‘We're going to have to do battle’: CBC eyes
ambitious policy agenda under Biden
With influential allies in the White House,
Congressional Black Caucus leaders plan to go big on the coronavirus, economy
and racial justice.
By MAYA
KING and SARAH FERRIS
02/06/2021
07:00 AM EST
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/06/congressional-black-caucus-biden-466415
The
Congressional Black Caucus has reached what might be the apex of its power
after 50 years in Washington — but it’s also staring down its most daunting
to-do list yet.
Black
lawmakers are entering the 117th Congress with an ambitious agenda they believe
has a real chance under President Joe Biden. But even with Democrats in power,
it won’t guarantee an easy path for the CBC, which is under pressure to
confront a series of crises: a pandemic that’s hit Black communities hardest,
long-stalled policing reform and the most inequitable economy in generations.
Then
there’s the vaccine, which already has a uneven track record on race, with
significant disparities in its distribution. And they’ve got to combat
lingering skepticism about the vaccine among some of their Black constituents.
“It's a
strange situation in which we find ourselves right now,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver
(D-Mo.) said in an interview. “The CBC has its work cut out for it for this
117th Congress. Because our plate is full — in fact, so full, we've got things
falling off the plate.”
The caucus
now includes 58 members, its largest roster to date. Still, senior Democrats in
the caucus say they expect to have to fight for their issues at a time when the
party is already eyeing a massive itinerary for the next two years — all with
limited floor time and the narrowest margins in both chambers.
“I expect
it to be a challenging time for us. And we're going to have to do battle for
those issues that are very important,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn
(D-S.C.), whose endorsement of Biden was critical to his path to victory.
“I think
that Joe Biden said it himself, 'You've always had my back, and I'm gonna have
yours,’” Clyburn said in an interview. “Well, that's what the Black community
wants. They want somebody in office who will have their backs.”
This time,
the CBC is not just counting on its membership in Congress, but those who have
become Biden allies. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) will helm the Biden
administration’s response to the housing crisis as Housing and Urban
Development Secretary. Meanwhile, former Rep. Cedric Richmond, a Democrat from
Louisiana, has the president’s ear as White House director of the Office of
Public Engagement.
“He’s a
friend, we talk to him all the time,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), another
senior CBC member, said of Richmond. “He’s one of us ... so he knows who we are
and what’s important to us.”
In
addition, key players like Susan Rice, who is leading the White House Domestic
Policy Council, will coordinate with the caucus on the White House’s racial
equity policy agenda. Then there’s their most powerful ally: former CBC
member-turned-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Several
members said they’ve talked with Fudge, Richmond and Rice about issues they
want prioritized over the next two years. Passing Biden’s $1.9 trillion
stimulus bill topped their list of concerns. Next, they’re turning their
attention to increased rental assistance, stronger affordable housing policies
and a jobs package that includes aid for minority-owned businesses. The John
Lewis Voting Rights Act, which restores some key protections for Black voters,
is expected to be among the first non-pandemic priorities to reach the House
floor.
“For the
CBC, that’s number one. That’s everything,” Meeks said of the voting rights
bill, adding that he compares the current set of challenges Black Americans
face to those of Reconstruction because of the scale of the crises. “That is on
the line here.”
The caucus
plans to outline these asks in a "100 Days Plan" to be released in
the coming days to coincide with Black History Month, CBC chair Joyce Beatty
said. And they’re confident that their agenda has legs.
The CBC
itself has grown in size — as well as stature — across the House Democratic
Caucus, boasting some of the chamber’s most powerful members, including Clyburn
and Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Issues that languished in
a GOP-controlled Senate, like the CBC-led policing reform bill or even an
anti-lynching bill, now have at least a path to becoming law.
That's why
Black Caucus leaders are angling for a level of independence with their policy
goals, even as they’re putting their trust in their allies in the White House.
Members are drafting their own proposals and building support across the
Democratic caucus.
“While we
have all of the confidence and the respect, we also have our own
responsibility,” Beatty said in an interview. “As we will work with and follow
[the White House’s] lead, we will also take our own lead.”
The urgency
of the work, Beatty said, comes from the “three-headed pandemic” that many
Black Americans are facing — public health, economic turmoil and racial
justice.
“I don't
have to tell you what the last four years have been like,” Beatty said.
To that
end, the CBC will create its own domestic policy council in a similar mold as
the White House’s group. Within the council, there will be a dozen policy
groups co-chaired by members to focus on the policies and reforms that the CBC
aims to lead. Their top priorities mirror the crises they’ve stressed:
healthcare, policing, voting rights, housing and job security.
Beatty said
she sees the caucus’s policy groups as a way to “enhance” the Biden
administration’s crisis response by focusing on Black communities. They're
working to ensure that Black seniors and essential workers are both educated
about the vaccine and have access to it. Leaders are also experimenting with
bringing people outside Congress and the White House into the room on policy
conversations, including some movement leaders.
Much of the
group’s focus in 2021 will be ensuring there’s racial equity in the Biden
administration’s mass vaccination efforts.
“There’s a
heck of a lot [to do]— we have to repair the damage of the last four years, but
also make things better. We have to do everything at once,” said Rep. Barbara
Lee (D-Calif.), a senior Democrat who spent much of the last year working to
increase equity in health care, from Covid testing to vaccinations.
The CBC is
seeing an infusion of energy, adding a half-dozen new members since the start
of 2020, even as Democrats overall lost seats in the House last November. It’s
also focusing on partnering with groups like the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
or the Asian Pacific American Caucus — which have also been working closely
with the Biden administration — to boost the clout of all three in the House.
“We believe
that there’s a lot that we have to do, and yes, there’s tremendous opportunity.
But there’s also a lot of challenges,” said Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), who
is in regular touch with Richmond and Biden officials — including a meeting
earlier in the week on the diversity of agency staff.
“Our
margins are small, so we’re going to have to be very strategic about how we get
things done,” he said.
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