE MANDATE

Netroots Nation 2009 Straw Poll Results