No Labels Problem Solvers Caucus

In Room 2020 of the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, 27 Members of the Bipartisan Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus held a private meeting with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, where they talked in depth about where Democrats and Republicans can get to “Yes” in the months ahead. This was Secretary Mnuchin’s first meeting on Capitol Hill since his Confirmation Hearing earlier this year, an indication of the growing clout of this Caucus and of No Labels.

At the Problem Solvers meeting, Secretary Mnuchin said the Administration sees numerous opening for Bipartisan Agreement, beginning with Tax Reform. The Secretary said he would like to see Tax Reform passed before the August recess guided by three core priorities:

1) Simplifying the Individual Code
2) Cutting Middle Class Taxes
3) Making the Corporate Tax Code more Competitive

This Tax Reform effort could potentially be paired with an Infrastructure Investment Package.

Among other areas the Secretary and the Caucus members discussed:

- Reforming the Dodd-Frank provisions that disproportionately harm Community and Regional Banks

- Regulatory Reforms, including the onerous permitting process for Infrastructure

- Fixing the Federal Housing Finance systems including Reforms of Fannie, Freddie, and the Federal Housing Administration

- Protecting the full Faith and Credit of the U.S. by raising the Debt Limit

At one point in the meeting, a Republican member of the Caucus asked Secretary Mnuchin to transmit a message directly to the President. He said, Please tell the President he needs to bring Democrats into the process on all these issues. It was a sign that these Caucus Members are beginning to view themselves as a true Bloc, with Loyalty to one another and the Country above their party.

This is just the first step.

Next up for this Caucus is hopefully a personal meeting with President Trump.

As dysfunctional as Washington is today, it’s easy to get frustrated.

Meetings like yesterday are what keep us going.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker